![]() Reduce your chances of getting an infection.Staying on ART with an undetectable viral load helps: Remaining on effective ART with an undetectable HIV viral load in the blood is the best way for you to stay healthy.įor ART to be effective, it's important that you take the medications as prescribed, without missing or skipping any doses. Integrase inhibitors work by disabling a protein called integrase, which HIV uses to insert its genetic material into CD4 T cells.Įxamples include bictegravir sodium/emtricitabine/tenofovir alafenamide fumarate (Biktarvy), raltegravir (Isentress), dolutegravir (Tivicay) and cabotegravir (Vocabria).Įntry or fusion inhibitors block HIV's entry into CD4 T cells.Įxamples include enfuvirtide (Fuzeon) and maraviroc (Selzentry).Įveryone with HIV infection, regardless of the CD4 T cell count or symptoms, should be offered antiviral medication. Protease inhibitors (PIs) inactivate HIV protease, another protein that HIV needs to make copies of itself.Įxamples include atazanavir (Reyataz), darunavir (Prezista) and lopinavir/ritonavir (Kaletra). Nucleoside or nucleotide reverse transcriptase inhibitors (NRTIs) are faulty versions of the building blocks that HIV needs to make copies of itself.Įxamples include abacavir (Ziagen), tenofovir disoproxil fumarate (Viread), emtricitabine (Emtriva), lamivudine (Epivir) and zidovudine (Retrovir).Ĭombination drugs also are available, such as emtricitabine/tenofovir disoproxil fumarate (Truvada) and emtricitabine/tenofovir alafenamide fumarate (Descovy). Non-nucleoside reverse transcriptase inhibitors (NNRTIs) turn off a protein needed by HIV to make copies of itself.Įxamples include efavirenz (Sustiva), rilpivirine (Edurant) and doravirine (Pifeltro). Two drugs from one class, plus a third drug from a second class, are typically used. Maximize suppression of virus in the blood.Avoid creating new drug-resistant strains of HIV. ![]() Account for individual drug resistance (viral genotype).Treatment involves combinations of drugs from different classes to: There are many ART options that combine multiple HIV medications into one pill, taken once daily.Įach class of drugs blocks the virus in different ways. This approach has the best chance of lowering the amount of HIV in the blood. Everyone diagnosed with HIV should be started on ART, regardless of their stage of infection or complications.ĪRT is usually a combination of two or more medications from several different drug classes. These medications are called antiretroviral therapy (ART). However, there are many medications that can control HIV and prevent complications. Once you have the infection, your body can't get rid of it. Hepatitis B or hepatitis C virus infectionĬurrently, there's no cure for HIV/ AIDS.Your health care provider might also order lab tests to check for other infections or complications, including: This test helps your health care provider determine if your specific form of the virus has resistance and guides treatment decisions. Some strains of HIV are resistant to medications. This significantly reduces your chances of opportunistic infection and other HIV-related complications. After starting HIV treatment, the goal is to have an undetectable viral load. This test measures the amount of virus in your blood. Even if you have no symptoms, HIV infection progresses to AIDS when your CD4 T cell count dips below 200. CD4 T cells are white blood cells that are specifically targeted and destroyed by HIV. If you receive a diagnosis of HIV/ AIDS, several tests can help your health care provider determine the stage of your disease and the best treatment, including: Monitor your progress and work with you to manage your health.Determine which HIV antiretroviral therapy (ART) will be best for you.Determine whether you need additional testing.If you've been diagnosed with HIV, it's important to find a specialist trained in diagnosing and treating HIV to help you: If any of these tests are negative, you may still need a follow-up test weeks to months later to confirm the results. Talk to your health care provider about which HIV test is right for you. NAT will be the first test to become positive after exposure to HIV. If you might have been exposed to HIV within the past few weeks, your health care provider may recommend NAT. They also involve blood drawn from a vein. These tests look for the actual virus in your blood (viral load). Antibody tests can take 3 to 12 weeks after you're exposed to become positive. Most rapid HIV tests, including self-tests done at home, are antibody tests. These tests look for antibodies to HIV in blood or saliva. The combination antigen/antibody tests can take 2 to 6 weeks after exposure to become positive. It can take weeks to months for antibodies to become detectable. Antibodies are produced by your immune system when it's exposed to HIV.
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