HIV Medications And Treatment Plays An Active Role In Combating the Virus

Posted by Harsh A on August 29th, 2019

HIV medicine plays a vital role in preventing the multiplication of the virus in the body. When HIV is lesser in number, then the body's ability to fight with the virus is much easier. HIV medication is designed in such a way that if it is taken regularly, it will decrease the virus load in the body. There are many chances that these medicines will also reduce the transmission of the virus from one person to another.

HIV medications involve a combination of ART (antiretroviral therapy) which if not taken even a single day, then the body can develop drug-resistant strains of HIV. These drugs are given to every individual who has HIV, regardless of when and how he got the infection.

Like any other medicines, even ART has some side effects; however, not everyone taking HIV medications will experience those side effects as it may vary from person to person. Some of the common side effects are discussed below:

• Nausea and vomiting

• Diarrhea

• Dry mouth

• Headache

• Dizziness

• Fatigue

India has nearly 2.1 million people living with HIV making it the 3rd most massive HIV epidemic in the world. Nevertheless, India has shown improvement by reducing the number of active HIV cases by half in number since 2001 through HIV treatment in India.

HIV can be prevented if necessary precautions are taken. HIV is such a virus which is only transmitted through unprotected sex if infected bodily fluids are exposed such as semen, blood, breast milk, it is also transmitted from an infected mother to child during pregnancy and breastfeeding. If safety measures are taken at the right time, then HIV prevention is not impossible. Apart from these proper counseling from a trained counselor is needed to understand HIV.

HIV Treatment:

HIV is incurable but can be controlled by taking different drugs as prescribed by your health care provider. He will monitor your viral load and CD4 cell count to determine the response to the prompt HIV treatment. CD4 cell counts should be checked every six months. CD4 cells are a part of the immune system in the body which fight against infections.

Viral load is tested to diagnose the presence of infection before starting any treatment, hence to know the progress of the treatment, it is suggested that viral load is checked once every four months during the therapy.

PEP (Post-exposure prophylaxis is another HIV prevention method where your doctor suggests one month course of ART drugs (Antiretroviral), provided the first dose is taken immediately within 72 hours of possible exposure to the infection.

To determine the risk of HIV, visit the following website, and take the quiz questionnaire: https://yes4me.net/