Question
I missed my meds for 4 days, will I be OK?
7 May 2019. Related: All topics, CD4 and viral load.
I’m traveling for work and forgot my meds…Meaning I will miss 4 doses of Biktarvy
My viral load has been undetectable for nearly 10 years now and I am otherwise in very good health… so how dangerous is missing 4 doses?
Answer
Thanks for getting in touch.
Meds needs to be taken every day to make sure that there are always good drug levels in your body, Getting the timing right means you still have good levels when you come to taje the next dose. This is for week day and weekends, every day in the year.
Luckily though, as drugs have become better, they also provide cover if you are sometimes late.
Though missing four days is not good, you should be okay. This is because after ten years, levels of HIV will be very very low. If you do this often though, you might develop drug resistance.
Your partners will also be okay from this time. It usually takes a couple of weeks for a viral load to rebound. As soon as you get home, make sure that you take your meds. If possible you may want to have your viral load checked.
Hi John, how many times have you skipped more than one dose at once?
As you have an undetectable viral load, it would take a week or more for your viral load to become detectable and as such risk transmission. You have not put your partner at risk, it would be impossible to pass on HIV.
Additionally oral sex carries little to no risk of transmission – there as been no documented cases of HIV transmission via this route. Even without you being on treatment, the risk remains minimal. You do not need to be worried.
More information about transmission can be found here: https://i-base.info/qa/factsheets/hiv-transmission-and-testing
Hi ,I am JOHN .I’m looking for clarity
I have been undetectable for 20 years ,as I started dating like a serious relationship at Feb 2024. We started doing oral sex .
Every time when she comes to visit me I miss a dose ,sometimes she can stay for like 4 days
As I am afraid to tell her that I’m HIV positive (undetectable)
she started feeling dizzy and feeling like to vomit ,do you think the virus would’ve transmitted to her body(immune system ) or is just her sickness ?
I’m so worried
Looking forward for your help
Hi Allan, as you had been undetectable for the 2 years prior it can take a week or more for your viral load to rebound.
The 5 days you had not been taking treatment is unlikely to have risked transmission to your girlfriend. Is there a reason that you had not been taking your meds?
It is still recommended your girlfriend have an HIV test in a few weeks (this is to be aware of her status and not because of you having sex). How long after having sex did your girlfriend start to feel unwell? It would be a few weeks or more if HIV related and it would still be more likely for it to be a common infection like a cold or covid.
More information about transmission can be found here: https://i-base.info/qa/factsheets/hiv-transmission-and-testing
Hello I’m Allan,I have been undetectable for 2 years now bt my gal friend came through for 5 days and I was not taking meds but and we had live sex I later discovered that she had an infection what is her risk of transmission I’m not sleeping it’s killing me I should have than that I wasn’t thinking right at the time please i will be glad for you response
Hi Mariah, when did you last have a viral load test? and are you able to take your meds with you when you go and visit him?
Missing your meds regularly can risk your viral load becoming detectable and there is some risk of treatment resistance.
Treatment needs to be taken daily to ensure that you can rely on U=U: https://i-base.info/u-equals-u/
Do you want to tell your boyfriend that you are HIV positive? and/or do you think it would be safe for you to take you medication at your boyfriends without him knowing?
Hello…I have been undecteded for almost 16 year now but since last year 2023 almost every weekend I dont take my meds coz I met a new boy friend and i go visit him friday and come back Sunday and have not yet disclosed my status to him
Hi Oz, after 2 month unfortunately your viral load will rebound. Do you know when you are able to restart treatment?
I have been undetectable for the last 8 yrs but I have been out my meds for like 2 months will I be still undetectable
Hi Mary, it is great to hear how long you have been undetectable for. There is no risk of transmission to your friend.
As there has been more than a day between contact with the same iron AND the iron heating the blood, it would be impossible for HIV to be transmitted. This is on top of you being undetectable which already makes the risk of transmission as low as possible.
You can eat raw onion after your ARVs. What treatment are you on? Most HIV treatment can be taken with or without food. Eating a raw onion after taking your pills is not going to have any impact on your medication.
Hi I have been undetectable for 6years now
So on the January 10th this 2024 and the result came out below 20 so on February 19th and incident happened an iron in my bathroom wounded my skin a little blood came out so on the 20th the next day my friend who come to my house the same iron wound her too .I have been so down with fear since that day please is there a possibility that she will be ok am so scared for my friend.
And for the past 2days now I have been so scared after eating a little raw onion after taking my ARVs and someone told me is wrong to eat onion after taking a drug so this whole situation is giving anxiety too much. I just hope my friend will be okay.