HIV was first classed as an epidemic that threatened people across the globe in the early 1980's. It took the medical world by surprise and there was not much that could be done to help those who got infected. The life expectancy of an infected person was not much more than a few short years. The picture has changed dramatically over the last few years though. Modern medicine has made huge advancements in the area of HIV treatment. There are now three categories of medication that can be issued to slow the progression of the condition and extend the life of the infected individual by many years. It is not unknown for infected individuals to live a normal life span if they regularly take their medication and take good care of their overall health through a good diet and regular exercise. Each category of medication targets a different phase of the life cycle of the virus. If a patient's doctor finds that one form of medication is not having the desired effect of slowing the infection they will then try a different form of medication and can even make use of a variety of medications to slow the progress of the virus. Reverse transcriptase inhibitors One of the processes that the virus goes through is a phase in which it infects cells within the immune system and transforms them. The virus does this in order to reproduce. It transforms the cells in the immune system in such a way that they begin to produce the virus instead of the cells that they are supposed to produce. Thus this kind of medication stops the virus from reproducing in this way. Protease inhibitors HIV makes use of a specific protein to create the infections particles that allowed it to turn into a world-wide epidemic. The protease inhibitor slows and prevents the production of the protein that allows the virus to produce these infections particles. Fusion inhibitors The virus needs to breach the membrane of the cells that it infects in order to be able to affect your system and reproduce. This process is called fusion and fusion inhibitors are designed to prevent the virus from completing this process and not being able to reproduce. Each person will react differently to each form of HIV medication. Some medications will work well for some people while others work better for other people. It is up to the medical practitioner who is treating the infected individual to monitor their condition and the levels of virus in their system to determine which of the forms of medication is going to be the best. The road to finding a combination of medication that will work best could be a long one as the results are not going to be instantaneous and it may take a few months for the medical practitioner to determine that the medication is not working at its optimum capability. Do not lose hope though. It is unlikely that you are not going to find something that helps you in your unique situation.
