HIV medicine is used to fight coronavirus, is it effective?

Until now, medical personnel are still looking for ways to cure the plague coronavirus which hit the city of Wuhan, China. One way is to test HIV drugs to fight back Novel coronavirus .

Was the trial successful? Check out the reviews below to find out the answer.

Is it true that HIV drugs can fight infection Novel coronavirus ?

This is because there is no vaccine available to prevent an outbreak Novel coronavirus , medical personnel try to treat patients by relieving their symptoms.

The results are quite convincing, namely that there are some patients who recover after undergoing intensive care. However, experts are still trying to find other ways, including trials of HIV drugs to fight infection coronavirus .

A number of media reports, currently researchers are trying to treat patients novel coronavirus with the HIV drug, namely Aluvia. Aluvia is a combination of two HIV drugs, namely Lopinavir and Ritonavir. The combination of HIV drugs is then used to fight back coronavirus that happened in Wuhan.

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Experiments on lopinavir and ritonavir have actually been carried out by experts from China and published in journals Lancet . In the trial, this HIV drug was used at a hospital in Wuhan at random.

Source: walesonline

The patient was asked to take two pills of lopinavir and ritonavir while inhaling alpha-interferon twice a day. As a result, the symptoms experienced by them were reduced.

Both drugs target proteases, which are enzymes used by HIV and coronavirus so that the protein is truncated when making a copy of the cell itself.

HIV drug trials to fight coronavirus this was done because the combination of lopinavir and ritonavir was quite effective when used in SARS-CoV patients. Therefore, the results of previous studies were eventually used by health workers as an effort to reduce the spread coronavirus .

However, until now, the government and health workers in China are still finding out what drugs are really effective against this virus outbreak. This includes determining whether HIV drugs can be used to treat them coronavirus as a whole or only in a few patients.

What are lopinavir and ritonavir?

After knowing what HIV drugs the experts were trying to fight coronavirus , first identify what lopinavir and ritonavir really is.

As reported by the Medlineplus page, a combination of lopinavir and ritonavir is used to treat HIV or human immunodeficiency virus . The way this drug works is by reducing the amount of HIV in the blood.

The two drugs are combined, of course, not without reason. If lopinavir and ritonavir are taken at the same time, ritonavir can help increase the amount of lopinavir in the body. Then, the effect will be much bigger.

Since 2000, lopinavir and ritonavir have been confirmed safe by the FDA as antiretroviral drugs (ARVs). However, there are no minimum age guidelines for taking this drug.

However, these two drugs cannot completely cure HIV, they only reduce your risk of getting AIDS from HIV or cancer.

How to use the drugs lopinavir and ritonavir

Source: Freepik

Normally, HIV drugs that allegedly can be used against coronavirus it is available in tablet and liquid form.

For those of you who need this drug you can usually take it twice a day. However, in some adults with certain conditions, the consumption limit can be reduced to once a day.

If you are getting lopinavir and ritonavir in liquid form, you should take them with food. While the combination of HIV drugs to fight coronavirus in tablet form can be eaten without the need to eat anything.

You should not crush, chew, or break lopinavir and ritonavir tablets because they can reduce their effect on your blood.

For children who take this drug, of course the dosage will be different from adults. If the child is taking table lopinavir and ritonavir, the doctor will give a half dose of the adult. In addition, the dose of this drug also depends on the child's weight, so it is very important to know the child's weight when taking the drug.

The way you use HIV drugs may be different when you try to fight them novel coronavirus . Therefore, don't forget to always follow the doctor's instructions and the instructions listed on the medicine package.

Side effects of lopinavir and ritonavir

After knowing how to use HIV drugs that are being tested for their effectiveness in fighting coronavirus , identify the side effects of lopinavir and ritonavir.

Usually, the combination of these two HIV drugs can cause moderate to severe allergic reactions. If after taking lopinavir and ritonavir you experience severe allergy symptoms as below, please contact your doctor immediately to get the right treatment.

• Headache accompanied by chest pain and irregular heartbeat
• Upper abdominal pain that spreads to the back
• Nausea and vomiting
• Loss of appetite and clay-like stools
• Fever, sore throat, swollen face and skin rash
• Blood sugar levels increase dramatically

Apart from allergic reactions, possible HIV drugs can be used to treat outbreaks coronavirus it also produces a number of fairly normal side effects, such as:

• Nausea, vomiting and diarrhea
• High cholesterol
• Changes in body shape, especially in the arms, legs, face and waist

Therefore, it is highly recommended for those of you who use this HIV drug, especially to fight coronavirus , still follow the doctor's instructions. If you feel that lopinavir and ritonavir does not improve or have any effect, consult your doctor again.