Treatment and care
Choosing your health care provider
You may work with a range of health care providers to manage your HIV infection including general practitioners, infectious diseases specialists, sexual health specialists, complementary therapists, nurses, gynaecologists, physiotherapists, psychiatrists, counsellors, and social workers. Some you may use briefly. Others will become the backbone of your health care. Ideally, your health care providers will use a team approach to optimise your overall health and wellbeing.
Monitoring HIV
It is important to regularly check the effect HIV and any antiretroviral treatments are having on your body, even if you are feeling well. Each person with HIV is unique so you will need regular check-ups.
There are a number of important pieces of information that can help you make decisions about treatment and other things you might do to improve your health.
Treatments
HIV treatments are made up of combinations of (usually three) HIV antiretroviral drugs. These treatments are very effective at stopping HIV from reproducing, which keeps the immune system strong so it can fight infection. Treatments reduce and often prevent long term health issues related to HIV. Treatments today are much easier to take, with far fewer side effects than in the past.