Adhering to treatment

To make sure that HIV treatment works effectively it is important that the drugs are taken on time, every time. This is called 100% adherence. It can be hard to achieve 100% adherence, but studies have shown that that in order for HIV treatment to have a good chance of working, people have to take their drugs correctly 95% of the time.

For some treatments the exact timing is important, whereas for others you may have some leeway. Check with your doctor to find out what applies to your treatment.  

Missing a dose

If you do forget a dose or are late with it, then don’t panic. Just take the next one on time. But don’t take two at once.

The same applies to timing: these days nearly all combinations give you several hours’ leeway, so don’t worry if you don’t take them the minute you are supposed to.

However, it is important not to miss several doses in a row, for example at weekends. Having one break of several days is more likely to create drug-resistant HIV than missing the occasional single dose.

Improving your adherence

There are many ways that you can improve your adherence and help make sure that your HIV treatment remains effective:

• Make sure you understand exactly when to take your pills, and what they do. Studies have found that if people know how their drugs work, they take them more regularly.
• Buy an alarm watch or bleeper and set it to go off when your doses are due.
• Ask a friend or relative to remind you to take your pills.
• Keep an emergency dose in your desk at work, or in your bag if you’re away from home. Remember, though, that some pills have to be refrigerated and will eventually ‘go off’ if not kept at the right temperature.
• Use a pill-box with separate compartments that you fill up once a week.