Question
Does alcohol increase viral load?
27 February 2023. Related: All topics, CD4 and viral load.
Hi! Does alcohol interfere with viral load? I took a viral load test a few weeks ago and it went from undetectable to detectable again. The thing is I had quite a few beers the day before I took the test. So I was wondering if that could’ve been the reason.
I’ve been told by the doctor to wait for 3 months before taking the test again.
Answer
Hi, how are you doing?
No. Alcohol does not increase viral load.
How high was your viral load? An increase in viral load can be normal and is usually temporary.
Very commonly it happens because of a blip. This are random events when someone is undetectable and on treatment but there viral load has a small increase for a few weeks. This can be normal and returns to undetectable before the next test.
Temporary increases can also be caused by recent/current infections e.g., cold/flu or by having a recent vaccine. If it was a significant increase it is likely a lab error and a second test should be offered to confirm the result.
Josh.
Hello Warren and thanks for getting in touch.
Let’s try to split the issues:
Your viral load was 1135 copies/ml because you had not taken your medication for a month, as you highlight yourself.
You will become undetectable again when you restart them.
About alcohol:
Even though is allowed whether you are living with HIV or not, too much alcohol can affect and limit your quality of life significantly.
So, very well done to you for cutting down.
Smoking is also related to a lot of health hazards, so it is recommended that people stop it to maintain good health.
I am sending you a link to our quality of life guide that will help you understand how to remain healthy and strong:
https://i-base.info/guides/side
Good day
My viral load is 1135 …my doctor said that I should quit beer because it has yeast in and I should lay of the smokes.
I was a heavy everyday drinker but now I only drink 2 malts a day after work.
Is there maybe something else that I can drink alcohol wise?
And the other thing is I didn’t take any medication for a month before I took my test.
Please advise what I should do?
Hello Kelvin and thanks for getting in touch.
Alcohol would not affect your results that much. There is no interaction between your ARVs and alcohol.
If however your alcohol intake prevents you from taking your medication every day, then yes it does affect the results.
What has your doctor said about this?
Such a high viral load means that either your medication is not working any more and you need a different treatment, or
that this is a viral load that was taken at a time you had not been on medication for a while (like 2 weeks or a month)
Please read here for more information:
https://i-base.info/guides/starting/resistance
My viral load keeps increasing, I reduced my alcohol intake but the last time I checked it was 75,000, I don’t know if it’s because of the alcohol intake or I am resistant to the treatment. I am using a dolutegravir, lamivudine and tenofovir combination. Does alcohol affect it adversely?
Hi JBB, it is great to hear that after retesting your viral load went back to being undetectable. Why were you worried about your CD4 count staying at 580? A healthy CD4 count is between 430 and 1690 which yours already was. Your treatment is working very well. You have a suppressed viral load and you have a CD4 count that is in a healthy range and shows no signs of being damaged by HIV.
Hey! Thanks so much for answering. My viral load went from undetectable to 365 copies. Which I initially thought was pretty high. Anyways I started feeling very anxious and worried so I decided to re take the test right away and it came back as undetectable again :) And my cd4 went up also (from 580 to 680 yay) when I was thinking it would stay on that number forever since I’m already on my 3rd year of treatment.