HIV Treatment

There is no defined cure for Human Immunodeficiency Virus (HIV). Antiretroviral Therapy (ART) is the primary treatment for HIV. In this approach, patients must adhere strictly to Antiretroviral Regimens (ARVs) to help manage the virus and slow its effects (NIH, 2021). These ARVs also help prevent other complications and infections from attacking the patient. The ARVs are taken every day, and their purpose is to enable HIV patients to live healthy lives despite the virus and live longer. These medications also decrease the HIV transmission chances.

When a person gets infected with HIV, the virus spreads and attacks the immune system. In the immune system, the virus destroys the CD4 cells responsible for getting rid of infections. With the CD4 cells under attack, the patient's body is vulnerable to infections and HIV-related cancers. The HIV medications that are the ARVs fight and prevent the virus from duplicating itself and spreading. By preventing or reducing these multiplication processes, the CD4 cells can restructure and multiply more than the virus, thus giving them a chance to fight off the virus (Altice et al., 2019). The ARVs reduce the viral load, and that helps the immune system to recover and get stronger than the virus. From this point, the immune system can fight off infections and HIV-related complications, but the patient remains HIV positive.

The viral load is the amount of HIV in the patient's body, and these medications aim to reduce the amount of HIV to a point where it is undetectable when a viral load test is conducted. A patient with an undetectable viral load has some advantages, such as a reduced transmission rate, which means the chances of transmitting the virus to others are low or zero. Maintaining the viral load at the undetectable level helps the patient protect the people they engage with since they cannot infect them with the virus during sex.

As soon as a person is diagnosed with HIV, it is advisable to start taking medications immediately. Treating or managing the virus as early as possible gives a patient chance to live a better and healthier life (Back & Marzolini, 2020). Depending on the stage of the HIV infection and the fight, the drugs are classified into several categories. These categories are; protease inhibitors (PIs), post-attachment inhibitors, nucleoside reverse transcriptase inhibitors (NRTIs), integrase strand transfer inhibitors (INTIs), non-nucleoside reverse transcriptase inhibitors (NNRTIs), fusion inhibitors, and CCR5 antagonists. But again, based on the patient's personal preferences, they choose the medication they want to use for the treatment process. But again, a few considerations and factors are considered, such as drug interactions and the side effects associated with the drugs (Altice et al., 2019). These considerations help achieve the best results possible. The side effects of these medications are few compared to the benefits, and they are easily managed.

It is important to have a professional prescribe HIV medications based on the patient's health and other complications that the patient has. The ARVs can be used with other medications to treat other health issues, which is why professional input is important. Again, it is important for HIV patients to have regular checkups to examine the effectiveness or impacts of the medication (NIH, 2021). Regular checkups provide insight on whether to change medication or maintain the current medication based on the viral load.

Missing medical appointments or medications can result in severe outcomes for the patient. These appointments are essential for the patient to keep in good health. Medication adherence is the key to treating HIV. The seven classes of the HIV regimen are essential for healthcare professionals to explain to patients looking for the best regimen to use in the treatment process (NIH, 2021). After patients start taking their medications, achieving undetectable viral load, which is the goal of these medications, takes around three to six months. In that duration, the immune system is built back again and is strong enough to fight infections, and the patient has no risk of infection with the people they have sex with.