Treatment FAQ

what tare the treatment for aids

by Prof. Annamarie Haag Published 2 years ago Updated 1 year ago
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HIV treatment (antiretroviral therapy or ART) involves taking medicine as prescribed by a health care provider. HIV treatment reduces the amount of HIV in your body and helps you stay healthy. There is no cure for HIV, but you can control it with HIV treatment.

Medication

  • Some cancers.
  • Osteoporosis. For people with HIV, the chances of getting several cancers are much lower since ART is now available.
  • Kidney disease. Bone loss from this disease increases your chance of broken bones. It’s most common in older women, but HIV infection and HIV medications also make it more likely.

Nutrition

"There are few places farther from your medicine cabinet than the tissues of an ascidian, or 'sea squirt,' on the icy Antarctic sea floor — but this is precisely where scientists are looking to find a new treatment for melanoma, one of the most dangerous ...

What is the life expectancy of AIDS without treatment?

Treatment involves combinations of drugs from different classes to:

  • Account for individual drug resistance (viral genotype)
  • Avoid creating new drug-resistant strains of HIV
  • Maximize suppression of virus in the blood

Is there really cure for AIDS?

  • tipranavir
  • indinavir
  • atazanavir
  • darunavir
  • ritonavir
  • amprenavir

What are the current treatment options for AIDS?

What drugs are used to treat AIDS?

See more

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What is the best treatment for AIDS?

The most effective treatment for HIV is antiretroviral therapy (ART). This is a combination of several medicines that aims to control the amount of virus in your body. Antiretroviral medicines slow the rate at which the virus grows.

What is the first treatment for AIDS?

Zidovudine, commonly known as AZT, was introduced in 1987 as the first treatment for HIV. Scientists also developed treatments to reduce transmission during pregnancy.

What is the treatment of AIDS Short answer?

Without medication, it may take years before HIV weakens your immune system to the point that you have AIDS . There's no cure for HIV / AIDS , but medications can control the infection and prevent progression of the disease.

What is HIV treatment?

HIV treatment (antiretroviral therapy or ART) involves taking medicine as prescribed by a health care provider. HIV treatment reduces the amount of...

When should I start HIV treatment?

Start HIV treatment as soon as possible after diagnosis. All people with HIV should take HIV treatment, no matter how long they’ve had HIV or how h...

What if I delay HIV treatment?

If you delay treatment, HIV will continue to harm your immune system. Delaying treatment will put you at higher risk for transmitting HIV to your p...

Are there different types of HIV treatment?

There are two types of HIV treatment: pills and shots. Pills are recommended for people who are just starting HIV treatment. There are many FDA-app...

What are HIV treatment shots?

HIV treatment shots are long-acting injections used to treat people with HIV. The shots are given by your health care provider and require routine...

Can I switch my HIV treatment from pills to shots?

Talk to your health care provider about changing your HIV treatment plan. Shots may be right for you if you are an adult with HIV who has an undete...

What are the benefits of taking my HIV treatment as prescribed?

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 t...

Does HIV treatment cause side effects?

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

What should I do if I’m thinking about having a baby?

Let your health care provider know if you or your partner is pregnant or thinking about getting pregnant. They will determine the right type of HIV...

Can I take birth control while on HIV treatment?

You can use any method of birth control to prevent pregnancy. However, some HIV treatment may make hormone-based birth control less effective. Talk...

Why is it important to take HIV medication?

Taking HIV medication consistently, as prescribed, helps prevent drug resistance. Drug resistance develops when people with HIV are inconsistent with taking their HIV medication as prescribed. The virus can change (mutate) and will no longer respond to certain HIV medication. If you develop drug resistance, it will limit your options ...

How long does it take to get rid of HIV?

There is no effective cure for HIV. But with proper medical care, you can control HIV. Most people can get the virus under control within six months. Taking HIV medicine does not prevent transmission ...

What does it mean when your HIV is suppressed?

Viral suppression is defined as having less than 200 copies of HIV per milliliter of blood. HIV medicine can make the viral load so low that a test can’t detect it (called an undetectable viral load ). If your viral load goes down after starting HIV treatment, that means treatment is working.

What is the amount of HIV in the blood called?

The amount of HIV in the blood is called viral load . Taking your HIV medicine as prescribed will help keep your viral load low and your CD4 cell count high. HIV medicine can make the viral load very low (called viral suppression ). Viral suppression is defined as having less than 200 copies of HIV per milliliter of blood.

How long does it take for a mother to give her baby HIV?

If a mother with HIV takes HIV medicine as prescribed throughout pregnancy, labor, and delivery and gives HIV medicine to her baby for 4 to 6 weeks after birth, the risk of transmitting HIV to her baby can be 1% or less.

