What if I forget to take my medication?
What is the best source to check the compatibility of various natural products with HIV medication?
On this page we list answers to some frequently asked questions. If you have a question you can’t find the answer to on our website, you can send us your questions via the contact form, or by contacting our personnel. You can find our contact information here.
What if I forget to take my medication?
Forgetting your medication once is not dangerous. If you realise you forgot to take your medicine more than 12 hours before the next time you would usually take your medication, take the medication immediately and the next dose at the usual time. If you remember later, only take your next dose as usual. If you forget to take your medication with you on a long journey, you can find support by contacting your local HIV organisation, for example. It is not dangerous to forget to take your medication for a few days. The most important thing is to take the remaining medication without interruption, according to the instructions given, for as long as you have remaining medication. Do not change the dosage to make the medication last longer!
If you frequently forget to take your medication, you should discuss the matter with your doctor or nurse to find a way to help you remember to take your medication. Use a phone alarm, a medicine organiser box or some other way to remind you to take your medication.
What is the best source to check the compatibility of various natural products with HIV medication? Is there a reliable website or other source available?
The HIV drug interactions database (www.hiv-druginteractions.org/checker) on the University of Liverpool website is available to everyone and therefore also available to people who use medication and can search for information in English. In the database, a green indicator means the products can be safely used together, a red indicator means the products are not suitable to be used together, and a yellow indicator means you should contact your healthcare unit first.
However, my first advice would be to contact your pharmacy or hospital pharmacy, where the information can be easily checked, and they can provide advice on more appropriate products if necessary. For example, in the Helsinki and Uusimaa region, we are happy to answer all kinds of questions about the use of medication at HUS Pharmacy’s community pharmacy.
Response by Veera Pösö, Managing Pharmacist at HUS Pharmacy
Do HIV and HIV drugs increase cancer risk?
At the group level, large studies have found that people living with HIV have about twice the risk of cancer compared to HIV-negative people. The risk is mainly associated with cancers that are caused by a viral infection. These include cervical cancer and anal cancer, for which the papillomavirus, HPV, is a risk factor, in addition to HIV. These cancers develop slowly. Therefore, their precursors can be treated to prevent them from developing into cancer. All women are screened for cervical cancer, usually with a Pap test or HPV test every three years or so. Screening for anal cancer in men is being planned. In some countries, these “male Pap tests” are already being performed and cellular mutations are being treated. The important thing is that if you experience anal symptoms, you should always tell your doctor and have the causes investigated appropriately.
The risk of many common cancers, such as breast cancer or prostate cancer, is no higher in people living with HIV than in HIV-negative ones. There is some increase in the risk of lung cancer, but this is associated with smoking, not with HIV infection. Almost one in three people living with HIV smoke, compared to only one in ten HIV-negative Finnish people. Therefore, quitting tobacco is an important way to reduce your risk of cancer.
HIV medication does not increase the risk of cancer.
Response by Pia Kivelä, Infectious Disease Doctor at HUS
Can people living with HIV receive organ transplants?
People living with HIV can receive organ transplants. In Finland, there have been a few kidney transplants and at least one liver transplant for people living with HIV. All have gone well. Of course, there are always conditions associated with transplants and, for example, HIV must be properly managed to be eligible, but it is entirely possible for people living with HIV to receive transplants.
Response by Jussi Sutinen, Infectious Diseases Doctor at HUS