Introduction to side-effects

HIV treatment is very effective and there's now good evidence, that thanks to anti-HIV drugs, many people with HIV will live well into their 70s - that's a near normal lifespan.

HIV treatment has become a lot better in recent years - it's more powerful, easier to take, and causes fewer side-effects than older anti-HIV drugs.

But nearly every medicine can cause unwanted side-effects in some people.

Side-effects are a common cause of illness, discomfort and distress in people taking anti-HIV drugs – even in people who have an undetectable viral load and high CD4 cell count and who don’t have any symptoms of HIV infection.

It's not inevitable that you will experience side-effects from any of the medicines you are given to fight HIV or other infections. It’s also worth remembering that a lot of side-effects are mild, can be controlled with other medicines, and lessen or even go away over time. There's also a good chance that you may be able to change from the treatment that is causing your side-effect.