Treatment
Window Period
The window period is the time it takes for your body to produce HIV antibodies after you have been infected by the virus. In most people, this period is between 2 and 12 weeks (3months). In a very small number of people, the process takes up to 6 months.
During the window period, you might be infected with HIV yet still test HIV-negative. It may take 3 months after exposure for the test results to be 97% accurate, and 6 months to be absolutely certain. If you think you have been exposed to HIV, and your test results are negative, be sure to get retested in 3 to 6 months--just to be sure.
PEP (Post Exposure Prophylaxis)
PEP (post-exposure prophylaxis) is a four-week course of drugs that can be taken if you have been exposed to HIV.
PEP must be prescribed by a doctor. It is important that PEP be taken as soon as possible after exposure and must be started within 72 hours after exposure.
How does PEP work?HIV, like any virus, works by invading some (immune) cells then replicating itself and spreading to other cells. Evidence indicates that it may take a few days from the time of exposure for HIV to establish itself in the body. The aim of PEP is to prevent HIV replicating itself in those first cells.
Does PEP mean I can now forget safe sex and safe injecting?No! PEP is not a vaccine, nor is it a cure for HIV. It does not always work, and therefore is a 'last resort' treatment. Safer sex and safer drug injecting practices are the most effective ways to avoid HIV infection.
Antiretroviral medications
Antiviral drugs attack HIV by interfering with its ability to reproduce. This keeps the amount of HIV in the body as low as possible, thus slowing the damage to the immune system.
Some of these classes of drugs, such as the nucleoside analogues (e.g. AZT) have been used for some years with varying degrees of success. Others, such as protease inhibitors (e.g. saquinavir, indinavir) and non-nucleosides (e.g. nevirapine, delavirdine) are the result of more recent developments in the antiviral approach.
The benefit of taking only one of these antiviral drugs at a time has recently been shown to be limited because of the possibility of HIV developing a resistance to the drug. It is now known that a more effective way of treating HIV is by combining different types of antiviral drugs that attack the virus in different ways. Combining drugs also makes it less likely that HIV will develop resistance to the treatment. This is called combination therapy. It is only a fairly recent approach, yet the results so far are extremely good.
If you have any questions that you would like to discuss don't hesitate to contact NTAHC and speak to one of our workers.