People with HIV are living ordinary lives

Medicine for HIV aims to reduce ‘viral load.’ This means the number of virus particles in the blood. When viral load is under 200, the viral load is ‘suppressed.’ Suppressed viral load has a number of benefits for people with HIV.

• They can have sex without any risk of passing on the virus.
• They can have kids without any risk to their partner or the baby.
• They can avoid getting sick from HIV or other infections that rely on HIV.

A person is more likely to reach suppressed viral load if they start taking medication soon after they find out they have HIV. It is also important to keep taking the medicine without missing too many days or taking breaks.