There are a number of steps that HIV-positive people can take to prevent—or at least slow down—the development of resistance:
Learn all you can about HIV treatment and the available options. The more you know, the easier it will be to make treatment choices that help you avoid drug resistance. Reading the information on this website about HIV medicine is a good first step.
Start treatment with a powerful HIV regimen. Your first shot at HIV treatment is probably your best chance at fully suppressing the virus and preventing the development of drug resistance. For an overview of when to start treatment and some guidelines on which drugs to start first, click on the following lesson link:
Be sure to follow instructions. It is very important that HIV-positive people take their HIV medications exactly as prescribed. Missing doses and not taking the right number of pills can cause viral load to increase and cause drug-resistance mutations to develop (see our lesson on adherence).
Communicate with your doctor. Knowing how to take your medicine properly and reporting any problems to your doctor are important for avoiding drug resistance.
Monitor the effects of your treatment. This means keeping an eye on your viral load and other lab tests after you begin treatment and for as long as you remain on therapy. Every three months is a standard recommendation. Often an increasing viral load—or a viral load that fails to go undetectable—is the first sign that drug resistance is developing. Monitoring viral load is a good way to guard against drug resistance. For more information about understanding your viral load test results, click on the following lesson link:
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