Charlie Sheen announced Tuesday that he?s HIV positive.
The actor said that though it?s the virus that causes AIDS, he is being treated for it and that the virus is "undetectable" in his blood.
Many studies have shown that when people take drugs to treat the human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) they can stay very healthy and don't develop the diseases, from cancer to pneumonia, that used to make AIDS so deadly.
The recommendation now is to start taking drugs as soon as you?re diagnosed.
When patients have "undetectable" levels of virus, that doesn't mean it's not there. It just means what virus is in their bodies isn't circulating in obvious places, like the blood. That is why the drugs have to be taken for a lifetime.
The drugs work well when they're taken as cocktails, controlling the virus from several different directions. This made it difficult in the past for HIV patients. Now combinations of pills make it easier. And new formulations mean side-effects, such as diarrhea and unhealthy cholesterol levels, are far less likely to happen.
