Health-related Things You Can Reduce Your Viral Load

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Understanding HIV-Related Lab Tests II: Viral Load, Resistance and Tropism

Lab Tests Are Important Tools Viral Load Test Resistance Test Tropism Test Bottom Line Lab Tests Are Important Tools Having regular lab tests is a necessary part of good health care. Lab testsare important tools that help you and your health care provider keep track ofhow you are doing in the following areas: Immune System Status How HIV is affecting your immune system If you need to start or switch HIV drugs ...

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Undetectable Viral Load Infection and Superinfection (FINDINGS SUGGEST HIV CAN BE TRANSMITTED FROM MSM WITH UNDETECTABLE VIRAL LOAD 2009) (SUPERINFECTION, 2009)

Thanks for your comments and information about the possibility that people with undetectable viral might be able to infect HIV negative people and contribute to HIV superinfection, but is there any research revealing the actual numbers of such...

Response from Robert J. Frascino, M.D.

The Robert James Frascino AIDS Foundation

Hi,No, we do not have reliable information as to how often this phenomenon occurs. As you can probably imagine it is quite challenging to conclusively prove that a particular strain of HIV was transmitted to an already infected individual. This... Read more »

Viral Load As It Relates to Infectivity

Hello..I have read that having a low/undetectable viral load reduces infectivity or frequency of trasmitting it to others. Seems to me this would be assuming that reduced viral serum levels reflect reduced sexual fluid viral levels. Has this been...

Response from Mark Holodniy, M.D., F.A.C.P., C.I.C.

Stanford University, School of Medicine

Current HIV therapies which have made people "undetectable" in the blood, have generally either reduced or made viral load undetectable in semen and spinal fluid. These therapies by no means eliminate the virus from the body. Recently... Read more »

Acyclovir reducing HIV Viral Load

I was diagnosed HIV+ in March 2008. Apart from HIV1 also diagnosed with HSV1 and HPV genitally. I underwent this HIV test and was diagnosed HIV+ when I had the first outbreak of HSV - 1 (anal lesions) and HPV (anal warts) and was immediately put on...

Response from Mark Holodniy, M.D., F.A.C.P., C.I.C.

Stanford University, School of Medicine

1. You can take it on a daily basis. I have several patients on such a regimen. However, acyclovir is NOT a substitute for a potent HIV regimen. Given your relatively normal CD4 count, it is not unreasonable to use it alone for HSV preventative... Read more »

pos. person on meds testing neg. possible? (HIV ANTIBODY TEST VERSUS HIV VIRAL LOAD TEST)

Hi Dr. Bob. First thank you for all your generous answers. My question is:If someone is on meds for hiv(any, not specific)and their v.l. is undetectable, how possible is it they can go down to the local health department and test negative? Thanks...

Response from Robert J. Frascino, M.D.

The Robert James Frascino AIDS Foundation

Hello m. p.,How possible is it that an HIVer on antiretroviral medications that have driven his HIV plasma viral load to undetectable levels will test "HIV negative" (HIV-antibody negative) at his local health department? The answer is it... Read more »

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Viral Load Testing.

Posted by sunkyst, 3 Replies

I went to see a doctor today who does internal medicine and is also a HIV specialist. I told him about all of the HIV tests I've had done over the past few weeks i.e several tests where I tested negative and the last one at just over 11 weeks where... Read more »

hiv viral load

Posted by Anonymous, 1 Reply

and Perhaps a Lifesaver?

By Paul Galatowitsch, Antonio Urbina and Timothy Law Snyder

Paul Galatowitsch is a health care consultant. Antonio Urbina is the director of clinical HIV and AIDS education at St. Vincent's Hospital. Timothy Law Snyder is a... Read more »

viral load

Posted by kaliboo, 2 Replies

I've been trying to find out what your viral load is (approximately, of course) shortly after being infected... and have had no luck...

So I guess I'm just wondering... what was your viral load when it was first tested? Read more »

cd4 or viral load

Posted by Lilly, 2 Replies

When starting to think about treatment, does either counts (cd4s or viral load) play a bigger role? My viral load has recently dropped, but so has my cd4's. My counts are all still at a comfortable level for me with no meds, but at the clinic... Read more »

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