Thanks to advancements in medical science, being infected with HIV is no longer a death sentence. With proper care, HIV patients can have a normal life expectancy. Starting treatment as early as possible with highly active antiretroviral therapy (HAART is crucial. HAART reduces the number of viral particles in the body, preventing the immune system from being weakened by the virus and enabling it to fight off other infections. Most deaths from AIDS (the late stage of untreated HIV infection) are not directly caused by HIV but by opportunistic infections.
Therefore, preventing these infections is critical.
HAART Drugs and Their Categories
- Reverse Transcriptase Inhibitors: Prevent viral particles from reproducing.
- Protease Inhibitors: Render newly-formed viral particles harmless.
- Integrase Inhibitors: Prevent viral DNA from entering human cell chromosomes, thus stopping viral reproduction.
- Fusion Inhibitors: Prevent viral particles from entering immune cells.
- Chemokine Receptor Antagonists: Also prevent viral particles from entering immune cells.
Common HAART Regimens
- Emtricitabine (reverse transcriptase inhibitor) with Biktarvy (integrase inhibitor)
- Tivicay (integrase inhibitor) plus Truvada (reverse transcriptase inhibitor)
- Isentress (integrase inhibitor) with Truvada (reverse transcriptase inhibitor)
- Triumeq (combination integrase inhibitor, two reverse transcriptase inhibitors)
These combinations attack the virus at different points in its lifecycle. When the optimal combination of medications for an individual patient is found, the viral load can be lowered to undetectable levels in less than six months.
Treating HIV With QuickMD
Did you know? QuickMD can refill your HIV medications remotely via telemedicine and prescribe Truvada or other anti-HIV medications online. We can also remotely order labs for you to monitor your kidney and liver functions while on HIV medications.
