Question: Hooray!!! Finally we have some good news, the government agreed to provide antiretrovirals (ARV's) to us. I tested HIV positive in 1998 when I had TB, should I start ARV's now.
Answer: I'm glad to hear you are excited about the ARV's being made freely available. It is difficult for me to say you will qualify to be on ARV's. The best thing for you to do is to go to your nearest clinic or doctor and request that they refer you to an HIV clinic. At the clinic they are going to take bloods from you to test your CD4 count, which helps the doctors to determine how strong your immune system is or how high your viral load is. Remember, to qualify to be on ARV's you have to have a CD4 count of less than 200 or an AIDS defining illness.
Remember, HIV's trick is that it attacks our immune system and by so doing leaves our body vulnerable to infections. Our immune system is like our body's army. It's job is to keep us healthy by fighting any germs or diseases that attack us. The immune system is made up of special cells called CD4 cells. When a person has a strong immune system they have lots of CD4 cells. If we want to know how strong a person's immune system is, we do a CD4 count.
To go back to how HIV attacks the immune system: When a person is infected with HIV, it takes over the CD4 cells. The virus stops the CD4 cells from fighting off diseases and forces them to make more viruses instead. After many years the person has a lot of virus in their blood and very few CD4 cells. When the immune system is low opportunistic infections may set in such as TB, which will lower the immune system even more, but as you know TB can be treated even if a person is HIV positive.
A reminder, there is no cure for HIV. Antiretroviral drugs are medication that could help you to live a longer and healthier life, by slowing down the effects of the virus on your body. Act now so that you benefit from the available ARV program.
- How Do I Tell my Daughter of my HIV Status?
- Is Counselling Necessary before Having an Aids Test?
- Can I Breastfeed my Baby if I'm HIV Positive?
- Is it Possible To Become Infected with HIV through Oral Sex?
- Can One Prevent Infection with HIV through Oral Sex?
- What Is Antiretroviral Therapy? How Does It Work?
- Why Do Black Women in South Africa Seem To Be More Vulnerable To HIV Infection Than Anyone Else?
- Can One Get Infected with HIV From Social Contact?
- What Evidence Is there that Good Nutrition Consistently Improves The Immune Response?
- Can I Insist That Someone Has an HIV Test before Offering Them a Job?
- How Can I Best Help and Support My Friend Living with HIV/AIDS?
- How Do I Come To Terms with an AIDS Death?
- What Do I Need To Consider before Disclosing my HIV Positive Status To Close Friends and Family?
- Why Do You Always Have To Use Condoms while Using Antiretroviral Drugs?
- What Advice and Counselling on HIV and AIDS are Available for Small And Medium Sized Businesses?
- Should I Go Alone or Should I Take My Sexual Partner with Me for an HIV Test?
- How Will the Government's ARV Programme Work and Where Can I Get These Drugs?
- I Tested HIV Positive in 1998 When I Had TB, Should I Start ARVs Now?
- How Do I Talk To My Children about HIV and AIDS?
- Can My Children Contract HIV through Casual Means?
- What Are the Chances of my Child Contracting HIV/AIDS at Play School?
|
|
Cape Gateway is a government service aimed primarily at citizens of the Western Cape, providing information on local, provincial and national government |  |