No Hiv, No Aids

Yes. Adherence is a major issue in HIV treatment for two reasons.

First, adherence affects how well the HIV drugs decrease viral load. When you skip medication doses even once, the virus has the opportunity to make copies of itself more rapidly. This makes it difficult for the drugs to be effective. Other factors that may affect treatment effectiveness include your baseline viral load and CD4+ T cell count, whether you have any AIDS-related illnesses, and whether you have used HIV drugs before.

Second, adherence to HIV treatment is very important to prevent drug resistance. Studies have shown that when you skip doses, you may develop strains of HIV that are drug-resistant. This may leave you with fewer treatment options if your viral load does not decrease. Because drug-resistant strains can be transmitted to others, it has serious consequences for anyone with whom you engage in risky behavior.