What are the factors that affect your willingness to stick to your treatment plan?

Being sick or depressed. How you feel mentally and physically can affect your willingness to stick to your treatment plan. Your health care provider, social worker, or case manager can refer you to a mental health provider or local support groups. Alcohol or drug use.

What to do if substance use is interfering with your ability to keep yourself healthy?

If substance use is interfering with your ability to keep yourself healthy, it may be time to quit or better manage it. If you need help finding substance use disorder treatment or mental health services, use SAMHSA’s Treatment Locator. external icon. .

How do drugs help with HIV?

Drug treatments help reduce the HIV virus in your body, keep your immune system as healthy as possible and decrease the complications you may develop. Some of the drugs approved by the FDA for treating HIV and AIDS are listed below.

What is the drug that prevents HIV replication?

Fusion inhibitors are a new class of drugs that act against HIV by preventing the virus from fusing with the inside of a cell, preventing it from replicating. The group of drugs includes Enfuvirtide, also known as Fuzeon or T-20.

How effective is HAART?

The treatment is highly effective in slowing the rate at which the HIV virus replicates itself, which may slow the spread of HIV in the body. The goal of HAART is to reduce the amount of virus in your body, or the viral load, to a level that can no longer be detected with blood tests.

What are the factors that determine a treatment plan?

Three main factors will be considered when designing your treatment plan: Your willingness and readiness to begin therapy. The stage of your disease. Other health problems.

Does Ritonavir boost strength?

Studies have shown that small amounts of Ritonavir, taken in combination with other PIs, can boost or increase the strength and effectiveness of some drugs and may overcome drug and food interactions. In some cases, "Ritonavir boosting" reduces the number of pills necessary or how often they're taken.

Is the FDA approved for HIV?

Other health problems. The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has approved a number of drugs for treating HIV and AIDS. It's important that you take your medications exactly as prescribed. This is a crucial part of your treatment success.

What is the treatment for HIV?

However, there are many medications that can control HIV and prevent complications. These medications are called antiretroviral therapy (ART). Everyone diagnosed with HIV should be started on ART, regardless of their stage of infection or complications.

What to do if you think you have HIV?

If you think you might have HIV infection, you're likely to start by seeing your family doctor. You may be referred to an infectious disease specialist — who additionally specializes in treating HIV / AIDS.

What test can help determine if you have HIV?

If you receive a diagnosis of HIV / AIDS, several tests can help your doctor determine the stage of your disease and the best treatment, including: CD4 T cell count. CD4 T cells are white blood cells that are specifically targeted and destroyed by HIV. Even if you have no symptoms, HIV infection progresses to AIDS when your CD4 T cell count dips ...

What is HIV RNA?

Viral load (HIV RNA). This test measures the amount of virus in your blood. After starting HIV treatment the goal is to have an undetectable viral load. This significantly reduces your chances of opportunistic infection and other HIV -related complications.

How long does it take to get tested for HIV?

Most rapid HIV tests, including self-tests done at home, are antibody tests. Antibody tests can take three to 12 weeks after you're exposed to become positive. Nucleic acid tests (NATs). These tests look for the actual virus in your blood (viral load). They also involve blood drawn from a vein.

What are some examples of anti-HIV drugs?

Examples include efavirenz (Sustiva), rilpivirine (Edurant) and doravirine (Pifeltro).

How to diagnose HIV?

Diagnosis. HIV can be diagnosed through blood or saliva testing. Available tests include: Antigen/antibody tests. These tests usually involve drawing blood from a vein. Antigens are substances on the HIV virus itself and are usually detectable — a positive test — in the blood within a few weeks after exposure to HIV.

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.

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 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.

What is the first line of treatment for HIV?

In December 2019, the DHHS updated its treatment guidelines, once again affirming that integrase strand transfer inhibitors, or simply integrase inhibitors, are among the preferred drugs for the first-line treatment of HIV. 10 

What is the first drug used to treat HIV?

HIV is treated with a combination of antiretroviral drugs. The first such drug, called AZT (zidovudine), was approved for use by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) back in 1987. 2

What is the role of antiretroviral drugs in HIV replication?

Antiretroviral drugs target specific stages of HIV replication, blocking enzymes or proteins that the virus needs to complete its life cycle. Without the means to replicate, the viral population is quickly reduced to undetectable levels where it can do the body little harm.

How many classes of antiretrovirals are there?

There are currently seven classes of antiretroviral drugs. Of the seven stages of HIV replication, the current body of antiretrovirals targets five. Drug Class. Stage (s) Blocked. Drug Action. Drugs. Entry/attachment inhibitors. Viral attachment and fusion. Prevents HIV from attaching to and entering the host cell.

How long after rilpivirine do you take antacids?

