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- What is AIDS?
- Symptoms of AIDS
- Causes of AIDS
- Prevention of AIDS
- Risk factors for AIDS
- Complications of AIDS
- When to see a doctor about AIDS
- Diagnosis of AIDS
- Conventional treatment of AIDS
- Alternative/complementary treatment of AIDS
- Living with AIDS
- Caring for someone with AIDS
Conventional treatment of AIDS
Scientists have developed many anti-retroviral drugs to fight both HIV infection (and prevent replication of the virus) to stop its associated opportunistic infections and cancers.
Medication: Anti-retroviral drugs
Current guidelines for AIDS/HIV treatment is to suppress symptoms for as long as possible with combination drug treatment, but to also achieve this through the least amount of side effects possible in order to provide the best quality of life.
The medical (drug) approach for AIDS is known as the highly active anti-retroviral therapy (HAART). The objective of the HAART is to reduce the virus levels in the blood to very low or non-detectable levels, which means that symptoms are greatly reduced or even stopped altogether, but this treatment does not mean that the virus has been killed off and is now gone. The HAART approach is normally achieved with a combination of three or more medications, which will discussed with the doctor who will devise an individual treatment plan.
The most commonly prescribed medications for AIDS/HIV are:
- Cellular inhibitors - these types of drug is used as an anti-neoplastic, which means they are used to treat various types of cancers associated with AIDS; this type of drug targets the T cells themselves and not the virus; this drug should only be used under medical supervision as it can have very serious (even fatal) side effects
- Entry inhibitors (including fusion inhibitors) - these class of drugs prevent the virus from entering healthy CD4+ cells (T cells) and replicating, which means they are different to many other anti-HIV drugs (which work on the virus after it has entered the CD4+ cell)
- Immune based therapies - these are a type of anti-viral medications that control HIV infection by preventing HIV from replicating in the body; various approaches are being used and large clinical trials are being investigated - these drugs are still in the experimental stage and have not yet been officially approved as a HIV/AIDS treatment
- Integrase inhibitors - an experimental drug showing promise in clinical trials and which may offer hope for those people who have become resistant to the other drugs normally prescribed in anti-HIV treatment; stops HIV from further replicating through the DNA
- Maturation inhibitors - these type of drugs that specifically block a late step in processing of the HIV protein to stop HIV-infected cells from becoming infectious and to terminate virus replication; an experimental class of drugs currently in clinical trials to investigate their use in people with HIV infection resistant to the current class of drugs
- Multi-class combination drugs - these are single drug doses which have a combination of a few types of anti-HIV drugs to simplify drug dosage to be administered in a single dose
- Non-nucleoside reverse transcriptase inhibitors (NNRTIs) - these class of drugs are a type of anti-HIV drug and prevent healthy T cells (CD4+ cells) from becoming infected with HIV; one NNRTI is used in combination with 3 other anti-HIV drugs
- Nucleoside/nucleotide reverse transcriptase inhibitors (NRTI) - these are a class of anti-HIV drugs, used in together with other anti-HIV drugs; these drugs prevent the T cells from being infected with HIV
- Protease inhibitors - these are another class of anti-HIV drugs; when one of these drugs is used in combination with 3 other anti-HIV drugs, they can block the replication of HIV in infected T (CD4+) cells
Drug combinations are used to really suppress the human immunodeficiency virus' action of replication and is used on people with AIDS and also those with a new or existing HIV infection.
All drugs have some associated side-effects (from minor ones to those which could be life-threatening), which must be considered by the doctor when choosing the right medication for the patient. Often, medications are swapped for others if the side effects have a strongly detrimental effect on the infected person. In addition to this, there may be some dietary restrictions with some of these drugs. Your doctor will also advise on the interaction of these drugs with other medications.
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Lifestyle modifications
People with AIDS are also advised to following the following strategies to help their body better cope with the disease:
- Avoid taking illicit drugs - illicit drugs may weaken your immune system, which is not functioning as well as it should be
- Exercise - people with AIDS/HIV need to get adequate and regular exercise to help increase strength, flexibility and overall energy, as well as to reduce any psychological problems such as anxiety or depression
- Flu shot - it may be advisable for people with AIDS/HIV to get a flu shot (but ensure to get doctor's approval). Studies show that the flu shot may prevent many types of influenza (the "flu") as well as infectious complications such as pneumonia, which may become very serious in people with AIDS/HIV
- Healthy diet - people who have AIDS/HIV need to be eating a really healthy diet, preferably organic and which includes lots of fresh fruits and vegetables, legumes, nuts and seeds, wholegrains, low fat dairy, oily fish, some poultry and red meat. Studies show that organic foods tend to have higher levels of all the nutrients and can help to improve the immune system (through the antioxidants in these foods) and may increase energy levels
- Limit alcohol intake - while it may seem to be helpful to numb the pain with alcohol, it is not advised to drink excessively, as it can cause a number of adverse health effects in a body which needs as much help as possible with such a serious health condition
- Relaxation - studies show that relaxation therapies are a useful adjunct to conventional treatment for AIDS/HIV. Good relaxation therapies are: meditation, tai chi, yoga, as well as a number of other useful relaxation therapies
- Rest well - it is really important to have enough good quality sleep which rests the body and helps it heal
- Stop smoking - cigarettes cause a depletion of many vitamins and minerals in the body, especially vitamin C, which is needed to help the body fight the infection and in addition to this, just puts the body at even greater risk of developing cancer
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