Human Immunodeficiency Virus in short HIV is a retrovirus.
The rate of this virus is increasing day-by-day because of no cure.
However, an antiretroviral medication is available to control HIV virus.
HIV treatment through antiretroviral medications is known as Combined Antiretroviral Therapy or Highly Active Antiretroviral Therapy (HAART).
The antiretroviral medications are also known as antiretrovirals, anti-HIV drugs or HIV antiviral drugs.
HAART is a combination of various anti-HIV drugs to fight against HIV and slow down the copying of HIV in your body. Remember that HIV treatment with antiretroviral medications cannot cure HIV, it only control the HIV virus from making copies of it.
This HIV treatment option is currently recommended by United States National Institutes of Health to all HIV patients as a way to control the virus and to remain strong and healthy for very long time.
It is estimated that over sixty million people all over the world are with HIV infection. Approximately fourteen thousand new HIV cases are raising each day and half of these are young adults below age twenty-five.
Once this virus enters your body it attacks the T Cell and starts replicating the copies of it and damages the immune system to defend against the virus. HIV treatment with medications controls the virus by stopping the reproduction process within the cells.
The medications used for HIV treatment will be in tablet form and these should be taken regularly at the prescribed times. Stopping the doses can make the virus to become drug resistant. So, it is essential to have treatment continuously for the rest of your life.
HAART, a HIV treatment option consists of four anti-HIV drugs: Nucleoside/Nucleotide reverse transcriptase inhibitors (NRTIs), Non-nucleoside reverse transcriptase inhibitors (NNRTIs), Protease inhibitors, and Fusion inhibitors. Each of these HIV antiviral drugs acts differently in invading the virus.
Nucleoside Reverse Transcriptase Inhibitors (NRTI): Also known as nucleoside analogs, or backbone. It is the first anti-HIV drug for HIV treatment to fight against the virus. It works by stopping the reproduction of new copies of HIV virus.
Non-Nucleoside Reverse Transcriptase Inhibitors (NNRTI): These are second antiretroviral drugs group that stops the HIV virus from replicating itself within the T-cells by restraining the reverse transcriptase protein.
Protease Inhibitors (PI): It is the third antiretrovirals group that restrains a protein called protease, which is involved in the HIV reproduction course.
Fusion Inhibitors (FI): Also known as entry inhibitors. It is another antiretrovirals group that stops the HIV virus from entering the cells. It is usually given to those who have already undergone other treatments.
The HIV treatment with medication is not effective equally in all cases; there can be some side effects with these anti-HIV drugs. The most common side effects are: nausea, sleeplessness, headache, diarrhea, joint pains, fatigue, and skin problems.
With HIV treatment, you should consult your doctor for every three months in order to have regular blood tests for making sure that the HIV treatment is working and is not causing any serious side effects.
