Question
Do phytomed herbal products work against HIV?
6 July 2016. Related: All topics, Southern Africa.
Hi.
I have just found out that I am positive and my boyfriend was seeing someone behind my back. I then asked him to go for a test his CD4 was way less than 290 and he refuses to take medication. He wants to use phytomed herbs.
Please advise if that works.
Answer
I am sorry to hear about your recent diagnosis. Have you got any support around dealing with the diagnosis? You may find it useful to speak with other people living with HIV. Some of the people you might meet at support groups, will have been through similar circumstances to yours. Many people find it helpful to share experiences and coping strategies.
On your question about whether phytomed (herbal products), work to treat HIV. The simple answer is no. There is no evidence that ANY herbal products can treat HIV. There are a lot of scams that take advantage of people by pretending that they do.
ARVs are the only treatments proven to consistently and reliably control HIV and improve your CD4 count. In order for the treatment to work it needs to be taken correctly and as advised.
Most country treatment guidelines, including South Africa, recommend starting treatment at any CD4 count. At 290 you count is still petty good, but is it is a good time to start finding out about treatment. Given time, most people change their mind. Perhaps this is part of his way of coping, but he could be risking his health.
This Introduction to combination therapy might be good for both of you to read. This includes information about the important aspects of treatment such as why and when it is important to start.
A really good organisation you could contact when you feel ready to talk or to find out more information is TAC [The Treatment Action Campaign] based in South Africa.
Note: This answer was updated in July 2016 from an orginal question in January 2012. This was to reflect changes in treatment guidelines.
Hello Monde and thanks for getting in touch.
Even though these are probably unrelated (taking Phytomed and having vaginal discharge I mean) you should probably visit your doctor and discuss the discharge.
Vitamin and mineral supplements only help if you have a deficiency of that vitamin/mineral.
Some supplements interact with current ARVs – which means they don’t let ARVs to work properly (you can check here if there are interactions: https://www.hiv-druginteractions.org)
There is little benefit from taking vitamins in larger amounts (usually by supplements).
There is also a small risk of developing vitamin toxicity. This can happen after eating too much of a certain food or taking high dose vitamin or mineral supplements.
However, if you are struggling to eat a balanced diet and provide your body with enough nutrients from food, you should consider speaking with your GP, health worker or dietician about this.
This link has more information:
https://i-base.info/guides/side/diet-a-balanced-diet-and-your-health