Complementary and Alternative Medicines (CAM) such as vitamins and herbal supplements are commonly used by people living with chronic diseases, such as HIV, for which conventional medical therapy is only partially effective. Our own study found that 55% of people living with HIV in the UK took some form of vitamin or herbal supplement, either to improve immune function, combat side effects or improve health generally.
CAM should never be used as an alternative to antiretroviral therapy; however it is possible that the use of CAM may benefit some people living with HIV. However there is a misconception that because a product is ‘natural’ it is safe, and free from side effects and drug interactions. Some herbal remedies have been shown to be unsafe or potentially unsafe for people living with HIV. It is therefore important that people living with HIV discuss their use of CAM with their pharmacists or doctor. However our survey found that only 39% of people using CAM had fully discuss their use of supplements with their physician.
The use of CAM is widespread among PLHIV, even in the era of effective ART, although there is a lack of knowledge of the efficacy and safety of CAM due to limited funding and research in this field and shortcomings in methodology of existing studies.
As a result clinicians and patients do not have access to good quality evidence to inform clinical decision-making. What evidence is available is often contradictory or inconclusive.
We have put together some information below on vitamins and herbal supplements – however we believe that if there are vitamins and supplements, which could strengthen the immune system or improve people’s quality of life, it makes sense to conduct proper scientifically rigorous trials to establish what is beneficial or not. This information could improve the quality of life of thousands of HIV-positive people.
