Medical treatment of HIV/aids in Delhi, Medical treatment of HIV/aids – The treatment of HIV/AIDS with medicines is called antiretroviral therapy (ART). It is recommended for everyone who has HIV.
Diagnosis of HIV
HIV is diagnosed by blood or saliva Samples.
Available tests include HIV
Antigen/antibody test. These tests usually involve drawing blood from a vein. Antigens are substances found on the HIV virus itself and are usually detectable – a positive test – in the blood a few weeks after exposure to HIV.
Antibodies are generally produced by your immune system when it’s exposed to HIV. It can take weeks to months for antibodies to become detectable. The combination antigen/antibody tests can take 2 to 6 weeks after exposure to become positive.
Antibody tests. These tests look for antibodies to HIV in blood or saliva. Most rapid HIV tests, including home self-tests, are antibody tests. Antibody tests can take 3 to 12 weeks after you’re exposed to become positive.
Nucleic acid tests (NATs). These tests look for the real virus in the blood (viral load). They also involve blood taken from a vein. If you might have been exposed to HIV within the past few weeks, your healthcare provider may recommend NAT. The NAT will be the first test to become positive after exposure to HIV.
Talk to your healthcare provider about which HIV test is right for you. If any of these tests are negative, you may still need a follow-up test week to a month later to confirm the results.
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Medical treatment HIV- Test disease & stages
If you have been diagnosed with HIV, it is important to find a specialist trained in HIV diagnosis and treatment to help you:
Determine if you need extra tests
Determine which HIV antiretroviral therapy (ART) will be best for you. Check your progress and work with you to manage your health
If you receive a diagnosis of HIV/AIDS, several tests can help your healthcare provider determine the stage of your disease and the best treatment, including:
CD4 T cell count. CD4 T cells are white blood cells that are targeted and destroyed by HIV. Even if you have no symptoms, HIV infection progresses to AIDS when the CD4 T cell count drops below 200. 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.
Drug resistance. Some strains of HIV are drug resistant. This test helps your healthcare provider determine if your specific form of the virus has resistance and guides treatment decisions.
Tests for complications
Your healthcare provider might also order lab tests to check for other infections or complications, including:
- Tuberculosis
- Hepatitis B or hepatitis C virus infection
- STIs
- Liver or kidney damage
- Urinary tract infection
- Cervical and anal cancer
- Cytomegalovirus
- Toxoplasmosis
Treatment of HIV/AIDS
There is currently no cure for HIV/AIDS. Once you have the infection, your body cannot get rid of it. But, many drugs can control HIV and prevent complications. These drugs are called antiretroviral therapy (ART). Everyone diagnosed with HIV should start ART, regardless of the stage of infection or complications. ART is usually a combination of two or more drugs from different drug classes. This approach has the best chance of reducing the amount of HIV in the blood. There are many ART options that combine many HIV medications into one pill, taken once daily.
Each class of drugs blocks the virus in different ways.
Medical treatment of HIV involves combinations of drugs from different classes to:
- Individual monitoring of drug resistance (viral genotype)
- Avoid creating new drug-resistant strains of HIV Maximize suppression of the virus in the blood
Typically, two drugs from one class are used, plus a third drug from a second class.
Classes of anti-HIV drugs include:
- Non-nucleoside reverse transcriptase inhibitors (NNRTIs) turn off a protein that HIV needs to reproduce.
- Examples include efavirenz (Sustiva), rilpivirine (Edurant) and doravirine (Pifeltro).
- Nucleoside or nucleotide reverse transcriptase inhibitors (NRTIs) are faulty versions of the building blocks that HIV needs to reproduce.
- Examples include abacavir (Ziagen), tenofovir disoproxil fumarate (Viread), emtricitabine (Emtriva), lamivudine (Epivir) and zidovudine (Retrovir).
- Combination drugs also are available, such as emtricitabine/tenofovir disoproxil fumarate (Truvada) and emtricitabine/tenofovir alafenamide fumarate (Descovy).
- Protease inhibitors (PIs) inactivate HIV protease, another protein that HIV needs to reproduce.
