Question
Can I take antibiotics if I am HIV positive?
24 August 2007. Related: All topics, CD4 and viral load, Drug interactions, Opportunistic infections, Starting treatment.
I have just been prescribed antibiotics.
Does taking antibiotics have an adverse affect on the immune system?
I have been diagnosed HIV+ but I am not yet on any medication. I have not told the doctors of my condition as my clinic said I did not yet need to.
Answer
It sounds like you are seeing two different doctors – one for your general health and one for HIV treatment.
Your HIV doctor needs to know about any medication you are taking and if s/he has said this is ok, then you should take their advice.
Antibiotics are used to treat a wide range of infections, and just like an HIV negative person, if you need these to treat an infection then it is important to take them. They will not damage your immune system.
For your HIV care, HIV treatment is usually started before your CD4 count drops below 200 cells/mm3.
More information about HIV treatment and how and when to use it is included in the i-Base Introduction to Combination Therapy.
Hi Kate,
Do you know what your CD4 count is? If its low this could explain why you’ve lost weight and why you feel weak. However this could also be due to a lot of other things.
The only thing that people who are positive can take to control their HIV is ARVs. Is there any reason why your family would know that you’re taking medication?
HI SIR. Am HIV positive is there any medicine can I use apart from ARVS coz I don’t want my family to know about this. and why my body always be week ? Next u know I have a big body but now am small am so worried even my friends start to ask me wats going on and am not ready to tell anyone. Please help me
Hi Robert,
i-Base doesn’t have resources to answer questions on risk and testing. Frequently asked questions are all answered here. If you have symptoms like these you can ask the doctor for a check up to find out what’s causing them.
I slept with someone o don’t trust, I was fooled, only to realize she was cheating with me and she was having sex with me and the guy at the sametime, we had unprotected sex before, its now 2 years since we broke up, iv been testing for HIV and the results say I’m negative, but since last week,now in 2018 I’m not feeling well, my body is changing and my kidneys r in pain together with my bladder, can it be possible that I’m infected by her?
Hi Harry,
If your partner’s viral load is undetectable – that is under 50 – you can’t catch HIV if you don’t use condoms. There’s more info here about undetectable = untransmittable.
Did you mean that you took the same meds as your partner once Harry? It could have been for PEP. But it’s not a good idea to share other people’s meds.
My partner is HIV positive but she is medication we do have unprotected sex can I catch the HIV I been tested negative early December I have taken her medicine once mail. Me
Hi Tsir,
For what you can take following a possible risk please see the info that’s related to PEP:
http://i-base.info/pep-and-prep/
I’m HIV negative…i slept with a person i don’t trust, so can antibiotics kill the replication of virus if taken immediately after the exposure?
Hi Sonu – HIV positive people can use antibiotics just like anyone else. Some antibiotics are always used if the CD4 count is low. Whether or not you need antibiotics depends on the cause of the fever. Fever can be caused by lots of complications.
If a patient is HIV positive and having high fever can antibiotics be given to the person or not?