How is HIV treated?

Current HIV antiviral treatments and treatments for opportunistic infections are prolonging the lives of many HIV+ individuals. However, many of the drugs used to treat HIV are very harsh on the body, very difficult to take, and don’t work for some people. Research is making great strides toward developing vaccines and better medications for people who are living with HIV, but there is still no cure.

Most people who are taking HIV treatments are taking two or more medications at the same time. This is called Highly Active Anti-Retroviral Therapy (HAART). It may also be called combination therapy or “the cocktail”. Combination therapy has been found most effective at combating HIV by attacking the virus in many different ways. There are currently three main classes of medications that are used to treat HIV: Entry Inhibitors, Reverse Transcriptase Inhibitors (Nucleoside, Non-Nucleoside, Nucleotide), and Protease Inhibitors. If you have specific questions regarding medications, side effects, interactions