Treatment FAQ

people who are high in tend to show to treatment for hiv.

by Mrs. Ava Leuschke Published 3 years ago Updated 2 years ago
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Why get and stay on HIV treatment?

Getting and staying on HIV treatment because it reduces the amount of HIV in your blood (also called the viral load) to a very low level. This keeps you healthy and prevents illness.

Which groups are most affected by HIV?

However, while all groups are affected by HIV, some are more vulnerable than others, as summarized below. Gay or bisexual MSM are the most severely affected population.

Who is at high risk for getting HIV?

Transgender women and men are at high risk for getting HIV. According to current estimates, about 1 in 7 (14%) transgender women have HIV, and the percentage is much higher among black or African American (44%) and Hispanic or Latina (26%) transgender women. * An estimated 3% of transgender men have HIV 1.

Should I get tested for HIV if I don't have it?

For people at risk of getting HIV but who do not have the virus, testing can be the door to effective prevention options like pre-exposure prophylaxis (PrEP).

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Who is at high risk for HIV?

By race/ethnicity, Blacks/African Americans and Hispanics/Latinos are disproportionately affected by HIV compared to other racial and ethnic groups. Also, transgender women who have sex with men are among the groups at highest risk for HIV infection, and injection drug users remain at significant risk for getting HIV.

Why do HIV positive people receive treatments?

HIV treatment reduces the amount of HIV in the blood (viral load). Taking your HIV medicine as prescribed will help keep your viral load low. HIV treatment can make the viral load very low (viral suppression). Viral suppression means having less than 200 copies of HIV per milliliter of blood.

What age group has the highest rate of HIV?

By age group, in 2019, the number of new HIV diagnoses was highest among people aged 25 to 29. From 2015 through 2019, HIV diagnoses increased among persons aged 13-24 years, 35-44 years, and 45-54 years. Diagnoses remained stable among persons aged 25-35 years and persons aged 55 years and over.

Which group has highest incidence rate of HIV in India?

In India, populations which are at a higher risk of HIV are female sex workers, men who have sex with men, injecting drug users, and transgenders/hijras.

What is HIV treatment?

HIV treatment involves taking medicine that reduces the amount of HIV in your body. HIV medicine is called antiretroviral therapy (ART). There is n...

When should I start treatment?

Start Treatment As Soon As Possible After Diagnosis HIV medicine is recommended for all people with HIV, regardless of how long they’ve had the vir...

What if I delay treatment?

HIV will continue to harm your immune system. This will put you at higher risk for developing AIDS. Learn more about AIDS and opportunistic infecti...

What are the benefits of taking my HIV medicine every day as prescribed?

Treatment Reduces the Amount of HIV in the Blood The amount of HIV in the blood is called viral load. Taking your HIV medicine as prescribed will h...

Does HIV medicine cause side effects?

HIV medicine can cause side effects in some people. However, not everyone experiences side effects. The most common side effects are Nausea and vom...

Will HIV treatment interfere with my hormone therapy?

There are no known drug interactions between HIV medicine and hormone therapy. Talk to your health care provider if you are worried about taking HI...

What if my treatment is not working?

Your health care provider may change your prescription. A change is not unusual because the same treatment does not affect everyone in the same way.

Sticking to my treatment plan is hard. How can I deal with the challenges?

Tell your health care provider right away if you’re having trouble sticking to your plan. Together you can identify the reasons you’re skipping med...

Why do you prescribe HIV?

Your health care provider may prescribe medicines to prevent certain infections. HIV treatment is most likely to be successful when you know what to expect and are committed to taking your medicines exactly as prescribed.

What is the treatment for HIV?

HIV treatment involves taking medicines that slow the progression of the virus in your body. HIV is a type of virus called a retrovirus, and the combination of drugs used to treat it is called antiretroviral therapy (ART). ART is recommended for all people living with HIV, regardless of how long they’ve had the virus or how healthy they are.

What is drug resistance in HIV?

What Is HIV Drug Resistance? Drug resistance can be a cause of treatment failure for people living with HIV. As HIV multiplies in the body, it sometimes mutates (changes form) and produces variations of itself. Variations of HIV that develop while a person is taking ART can lead to drug-resistant strains of HIV.

How long do HIV side effects last?

Some side effects can occur once you start a medicine and may only last a few days or weeks.