- Examples include atazanavir (Reyataz), darunavir (Prezista) and lopinavir/ritonavir (Kaletra).
- Integrase inhibitors work by turning off a protein called integrase, which HIV uses to insert its genetic material into CD4 T cells.
- Examples include bictegravir sodium/emtricitabine/tenofovir alafenamide fumarate (Biktarvy), raltegravir (Isentress), dolutegravir (Tivicay) and cabotegravir (Vocabria).
- Entry or fusion inhibitors block the entry of HIV into CD4 T cells.
- Examples include enfuvirtide (Fuzeon) and maraviroc (Selzentry).
Start and continuation of Medical treatment for HIV
- All HIV-infected people, regardless of their CD4 T-cell count or symptoms, should be offered antiviral drugs.
- Staying on effective ART with an undetectable HIV viral load in the blood is the best way to stay healthy.
- For ART to be effective, it is important to take the drugs as prescribed, without skipping or skipping any doses.
- Staying on ART with an undetectable viral load helps:
- Keep your immune system strong
- Reduce your chances of getting an infection
- Reduce your chances of developing drug-resistant HIV
- Reduce your chances of transmitting HIV to others
It can be difficult to stay on HIV treatment. It’s important to talk to your healthcare provider about possible side effects, difficulty taking medications and any mental health or substance abuse issues that may make it difficult to maintain ART.
Having regular follow-up appointments with your healthcare provider to watch your health and response to treatment is also important. Let your provider know right away if you’re having problems with HIV therapy so that you can work together to find ways to address those challenges.
Side effects of Medical treatment of HIV
Side effects of treatment can include:
- Nausea, vomiting, or diarrhea
- Heart disease
- Kidney and liver damage
- Weakened bones or bone loss
- Abnormal cholesterol levels
- Higher blood sugar
- Cognitive and emotional issues, as well as sleep issues
Medical treatment of HIV age-related diseases
Some health issues that are a natural part of aging can be more difficult to manage if you have HIV. Some drugs that are common for age-related heart, bone, or metabolic diseases, for example, may not interact well with anti-HIV drugs.
It’s important to talk to your healthcare provider about your other health conditions and the medications you’re taking.
If you are started on medications by another healthcare provider, it’s important to let the provider know about your HIV therapy. This will allow the provider to make sure there are no interactions between the medications.
Treatment response
Your healthcare provider will check your viral load and CD4 T cell counts to determine your response to HIV treatment. These will be initially checked at 4 to 6 weeks, and then every 3 to 6 months.
The treatment must reduce the viral load so that it is undetectable in the blood. It does not mean that your HIV is gone. Although not present in the blood, HIV is still present in other parts of the body, such as the lymph nodes and internal organs.
Clinical trials
Explore Hivtestingcounselling.com studies testing new treatments, interventions, and tests as a means to prevent, detect, treat or manage this condition.
Lifestyle & Home Remedies
- In addition to receiving medical treatment, need to that you take an active role in your own care. The following tips can help you stay healthy longer: Eat healthy foods. Make sure you get enough nourishment. Fresh fruits and vegetables, whole grains, and lean proteins help keep you strong, give you more energy and support your immune system.
- Avoid raw meat, eggs, and more.
- Get the right vaccinations. These can prevent typical infections such as pneumonia and flu. Your health care provider may also recommend other vaccinations, including for HPV, hepatitis A, and hepatitis B.Inactivated vaccines are generally safe, but most live virus vaccines are not, due to your weakened immune system.
- Take care of companion animals. Some animals can carry parasites that can cause infections in people with HIV.
- Alternative Medicine People with HIV infection sometimes try dietary supplements that claim to boost the immune system or counteract the side effects of anti-HIV drugs.
Preparing for your appointment
If you think you might have an HIV infection, you’re likely to start by seeing your family healthcare provider. You may be referred to an infectious disease specialist who also specializes in the treatment of HIV/AIDS.
What you can do
Before your appointment, consider answering these questions and take them to your appointment:
If you think you might have HIV infection,
Take steps to protect yourself and others before your appointment.
- Don’t have unprotected sex.
- If you use illicit injection drugs, always use a fresh, clean needle. Don’t share needles with others.
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