MY QUESTION IS, MY HUSBAND HAS NOW BEEN POSTIVE FOR 1.5 YEARS, HE HAS BEEN MAINTAINING A CD4 COUNT OF 560, ON BOTH COUNTS ABOUT 9 MONTHS APART, WHEN SHOULD HE START MEDS, HE BELIEVES HE IS NEVER GOING TO DEVELOPE AIDS. I TRY TO HELP HIM OUT AS MUCH AS I CAN, RECEARCHING ABOUT THE DIFFERENT TYPES OF MEDICION THE HIV, I TRY TO TELL HIM THE HIRER HIS VIRUAL LOAD GOES UP, THE MORE AT RISK I AM IF A CONDOM WAS TO FAIL. WOULD I BEABLE TO GET PEP IF A CONDOM WAS TO FAIL. PLEASE HELP

Hello and thanks for posting. One of the arguments in favor of earlier treatment of HIV infection is the idea that HAART will likely lower the risk of HIV transmission to an intimate partner in case of a condom failure. Regardless, you should be able to get post exposure prophylaxis (PEP) if a condom does break.

As it stands now, the typical time to start treatment is when the CD4 count drops to below 350 cells. But this is not written in stone and some patients decide to go on treatment sooner for a variety of reasons. Here is a link to the DHHS guidelines where one can find a discussion on the pros and cons of HIV treatment. Best of luck to you!