How soon can you start ART for HIV?

Treatment guidelines from the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services recommend that a person living with HIV begin ART as soon as possible after diagnosis. Starting ART slows the progression of HIV and can keep you healthy for many years.

Is HIV treatment a prevention?

There is also a major prevention benefit. People living with HIV who take HIV medication daily as prescribed and get and keep an undetectable viral load have effectively no risk of sexually transmitting HIV to their HIV-negative partners. This is called treatment as prevention.

Can HIV be drug resistant?

A person can initially be infected with drug-resistant HIV or develop drug-resistant HIV after starting HIV medicines. Drug-resistant HIV also can spread from person to person. Drug-resistance testing identifies which, if any, HIV medicines won’t be effective against your specific strain of HIV.

Men Who Have Sex with Men

Gay or bisexual MSM are the most severely affected population. MSM account for just a small fraction (2 percent) of the total U.S. population, yet nearly two-thirds of all new infections occurred within this group in 2009, and one-half of all people living with HIV in 2008 were MSM.

Injection Drug Users

Injection drug use has long been associated directly or indirectly with approximately one-third of AIDS cases in the United States. The fact that IDUs made up only 8 percent of new HIV infections in 2010 versus 23 percent in 1994–2000 demonstrates the progress made in HIV prevention and treatment within this population.

Hepatitis C and Co-Infection with HIV

Hepatitis C virus (HCV), a leading cause of liver disease, is highly prevalent among injection drug users and often co-occurs with HIV. In the United States, an estimated 3.2 million people are chronically infected with HCV, 22 with injection drug use being the main driver.

Women

Heterosexual contact with an HIV+ partner accounted for over one-quarter of all new infections in 2010 and is the main way that women contract the virus (see figure), especially within ethnic minority communities. Regional variations of HIV incidence in women have changed over time.

Ethnic Minorities

HIV surveillance data show that the rates of new HIV infection are disproportionately highest within ethnic minority populations. African- Americans account for a higher proportion of HIV infections than any other population at all stages of the disease from initial infection to death (see text box).

Youth

Young people are also at risk for HIV infection. Approximately 9,800 people aged 13–24 were diagnosed with HIV in 2010, representing 20 percent of newly diagnosed cases, with the highest rate occurring among those aged 20–24.

Older People

Sixteen (16) percent of new diagnoses of HIV infection in the United States in 2010 occurred among individuals over the age of 50, and this number has been increasing for the past 11 years. 26 Some older persons do not believe they are at risk and thus engage in unsafe sexual practices.

Grace's story

Grace was dating again. She and George, a family friend she had known for years, became quite close and their relationship became sexual. Because she wasn't worried about getting pregnant, Grace didn't think about using condoms. And, because she had known George for so long, she didn't think to ask him about his sexual history.

HIV and COVID-19

People with HIV can be more likely to experience severe illness from COVID-19. NIH has provided COVID-19 treatment guidelines for people who have HIV. It is highly recommended that people continue to follow CDC safety guidelines and get vaccinated if they can. Remember to practice social distancing and wear a mask.

Where can I find a place to get tested for HIV?

Your doctor or other health care provider can test you for HIV or tell you where you can get tested. Or, the following resources can help you find a testing location:

Talk to your partner (s) about their drug and sexual history

Learning more about HIV risks can help you stay healthy. Even though it may be hard to do, ask your partner about his or her sexual history and whether he or she has ever shared needles. You might ask: Have you been tested for HIV? Have you ever had unprotected sex? Have you injected drugs or shared needles with someone else?

How does HIV benefit everyone?

Everyone with HIV benefits from getting a diagnosis as early as possible and starting treatment right away. People with HIV who take antiretroviral therapy as prescribed and stay virally suppressed can live long, healthy lives and have effectively no risk of sexually transmitting HIV to partners.

What are the barriers to HIV?

Many transgender people face obstacles that make it harder to access HIV services—such as stigma and discrimination, inadequate employment or housing, and limited access to welcoming, supportive health care. Addressing these barriers is essential to the health and well-being of transgender people. The Centers for Disease Control ...

What is the CDC's goal for transgender people?

Addressing these barriers is essential to the health and well-being of transgender people. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) is committed to working with health care providers to make sure all transgender people can get the tools they need to prevent HIV and stay healthy if they have HIV. Transforming Health gives providers tools ...

