Human Immunodeficiency Virus, HIV, is a virus that attacks and compromises the immune system of a patient. If untreated it could lead to Acquired Immunodeficiency Deficiency Syndrome, AIDS. There’s no definite cure for the virus. However, science has played out a major role to try and manage the disease.
Science has played a major role in the fight against HIV/AIDS with the introduction of the antiretroviral drugs (ARVs). The ingredients of the ARVs were taken from drugs that were meant to fight cancer in the 1960s, azidothymidine (AZT). The fight against cancer using the drugs was ineffective, forcing the National Cancer Institute to shelve the drug until the late 1980s, when it was included in an NCI screening program to identify drugs to treat HIV/AIDS. In 1987 the US Food and Drug Administration approved the use of azidothymidine (AZT), the first antiretroviral drug for treatment of HIV/AIDS. AZT monotherapy slowed viral replication and disease progression but added only months to life and had severe side effects. HIV rapidly developed resistance to this single drug but with more research over the years, the drug had fewer side effects and could prolong life of a patient who could live as normal as a person who tested negative for HIV.
Years later, advancements have been made to fight the virus with the invention of Pre-Exposure Prophylaxis, commonly known as PrEP, and Post Exposure Prophylaxis (PEP).
Pre-Exposure Prophylaxis is a course of HIV drugs taken by HIV-negative people to protect them against HIV infection. It is different from PEP (Post-exposure prophylaxis), which is an emergency treatment for HIV taken after possible exposure to the virus. PrEP reduces the risk of getting HIV from sex by about 99% when taken as prescribed. This drug stops the virus from multiplying in your body once you come into contact with the virus. If taken correctly as prescribed by the doctor, there will be enough levels of the drug to prevent you from getting HIV. PrEP is less effective when it isn’t taken daily. This may be because there isn’t enough medicine in your body to block HIV from taking hold and spreading.
This drug doesn’t have adverse side effects but some of the known side effects include:
- Vomiting
- Fatigue
- Nausea and dizziness
On very rare occasions, PrEP can affect kidney functions.
In conclusion, it is good to note that PrEP is only available by prescription. The prescription is provided by a licensed health care provider. In addition, if one takes PrEP, they’ll need to see their health care provider every 3 months for repeat HIV tests, prescription refills, and follow-up.
As for PEP, it is a combination of three drugs. They are taken once or twice a day for 28 days.
PEPs don’t guarantee 100% safety. They should not be used as substitute for safe sex. If one is exposed to HIV a lot — for example, because one may have multiple sex partners or use injected drugs – they should talk with their doctor about pre-exposure prophylaxis (PrEP). That’s a medicine they take every day to keep HIV from taking hold in their body.
The bottom-line is the war on HIV/AIDS is still on and slowly but surely, the virus will be ultimately defeated.
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