Dear Dr, My mum has been living +vely with HIV for the past 8yrs.Though she was on antiritrovial drugs for some yrs let say 7yrs, then she suddenly stopped and started a traditional medicine. What is giving me so much concern is that she is so much losing weight lately and she has rashes all over her face and some part of her body. 1.What could be her case? 2.Her weight loss is too ovious and I think she is developing a full blown AIDS.

Results from clinical trials and experience has shown that stopping HIV medications is generally not a good idea since the risk for both AIDS and non-AIDS threats to health increase when HIV meds are stopped. There are not traditional meds that have even remotely been shown to be as effective as the approved antiretroviral medications in protecting against AIDS. In many areas of the world the options for antiretroviral medication are very limited leading to more side effects and poorer outcomes for some patients than are seen in resource wealthy areas like the US. Hopefully your mom is seeing a kind HIV specialist who can continue to work with her to offer her the best standard and traditional medicine possible. KH