Treatment Guidelines
for the AIDS Patient

In 1981 when AIDS was first discovered, there were few drugs that could be used to treat this disease.  Because there was a scarcity of drugs to fight the virus and the associated infections that attacked the body, the diagnosis of HIV or AIDS meant the patient would die a painful and slow death.  Since then, medications have been developed to slow the advance of the disease and give the patient a better quality of life. 

In 1989, antiretroviral medications have been proven to extend the life of AIDS patients.  There is no known cure for AIDS, and many of the drugs used to extend life give the users severe side effects.  And all the drugs are expensive and not available for the poorer AIDS population.  This has been especially troublesome for the poorer countries of the world. 

Another sad fact is that some AIDS patients who have been on medication for their disease for over 20 years are developing a resistance to the drugs that is supposed to prolong their life.  When that happens, the body no longer responds to treatments for the disease.  There are over 40,000 patients in the United States who have developed this drug resistance.  A newer drug may help this group of people. 

The newest drugs that are being used to treat patients with HIV are the antiretroviral medications.  The United States Department of Health and Human Services has recently developed guidelines based on recommendations as HIV changes and scientists learn more.

Did You Know? 

Homeopathic treatments for patients with the early stages of HIV and for patients with early stages of AIDS have been proven effective. Some homeopaths have been able to help patients in advanced stages of AIDS but these are not considered a normal result. There are exceptions to this rule and some patients were given a better quality of life after receiving homeopathic treatment. The use of conventional drugs takes a toll on the body because of the many side effects. Conventional drugs can stop working if the virus becomes resistant to those drugs. An advantage to using homeopathic treatment is they can begin immediately when a patient starts displaying symptoms of opportunistic infections. Homeopathy has a history for success in treating infectious diseases. Many of the most fatal infections have successfully been treated with homeopathic treatment. History shows patients treated with this natural therapy had lower death rates from diseases like scarlet fever, pneumonia, typhoid, and cholera. Hospitals, prisons, and insane asylums experienced high success rates in treating patients with these diseases with homeopathic treatments. Homeopathic medicine is now being used to treat viral infections in the world today.

Present guidelines stress helping the AIDS patient have the best quality of life possible.  The goal for each individual is to find the strongest medication with the fewest side effects.  Patients should take an active part in deciding what treatment is right for them.  The patient and their doctor should discuss the treatment plan, evaluate the risks, and learn the benefits of all therapies before a decision is made.  As with any other serious condition, education is the key to understanding the treatment plan you choose.   Your decision should be an informed one and you should know that your treatment would be complex and long-term. 

These antiretroviral drugs slow down the growth and reproduction of HIV in the cells of the body.  There are five classes of these drugs and they include:

• Nucleoside analogue reverse transcriptase inhibitors
• Protease inhibitors
• Nonnucleoside reverse transcriptase inhibitors
• Nucleotide reverse transcriptase inhibitors
• Fusion inhibitors

It is important to know how these drugs work and what side effects they may have.  Some will cause dizziness, lack of concentration, and sleeplessness.  Most of these drugs will also cause vomiting, diarrhea, nausea and gas.  The level of HIV in your blood measures the effects of the drugs.  Those in treatment should be tested for viral load ever three to four months.

AIDS Facts Researchers are trying to develop a chemical that can be used during sex as a barrier to passing on the disease.

New treatments are in development and in clinical trials.  Scientists and researchers believe that an AIDS vaccine will not be available soon.  There is a new drug undergoing tests that may attack the HIV virus in its final stage and another drug under research that may stop the HIV from entering a cell.  These may be available to some patients who have exhausted all other methods of treatments.

Important Information in AIDS and HIV Issues

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