Current treatment for HIV

There are different types of treatments for HIV infection. There are treatments for opportunistic infections and prophylaxis treatments to prevent them from occurring in the first place.  Advances in treatment have seen the importance of this decline. Anti-viral therapy is now the gold standard for HIV treatment.

Anti-viral therapy is a combination of drugs taken together to attack HIV at different stages in its life cycle. The drugs used are called antiretrovirals, or ARVs. Sometimes the treatment is referred to as Combination Therapy, more commonly nowadays as HAART (This stands for Highly Active Antiretroviral Therapy.) The drugs reduce the viral load, the amount of HIV circulating in the blood stream. This also allows the immune system to recover and rebuild its’ defences. (This is measured by improvements in CD4 count.)

Many men taking ARVs have seen their viral load reduced to undetectable levels. This means they are much less likely to become ill. They work well and improvements in these drugs over the years have made them easier to take. They do have to be taken correctly however, and some people have problems with side effects. They represent a vast step forward in the move towards living well with HIV.