What
Can We Do about It?
Treatment: Reasons for Hope
So far there
is no known cure for AIDS, but medical researchers worldwide are constantly
working to find one and have made considerable progress toward understanding
the nature of the disease. Meanwhile treatment is available and increasingly
effective.
Thanks to medical advances in the 1990s, many people living with HIV/AIDS
can now have relatively normal lives.
Mother to baby transmission of HIV (during pregnancy, childbirth, or breastfeeding)
is now rare and can be avoided completely with proper medical care.
Many of the common opportunistic infections associated
with HIV/AIDS can be treated, and some can be prevented altogether. Combination
drug therapies, also known as 'cocktails' are being successfully used
to slow down HIV's replication in the body. Folk
remedies (remedios tradicionales) quite often prove effective in alleviating
side effects of HIV/AIDS drugs though they should, of course, be used
with caution and attention to cleanliness and possible drug interactions.
New treatments continue to prolong and improve the quality of life for
people with HIV/AIDS.
Taking care of others
If you are (or suspect you might be) HIV-positive, you don't have to drastically
alter your lifestyle to avoid spreading infection. The most important
thing is to follow the basic rules: Don't have unsafe sex (sex without
a condom). Don't share needles. A doctor can advise you about
a few more simple precautions to protect others. If you think there is
any possibility you may have infected other people, find a way to let
them know they should get tested.
Taking
care of yourself
If you have any reason at all to think you may have contracted HIV, you
owe it to yourself to take the test. If you test 'negative', which means
there is no virus present, it will set your mind at rest (but don't neglect
precautions in the future!). If you test positive, you can get the counseling
and treatment you need. The sooner treatment starts, the more effective
it is likely to be.
National AIDS Hotline:
1-800-232-4636
TTY: 1-888-232-6348
Email: cdcinfo@cdc.gov
