What is the best medication for HIV?
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 difference between HIV and SIDA?
AIDS is the most serious stage of HIV, and it leads to death over time. Without treatment, it usually takes about 10 years for someone with HIV to develop AIDS. Treatment slows down the damage the virus causes and can help people stay healthy for several decades.
What is the three drug cocktail for HIV?
The cocktail that worked best included the oldest HIV drug, AZT; Epivir, known as 3TC; and efavirenz, sold under the brand name Sustiva.
What is the difference between ART and ARV?
ART stands for ARV treatment. It is also called combination therapy or HIV treatment. ART usually includes two or three active HIV drugs, sometimes in a single pill. Sometimes ART includes a booster drug.
How many antiretroviral drugs are there?
There are more than 30 antiretroviral medications in six drug classes; these are listed below. Each class of drug attacks HIV in a different way.
Can I take multivitamins with ARVs?
For patients who require ARVs, multivitamin supplementation may serve as an adjunctive therapy to potentially enhance quality of life. In addition, reducing the risk of depression and improving quality of life among HIV-positive patients may positively impact utilization of ARVs.
How long can a person live on Arvs?
A 2017 study in the journal AIDS found that the additional life expectancy for people with HIV at age 20 during the early monotherapy era was 11.8 years. However, that number rose to 54.9 years for the most recent combination antiretroviral era.
What’s the best time to take ARV?
Take with or without food. Take on an empty stomach (preferably at bedtime), to reduce the incidence of side-effects (particularly avoid taking it soon after a high-fat meal as this increases the risk of side-effects). Take with or after food (within two hours after a main meal or within half an hour after a snack).
Can I take vitamin C with ARV?
John’s wort, vitamin C, zinc sulfate, and multivitamins were all found to significantly decrease the levels of selected antiretrovirals and should be avoided in patients taking these antiretrovirals.
What are antiretroviral drugs for HIV?
Antiretroviral drugs are effective treatments for HIV. Organizations around the world recommend that everyone with HIV begins this type of therapy as soon as possible after receiving their diagnosis. These drugs can also reduce the risk of HIV-related complications, stop the virus from progressing, and prevent transmission to others.
Who should take antiretroviral therapy for HIV?
The Centers for Disease Control and Protection (CDC) recommend that all people with HIV take antiretroviral therapy, regardless of how long they have had the virus or their current state of health. Antiretroviral therapy has become more potent, less toxic, and easier to use than in the past.
What is the treatment for HIV infection?
HIV is a retrovirus that targets the immune system, which is the system that fights off infection and disease. The virus damages or destroys white blood cells called CD4 cells. This makes it difficult for the body to fight off illness. Antiretroviral therapy prevents the virus from multiplying, which reduces the amount of HIV in the body.
How do protease inhibitors work against HIV?
Protease inhibitors (PIs) work by blocking an enzyme known as protease. Once HIV takes over the genetic machinery of the host cell, it produces long-chain proteins that must be cut into smaller pieces (by protease) in order to be assembled into a new viral particle.