QDear Doctor,
My sister, who is living with HIV, has been bedridden lately. Her doctor recommended that she starts taking antiretroviral drugs (ARVs), but she refused.
He told her he was left with no other option, but to send her back home to await her death. However, a friend recommended a certain aloe vera gel to boost her immunity.
After one week of taking 30mls of the product, everyday, she was up and about. A month later, she was able to go back to work. Could she have cured of HIV?
Sarah
ADear Sarah,
Relief from some of the symptoms of HIV does not mean your sister is cured of the disease. The aloe vera gel only boosted her immunity. HIV is a chronic infection, characterised by on-and-off periods of ill health.
Sometimes, people living with the disease may have long spells of good health. However, with time, the immune system becomes badly damaged that one gets serious and multiple opportunistic infections, which eventually lead to death.
Your sister can continue using the gel since it has been beneficial to her, but she should go to an HIV care centre where her CD4 count and viral load can be measured because this is the only objective way of knowing how much damage the HIV has done to her immune system.
CD4 cells are white blood cells and counting them is an objective way of measuring the damage done to one’s immune system, while a viral load test measures how active HIV is in one’s blood.
Feeling well and even being able to go back to work is subjective and certainly not a good way to measure how healthy one is. Many healthy looking people have been known to collapse and even die at work.
All people living with HIV should endeavour to eat a balanced diet. This may include taking food supplements if one can afford. However, food supplements and immune-boosters are not substitutes for treatment.
