Each drug fights the virus in your body in a slightly different way. Research shows that a combination, or "cocktail," of drugs is the best way to control HIV and lower the chances that the virus will become resistant to treatment. Your doctor will probably recommend that you take three different medicines from two of the groups.
What is HIV treatment?
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 no effective cure for HIV.
Why is it important to take HIV medication consistently?
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.
Can HIV medicines prevent drug-resistant HIV from multiplying?
In other words, the HIV medicines can't prevent the drug-resistant HIV from multiplying. Drug resistance can cause HIV treatment to fail. 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.
What is drug-resistance testing for HIV (HIV)?
Drug resistance can cause HIV treatment to fail. 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.
Why antibiotics are given in combination?
Antibiotic combinations are increasingly important because of antimicrobial resistance. This means that individual antibiotics that used to be effective are no longer effective, and because of the absence of new classes of antibiotic, they allow old antibiotics to be continue to be used.
What are the advantages of using two antibiotics simultaneously to treat a disease?
Reasons for using combination therapyBroadening antibacterial spectrum. Use of more than one agent broadens the antibacterial spectrum of the empirical therapy and thus ensures that at least one agent will cover the infecting organism. ... Polymicrobial infections. ... Synergy. ... Emergence of resistance.
Why is Cocktail more effective than a single agent?
Abstract. Cocktails of drugs can be more effective than single drugs, because they can potentially work at lower doses and avoid resistance. However, it is impossible to test all drug cocktails drawn from a large set of drugs because of the huge number of combinations.
Why are there fewer antifungal and antiparasitic drugs in comparison to antibacterial drugs?
Because fungi are relatively closely related to humans, compared to bacteria, they have had less time to evolve differences, and so fewer selective targets exist (Table 6.2).
Why is a combination of different antibiotics used in the case of a severe community acquired pneumonia?
Different factors may explain the superiority of combination therapy compared with monotherapy for the treatment of patients with severe CAP. Combination therapy has a better coverage of atypical microorganisms in polymicrobial CAP, including both Chlamydia pneumonia and Mycoplasma pneumonia.
Why might more than one antibiotic be prescribed at the same time for certain infections?
One way to fight a particularly stubborn infection is to prescribe two drugs at once that attack it in alternate ways—for example, two antibiotics can disrupt two different parts of the bacteria's protein-building machinery.
Why is it called a cocktail?
In some old taverns, the last dregs of booze from the barrels of spirits, known as the cock-tailings, were chucked together and sold off cheap to drinkers, who would then call for 'cocktailings', later shortened to cocktails.
Why are they called well drinks?
These lower-cost spirits are usually stored within easy reach of the bartender, in the speed-rail or well, which explains the origin of the name. The well is the best place to keep the bar's most commonly poured liquors because of its easy access, and a good bartender can whip up a well drink very quickly.
What makes it a cocktail?
A cocktail drink is any mixed drink with at least two cocktail ingredients and is usually alcohol-based. Cocktails typically have a base liquor, like vodka or gin, and come with other flavored ingredients like fruit juice. Some drinks are simple and only involve two liquid ingredients.
Why are antifungal drugs effective?
Antifungal drugs target structures or functions that are necessary in fungal cells but not in human cells, so they can fight a fungal infection without damaging your body's cells. Two structures that are commonly targeted are the fungal cell membrane and the fungal cell wall.
Why the development of antifungal drugs represents a particularly difficult challenge to the scientific community?
Developing effective antifungals is a big challenge for science. This is because fungi cells are more closely related to human cells than other microbes such as bacteria. Meaning that compounds toxic to fungi will likely also be toxic to humans.
Why are there fewer antiviral drugs than antibacterial drugs quizlet?
Why are there far fewer antiviral agents than there are antibacterial agents? Viruses are much more similar to human cells than are bacteria. Viruses become drug resistant much faster than bacteria. Viruses enter host cells and make use of host components.
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 ...
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.
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.
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.
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 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. .