HIV/AIDS Treatment and Psychological Interventions:

In this article, you will learn about different treatment plans for AIDS. Psychological Interventions are also included.

Treatment:

Currently, there is no effective cure for AIDS. Once you have an infection, your body cannot get rid of it. And without treatment, life expectancy after diagnosis is about 3 years.

However, most people can get the virus under control within six months through treatment. There are many medications that can reduce the amount of HIV in the body and prevent complications.

Antiretroviral Therapy:

HIV medicine is called antiretroviral therapy (ART), which is the most effective treatment for AIDS. Everyone diagnosed with HIV/AIDS should be started on ART, regardless of their stage of infection or complications.

ART is usually a combination of three or more medications from several different drug classes. The classes of anti-HIV drugs include:

●   Non-nucleoside reverse transcriptase inhibitors (NNRTIs)

●   Nucleoside or nucleotide reverse transcriptase inhibitors (NRTIs)

●   Protease inhibitors

●   Integrase inhibitors

●   Entry or fusion inhibitors

Typically, two drugs from one class, plus a third drug from a second class are used. Each class of drug blocks the virus in different ways. Treatment involves combinations of drugs from different classes to:

●   Account for individual drug resistance (viral genotype)

●   Avoid creating new drug-resistant strains of HIV

●   Maximize suppression of the virus in the blood

For ART to be effective, it is important to take medications as prescribed, without missing or skipping any doses.

Alternative Medicines:

People who are infected with HIV may take help from different supplements after asking their doctor. Supplements that may be helpful are:

●   Acetyl-L-carnitine

●   Whey protein and certain amino acids

●   Probiotics

●   Vitamins and minerals

Mind-body Practices:

People with AIDS may improve their lifestyle through different practices such as yoga, meditation, and tai chi which are helpful to reduce stress as well as improve blood pressure and quality of life.

The goal of HIV Treatment:

The main goal of HIV treatment is to reduce a person’s viral load to an undetectable level. An undetectable viral load means that the level of HIV in the blood is too low to be detected by a viral load test.

Psychological Interventions:

Although AIDS is still a relatively new problem, various intervention strategies can be adapted to meet the enormous challenges created by AIDS.

Antidepressant Medication:

One of the most common mental health conditions that people living with HIV face is depression. Both HIV-related medical conditions and HIV medications can contribute to depression. That is why antidepressant medication is also prescribed to AIDS patients. Being prescribed and adhering to antidepressant medication is accompanied by improvements in adherence to antiretroviral medications.

Secondary HIV Prevention Intervention:

According to meta-analytic reviews, secondary HIV prevention interventions are successful in reducing transmission risk behavior, with the most effective interventions including both motivational and prevention skill-building components.

Mental Health Treatment:

Since better mental health is associated with less transmission risk behavior, mental health treatment can effectively control HIV transmission. This treatment primarily includes cognitive, behavioral, and pharmacological interventions.

Pharmacological Interventions:

These interventions include medications for psychological care.

Behavioral Health Interventions:

They are employed to reduce stress, anxiety, anger, and depression resulting from AIDS. These interventions include:

●   Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT),

●   Behavioral Therapy,

●   Supportive Psychotherapy,

●   Coping Effectiveness Training

●   Stress Management Interventions.

Psychosocial Support:

Psychosocial support addresses the ongoing psychological and social problems of HIV-infected individuals, their partners, families, and caregivers. This may involve HIV Support Groups, Mental Health Support Groups, etc. Psychosocial support is being given by trained health care personnel e.g. social workers, counselors, psychologists, psychiatrists, nurses, etc.

Other Interventions may include:

●   Identification of intervention elements that produce HIV risk behavior change

●   Continued focus on populations that remain at risk such as injection drug users

●   Expansion of prevention efforts to urban, poor, and minority populations