Half of HIV patients use alternative medicine

Susan Aldridge, PhD

A survey shows that half of HIV-infected Americans are using alternative medicines like megavitamin doses or herbs to replace or supplement anti-HIV drugs.
Treatment with anti-retroviral drugs has changed HIV/AIDS from a death sentence to a chronic disease for many. But the drugs are expensive, complicated to take and may cause serious side effects. No wonder that many turn to alternative medicines to either replace or supplement these drugs - according to a survey carried out by researchers at the University of California, Los Angeles.

They asked a group of nearly 2,500 participants about their use of alternative medicines and found that 53 per cent were using remedies such as herbs, homeopathy, megavitamins and unlicensed prescription drugs. One quarter of the group did not tell their doctor about the alternative therapies they were using - even though there's a risk of adverse interactions with the anti-HIV drugs. Three per cent of the group were even using alternative medicines instead of their drugs, even though their doctor might not have been aware of this. There's nothing wrong with people with HIV/AIDS getting some benefit from alternative medicines, of course. But they should tell their doctors what they are doing - and the doctor should remember to ask!

Source
Journal of AIDS 19th June 2003