How many transgender women have HIV?

According to current estimates. , about 1 in 7 (14%) transgender women have HIV, and the percentage is much higher among black or African American (44%) and Hispanic or Latina (26%) transgender women. * An estimated 3% of transgender men have HIV 1.

Can transgender people get HIV?

Transgender people face multiple obstacles that may affect their ability to stay healthy and put them at risk for getting or transmitting HIV. The Transforming Health: Patient-Centered HIV Prevention and Care website contains information and materials for health care providers, whole-care teams, social service providers, and transgender people, with the goal of reducing new HIV infections and improving the health of transgender people.

What is high cholesterol?

High cholesterol (also called hyperlipidemia) refers to high levels of cholesterol in the blood. High cholesterol increases the risk of heart disease. Risk factors for high cholesterol include a high-fat diet, physical inactivity, and smoking.

Can HIV cause high cholesterol?

In people with HIV, treatment for high cholesterol may include changing an HIV regimen to avoid taking HIV medicines that can increase cholesterol levels. Some HIV medicines can interact with medicines that lower cholesterol levels. Health care providers carefully consider potential drug interactions between HIV medicines ...

What age is the most likely to get HIV?

In particular, younger men are more susceptible. If fact, nearly two-thirds of all new HIV diagnoses among MSM are between the ages of 13 and 34.

How many transgender women have HIV?

The vast majority—84%—were transgender women, and an estimated 14% of transgender women have HIV. Due to the stigma trans people regularly face, they tend to have poorer access to health care and health education, two things that greatly impact HIV status. Further, “trans women are more likely to have sex with a population where ...

Do people of color have a higher risk of HIV?

These groups, as well as a few others, also have a significantly higher risk of contracting Human Immunodeficiency Virus (HIV).

Can anyone contract HIV?

While anyone is capable of contracting HIV, there are certain communities—notably young men of color who have sex with other men, black women, and transgender women—who are disproportionately affected by the virus. Luckily, there are tools to help everyone, regardless of sexual orientation, age, race, or gender, protect themselves from the virus.

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Men Who Have Sex with Men

Injection Drug Users

  • Injection drug use has long been associated directly or indirectly with approximately one-third of AIDS cases in the United States. The fact that IDUs made up only 8 percent of new HIV infections in 2010 versus 23 percent in 1994–2000 demonstrates the progress made in HIV prevention and treatment within this population. Still, much work remains; while there may be fewer new infecti…
See more on nida.nih.gov

Women

  • Heterosexual contact with an HIV+ partner accounted for over one-quarter of all new infections in 2010 and is the main way that women contract the virus (see figure), especially within ethnic minority communities. Regional variations of HIV incidence in women have changed over time. In the early years of the epidemic, incidence in women predominated in the Northeast, but infectio…
See more on nida.nih.gov

Ethnic Minorities

  • HIV surveillance data show that the rates of new HIV infection are disproportionately highest within ethnic minority populations. African- Americans account for a higher proportion of HIV infections than any other population at all stages of the disease from initial infection to death (see text box). Moreover, specific minority subgroups are at particular risk. Nearly two-thirds (64 perc…
See more on nida.nih.gov

Youth

  • Young people are also at risk for HIV infection. Approximately 9,800 people aged 13–24 were diagnosed with HIV in 2010, representing 20 percent of newly diagnosed cases, with the highest rate occurring among those aged 20–24. Particular HIV risk behaviors within this age group include sexual experimentation and drug abuse, which are often influence...
See more on nida.nih.gov

Older People

  • Sixteen (16) percent of new diagnoses of HIV infection in the United States in 2010 occurred among individuals over the age of 50, and this number has been increasing for the past 11 years.26Some older persons do not believe they are at risk and thus engage in unsafe sexual practices. The problem is further exacerbated by healthcare professionals who underestimate th…
See more on nida.nih.gov

Criminal Justice System

  • The criminal justice system is burdened with a significant population of HIV-infected individuals that can be 2 to 5 times larger than that in the surrounding community.29 An estimated 1 in 7 HIV+ individuals living in the United States passes through this system each year.30 The criminal justice system is also burdened with significant substance abuse, with about one-half of Federa…
See more on nida.nih.gov

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