I was diagnosed with HIV 9/16/09 - CD4 47 / Viral Load 56K. I am allergic to sulfas, so because of that my doctor placed me on Mepron. Within 2 weeks I broke out in a red dot pimple rash all over my body. Now normally I get hives in large patches and coverage up to 80% of my body when I have a reaction to something. I have never seen these red dots before. We discontinued treatment and it cleared within a few days.

Now I am getting them again 10 days into my Atripla treatment. I've been told to work through it and they will go away. If so, does it mean that the Mepron would be the same? Resume and work through the rash? What's the difference between the red dots and hive patches?

Good questions that are difficult to answer without a full history and evaluation. Some patients do seem very prone to rashes/allergic reactions to drugs. We generally try to treat through mild/moderate rashes seen with Atripla. Once you get through that then attention can be turned back to PCP prophylaxis until your CD4 count >>200. Aerosolized pentamidine or desensitization to sulfa are two possible approaches to consider. KH