Strategies for managing
opportunistic infections

May 2008     View PDF     En español

A final word on strategies for managing opportunistic infections

Regardless of where you are in your HIV disease, there are things that you can do to prevent and treat OIs. Preventing OIs applies to people at all stages of HIV disease. It includes:

• maintaining good immune health,
• using HIV therapy properly to preserve the immune system and allow for its recovery,
• preventing infections by the organisms that cause OIs when possible,
• using treatments when needed to prevent OIs, and
• using treatments when needed to prevent OIs from coming back.

A plan for treating OIs includes:

• Seeing your doctor regularly. This generally means every three months; or twice a year for people with good immune health; or monthly for people dealing with complications. A doctor experienced in HIV disease who has treated people living with HIV is better able to recognize and treat OIs and should be more familiar with preventive therapy.
• Telling your doctor(s) about all the symptoms you have so they can diagnose problems early.
• Treating infections as they occur (aggressively), completing treatment and using maintenance therapy when needed. This may include the need for life-long maintenance therapy.