Medication (ARV Drugs) ·
Anti-viral therapy is a combination of drugs taken together to attack HIV at different stages in its life-cycle. This therapy does not eradicate HIV from the body completely. So while the therapy is not a cure, it is a life long treatment that keeps the virus in check. There have been remarkable improvements in both life expectancy and quality of life in the last ten years, as more and more of these drugs have become available.
The drugs used are called antiretrovirals, or ARVs. Sometimes the treatment is referred to as Combination Therapy, sometimes as HAART (Highly Active Antiretroviral Therapy. The drugs reduce the amount of HIV circulating in the bloodstream, as measured by a viral load test. This also allows the immune system to recover and rebuild its defences, as measured by improvements in your CD4 count.
Anti-HIV drugs are generally taken in a combination of three or more drugs at the same time, though they are often now co-formulated, meaning that two or more drugs are put in the same capsule. This may mean for example that you may only need to take two pills a day rather than three.
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