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The treatment for HIV is called antiretroviral therapy (ART). ART involves taking a combination of HIV medicines (called an HIV treatment regimen) every day. ART is recommended for everyone who has HIV. ART cannot cure HIV, but HIV medicines help people with HIV live longer, healthier lives.
What does ART medication do?
ART are medications that treat HIV. The drugs do not kill or cure the virus. However, when taken in combination they can prevent the growth of the virus. When the virus is slowed down, so is HIV disease.
What is the benefit in taking ART treatment?
Anti-retroviral therapy (ART) effectively suppresses replication, if taken at the right time. Successful viral suppression restores the immune system and halts onset and progression of disease as well as reduces chances of getting opportunistic infections – this is how ART is aimed to work.
What is the purpose of antiretroviral drugs?
The aim of antiretroviral therapy is to reduce the amount of HIV in the blood to very low levels. Viral suppression occurs when the count reaches fewer than 200 copies of the virus per milliliter of blood.
What are the side effects of ART medicine?
Other side effects from antiretroviral drugs can include: hypersensitivity or allergic reactions, with symptoms such as fever, nausea, and vomiting. bleeding. bone loss. heart disease. high blood sugar and diabetes. lactic acidosis (high lactic acid levels in the blood) kidney, liver, or pancreas damage.
Is ART same as ARV?
ART stands for antiretroviral treatment. It is also called combination therapy or HIV treatment. What are ARVs? HIV drugs are called antiretrovirals (ARVs) because HIV is a type of virus called a retrovirus.
How long does it take for antiretrovirals to work?
Most people living with HIV who start taking antiretroviral therapy daily as prescribed achieve an undetectable viral load within one to six months after beginning treatment.
How long does antiretroviral therapy last?
Abstract. The median duration of highly active antiretroviral therapy (HAART) regimens was reported to be 11.8 months in one US study, but that study included both treatment-experienced and treatment-naive patients.
How much does antiretroviral cost?
But HIV treatments can be expensive. HIV care involves a type of medication called antiretroviral therapy (ART) and regular visits with your doctor. One study estimated that costs of this care could run anywhere between $1,800 to $4,500 each month during a person’s lifetime.
Can ARV cause your face to be dark?
This is a skin condition in which the skin reacts to exposure to the sun by turning darker in color. It’s most common in people of color, but anyone with HIV is susceptible to photodermatitis. If you’re taking medications to improve immune strength, you may have this reaction as a side effect.
Do ARVs make you gain weight?
Weight gain is a common side effect of antiretroviral therapy (ART). On average, people put on about 4 pounds during the first 2 years of their treatment. Most of that gain happens in the first year.
Does ARVs damage liver?
Fortunately, modern antiretrovirals are generally much easier on the liver than older meds that are no longer widely used. Liver damage is most likely to occur with drugs that are mainly processed by the liver (others are mainly processed by the kidneys).
What is the meaning of ART treatment?
The treatment for HIV is called antiretroviral therapy (ART). ART involves taking a combination of HIV medicines (called an HIV treatment regimen) every day. ART is recommended for everyone who has HIV. People with HIV should start taking HIV medicines as soon as possible.
What drugs are in ART therapy?
Nucleoside/Nucleotide Reverse Transcriptase Inhibitors (NRTIs) Abacavir, or ABC (Ziagen) Didanosine, or ddl (Videx) Emtricitabine, or FTC (Emtriva) Lamivudine, or 3TC (Epivir) Stavudine, or d4T (Zerit) Tenofovir alafenamide, or TAF (Vemlidy) Tenofovir disoproxil fumarate, or TDF (Viread) Zidovudine or ZDV (Retrovir).
Can I infect someone while on ARVs?
U=U is a scientifically proven concept that people with HIV who take ARVs daily as prescribed, and achieve and maintain an undetectable viral load, have effectively no risk of transmitting the virus to someone else through sex.
What is the difference between hiv1 and hiv2?
HIV-1 is the most common type of HIV and accounts for 95% of all infections, whereas HIV-2 is relatively uncommon and less infectious. HIV-2 is mainly concentrated in West Africa and the surrounding countries. HIV-2 is less fatal and progresses more slowly than HIV-1.
Does ARVs change body shape?
Lipodystrophy, or “lipo” for short, is a collection of body shape changes in people taking antiretroviral medications (ARVs). “Lipo” refers to fat, and “dystrophy” means bad growth. These changes include fat loss, fat deposits, and metabolic changes. Fat loss occurs in the arms, legs, or face (sunken cheeks).
Do you have to tell someone you are undetectable?
Having an undetectable viral load and continuing to stay on medication means you are not putting your partner(s) at risk. There is no moral imperative to disclose when you are not putting your partner at risk.
Are antiretroviral drugs free?
Since 2006 government has provided free antiretroviral treatment at designated facilities in the country, which has an estimated 3.1 million people living with HIV/AIDS.
Can I drink alcohol while on ARV?
There are no interactions between alcohol and ARVs. More heavy drinking however can lead to missing doses of your ARVs. This can cause your treatment to fail. This means that if you have a drink, make sure you find a way to not miss any of your meds.
What is the name of the new ARV pill?
Early results from people taking a new antiretroviral medication called lenacapavir are promising. The long-acting drug is still at the research stage, but if the developers are able to pair it effectively with other drugs that also only needs to be taken twice a year, it could revolutionise HIV treatment.
Can you get ARVs at the pharmacy?
While pharmacists have not yet been authorised to prescribe ART, PEP (post-exposure prophylaxis), or PrEP in South Africa, the EPIC consortium has piloted the initiation of ART, PEP, and PrEP at multiple pharmacies across the country – including in both independent and corporate pharmacies.