If used, antacids should be taken at least two hours before or four hours after a rilpivirine dose. 18

What are the effects of HIV on people?

HIV is a disease characterized by high rates of stress, anxiety, and depression, particularly in communities where HIV is stigmatized. If left untreated, these emotions can affect a person's ability to seek or adhere to treatment. 20

What is HIV management?

Managing HIV is about more than just pills. It's about addressing issues in your life that can either influence adherence or place you at increased risk of illness or infection.

How much does HIV cost?

One study estimated that costs of this care could run anywhere between $1,800 to $4,500 each month during a person’s lifetime. Most of this, about 60%, comes from the high cost of ART medications.

How much does ibalizumab cost?

The drug ibalizumab-uiyk (Trogarzo), for example, which you take through a shot instead of in a pill, can cost about $9,000 a month. If you’re getting treatment for both HIV and another condition, this will also make your costs go up.

How much does tenofovir cost?

For example, while the drug tenofovir disoproxil fumarate ( Viread) costs about $1,400 per month, the generic version may cost anywhere between $110 and $1,200. But not all drugs have a generic available, especially if they are newer.

Can HIV drugs be generic?

But not all drugs have a generic available, especially if they are newer. Still, it’s always worth asking your doctor or pharmacist if there’s a less expensive version of your medication. Sometimes HIV can become resistant to more common drugs, so they don’t work as well in controlling your condition.

Do drug manufacturers offer patient assistance?

Many drug manufacturers also offer patient assistance programs for people who are eligible. Some pharmacies offer discounts on certain drugs, perhaps by negotiating discount prices by buying medications in bulk. Other organizations, such as the Department of Veterans Affairs, have drug assistance programs of their own.

Can you take part in a clinical trial for HIV?

You may also be able to take part in a clinical trial for a new HIV/AIDS treatment that isn’t yet available to the general public. Often, the medicines being tested in these trials will be free of charge. Clinical trials are safe, but they are still experimental, so there may be a higher risk of side effects.

Can HIV be treated?

People with HIV can live longer, healthier lives than ever before thanks to HIV medicines and other therapies. These include once-a-day pills that treat the infection. But HIV treatments can be expensive. HIV care involves a type of medication called antiretroviral therapy (ART) and regular visits with your doctor.

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Diagnosis

Treatment

Clinical Trials

Lifestyle and Home Remedies

Medically reviewed by
Dr. Karthikeya T M
Your provider will work with you to develop a care plan that may include one or more of these treatment options.
There is no cure for HIV / AIDS. Treatment can block the replication of virus in the body and slow down the disease progression.
Medication

Non-nucleoside reverse transcriptase inhibitors (NNRTIs): Disable a protein needed by HIV to make copies of itself.

Efavirenz . Etravirine . Nevirapine


Nucleoside or nucleotide reverse transcriptase inhibitors (NRTIs): Stops spreading of infection.

Abacavir . Tenofovir . Lamivudine/Zidovudine


Protease inhibitors (PIs): Blocks the action of an enzyme called protease, which is important for HIV replication

Atazanavir . Darunavir . Fosamprenavir . Indinavir


Entry or fusion inhibitors: These drugs block HIV's entry into CD4 cells.

Enfuvirtide . Maraviroc


Integrase inhibitors: These drugs work by disabling integrase, a protein that HIV uses to insert its genetic material into CD4 cells.

Raltegravir . Elvitegravir . Dolutegravir

Nutrition

Foods to eat are:

  • Eat plenty of fruits and vegetables:
  • Lean protein food: Lean beef, poultry, fish, eggs, beans, and nuts
  • Whole grains: carbohydrates give your body energy
  • Vitamin A & carotenes: Liver, whole eggs; milk; dark green, yellow, orange, and red vegetables and fruit -such as spinach, pumpkin, green peppers, squash, carrots, papaya, and mangoes
  • Vitamin B: White beans, potatoes, meat, fish, chicken, watermelon, grains, nuts, avocados, broccoli, and green leafy vegetables
  • Vitamin C: Citrus fruits - such as oranges, grapefruit, and lemons, tomatoes, and potatoes.
  • Iron rich foods sucha as green leafy vegetables, whole grain breads and pastas, dried fruit, beans, red meat, chicken, Liver, fish, and eggs

Alternative Medicine

Coping and Support

  • Currently, there's no cure for HIV/AIDS. Once you have the infection, your body can't get rid of it. However, there are many medications that can control HIV and prevent complications. These medications are called antiretroviral therapy (ART). Everyone diagnosed with HIV should be started on ART, regardless of their stage of infection or complicati...
See more on mayoclinic.org

Preparing For Your Appointment

  • Explore Mayo Clinic studiestesting new treatments, interventions and tests as a means to prevent, detect, treat or manage this condition.
See more on mayoclinic.org

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