HIV Treatment in Kids

Children can contract HIV from their mothers prenatally, during birth, or during breastfeeding. Because of the early age at which children can begin developing HIV symptoms, they must be treated effectively in order to ensure a normal lifespan.

Antiretroviral Medication

• Many of the same antiretroviral medicines are used to treat children and adults, often using the same dosage. Though children may become sick from the medicine's side effects, the dosage is required to ensure that the infection can't progress.

Beginning Treatment

• The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention recommend beginning treatment of HIV infection when an individual's CD4 immune cell count falls below 350. Children may receive treatment sooner if the count begins falling rapidly.

Common Side Effects

• Common side effects of antiretroviral medications for children can range from mild to severe. Side effects include nausea, vomiting, diarrhea, fatigue, extreme weight loss and loss of appetite.

Adherence

• Adherence is important in HIV treatment to make sure that treatment failure doesn't occur. Parents have to help children to take every dose of their medicine on time to prevent viral resistance.

Opportunistic Infections

• Because they have a weaker immune system, children are more likely to develop opportunistic infections as a result of HIV than adults. Antibiotics and other drugs must be added to their treatments in order to fight these infections.