HIV/AIDS

The human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) is a pathogen that damages your immune system, harming your ability to fight off disease-causing organisms. Without treatment, an HIV infection progresses to acquired immunodeficiency syndrome (AIDS), which is a potentially life-threatening condition.

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Though HIV/AIDS was nearly always fatal when it was first described in 1981 by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, most who are currently diagnosed with HIV manage it with antiretroviral drugs, enabling them to live happy, full, productive lives.

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While antiretroviral drugs can’t cure AIDS or kill HIV, they interfere with the virus’s growth cycle and inhibit it from reproducing. The USDA has approved 39 different antiretroviral drugs for HIV/AIDS. 

 

Many doctors prescribe combination therapies using more than one type of antiretroviral. Since HIV is a living virus, it frequently mutates, especially in response to drugs. Combination therapy of several antiretroviral drugs increases the chances of targeting each type of HIV mutation your body encounters. Combining drugs also appears to reduce the incidence of drug side effects, in addition to the symptoms of an HIV infection. However, patients with HIV often struggle with chronic nausea and vomiting that interfere with their ability to take in enough nutrients to stay healthy and strong. But medical cannabis can relieve the side-effects of HIV and AIDS medications, such as:

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• Nausea and vomiting

• Loss of appetite

• Weight loss

• Nerve pain

• Chronic pain

• Insomnia

• Depression and anxiety

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If you’re struggling to manage the symptoms associated with HIV or AIDS, or the side effects of antiretroviral drugs, contact Coastal Wellness Centers today.