HIV/AIDS is a virus that quickly multiplies and mutates, therefore, making it difficult to fight if off. While no cure exists for the disease, effective treatment and management vital to maintaining good health are available. Moreover, it is essential to note that the administration of antiretroviral treatment (ART) is recommended for all stages of infection as it functions by reducing the viral load while at the same time maintaining high CD4 cell counts (Banasik & Copstead, 2018). This includes nucleoside analogs, protease inhibitors, reverse transcriptase inhibitors, and fusion inhibitors. The choice of medication depends on the disease stage, other infections, and toxicity, among others. Other medications should also aim to manage opportunistic infections by administering prophylactic treatment (Banasik & Copstead, 2018). Furthermore, pharmacological interventions coupled with positive health behaviors, including proper nutrition, adherence to clinical appointments, and psychosocial support result in better health outcomes.
Medical professionals play a vital role in helping patients or their families select and initiate the best treatment strategy. These comprise outlining the list of treatment modalities available to manage HIV/AIDS, explaining the benefits of early initiation to the ART program, and long-term adherence to positive behavior, and clarify the patients’ or their families’ beliefs and behavior. Shared decision making has the potential to result in better health outcomes. This is because patients play an active role in decision-making; therefore, they are more engaged in the communication process during their appointments with providers.
Considerable research has been done in the pathological mechanism of HIV to help create a cure. However, what I have learned in this research is that HIV/AIDS is almost similar to an autoimmune disease. This is because the virus mimics the host’s DNA, therefore, making it difficult for the T and B cells to recognize the non-self.
Reference
Banasik, J. L., & Copstead, L.C. (Ed.). (2018). Pathophysiology. Sanders.