Strategies for managing
opportunistic infections

May 2008     View PDF     En español

Treating infections as they occur

Project Inform’s Opportunistic Infections Chart sums up the Federal Guidelines for treating major OIs. Because HIV replicates more as your immune system battles infections, treating them as they occur is critical not only in dealing with the infections, but also curbing further damage to the immune system by HIV. This is true whether or not the infection is an actual OI. When it comes to OIs, however, and many issues in later-stage HIV disease, diagnosing some infections can be difficult.

One of the biggest challenges in treating OIs is early diagnosis, before they’re able to take hold in different organs like the lungs, colon, brain, bone marrow, etc. The earlier something is diagnosed and treated, the more likely treatment will be successful and result in full recovery. This means regular checkups by your doctor (at least every three months) and talking to him or her about your symptoms.

If you experience any new or unusual symptoms and are between doctor visits, make an appointment. Don’t wait three months to have something looked at. Keep a health journal or diary, or merely write on a calendar when a new or unusual symptom occurs and record how long it remains. This may help your doctor figure out if a symptom is a drug side effect, a sign of an OI or something else.

Many OIs have the same symptoms, and some infections may be masking others. So, initial treatment may only deal with part of a problem, but not the whole problem. Dealing successfully with multiple infections may take diligence on your part when seeing many doctors and specialists. It’s ideal to have your primary doctor take charge, talking with your other doctors to make sure they’re talking to each other.

The hardest part of dealing with multiple conditions is that doctors often aren’t very good about talking to each other. It can easily become a full time job juggling your appointments as your different doctors order many different lab tests. It’s your primary doctor’s job to manage all of this, even when he or she is busy. Especially when many problems occur together, preparing for your appointments, writing down your questions beforehand, and having someone like an advocate with you to record the answers is strongly encouraged.

Once a condition is diagnosed, completing your treatment is vital. Also, drugs that treat some OIs may interact with your HIV meds. Any time a new treatment is added to your regimen, it’s wise for you and your doctor to assess whether it’s safe to use with your other meds and make any necessary dose adjustments.