Now accepting Telehealth appointments. Schedule a virtual visit.
Skip to main content
832-471-8351 Request Appointment

HIV/AIDS Specialist

Faiza Tahir, MD Our Services HIV/AIDS
Faiza Tahir, MD - - Infectious Disease Physician

Faiza Tahir, MD

Infectious Disease Physician located in Baytown, TX

Though there's still no cure for HIV/AIDS, Faiza Tahir, MD PA, in Baytown, Texas, can prescribe advanced medications that keep the virus well controlled and reduce your viral load so significantly that you can't transmit it to your partner. Dr. Tahir also prescribes medications that help you prevent HIV if you're at a high risk of getting the virus. Early treatment gives you the ability to live a long and healthy life even after developing HIV/AIDS. To learn more, call the office or book an appointment online today.

HIV/AIDS Q&A

What causes HIV/AIDS?

HIV stands for human immunodeficiency virus, the virus that causes acquired immunodeficiency syndrome (AIDS).

When the virus takes hold in your body, it weakens your immune system by destroying specialized cells needed to fight disease and infections. Then you become vulnerable to life-threatening infections and health complications.

How do I get HIV/AIDS?

HIV is transmitted during sexual intercourse. The virus is carried through semen, vaginal secretions, and blood that enter your body during vaginal, anal, or oral sex.

The virus can also spread by contact with infected blood, such as happens when sharing syringes. Additionally, the virus can pass from a mother to her child during pregnancy, childbirth, and breastfeeding.

What symptoms develop if I have HIV/AIDS?

The disease passes through three stages:

Acute HIV

Two to four weeks after HIV enters your body, you may develop a flu-like illness that causes symptoms such as:

  • Fever
  • Rash
  • Cough
  • Diarrhea
  • Headache
  • Muscle aches
  • Joint pain
  • Sore throat
  • Mouth sores
  • Swollen lymph glands

Your symptoms may be so mild that you barely notice them, but you still carry a high viral load.

Chronic HIV

At this stage, the virus doesn't cause symptoms, but it still keeps multiplying and destroying your immune cells. Without treatment, this stage may last a decade or longer, or it could last a few years. At the end of the stage, an active infection develops.

AIDS

AIDS develops when your immune system is too damaged to prevent opportunistic infections. You can get many different infections causing problems such as skin rashes, oral thrush, pneumonia, and shingles.

How is HIV/AIDS treated?

Dr. Tahir offers today's most advanced treatment for HIV/AIDS, antiretroviral therapy (ART). ART typically includes three or more medications that work together to lower the viral load in your blood, stop the virus from duplicating, and block it from affecting immune cells.

Taking your ART medication as prescribed helps to strengthen your immune system, lower your risk of getting an infection, and reduce your chances of transmitting HIV to others.

Can medications prevent HIV/AIDS?

You can prevent HIV with:

PrEP (pre-exposure prophylaxis)

If you’re at risk of getting HIV (but don't yet have it), you can take a daily medication that lowers your chances of developing HIV from sexual contact by 99%.

PEP (post-exposure prophylaxis)

PEP is an emergency treatment you can take after you're exposed to HIV. You must start taking the medication within 72 hours to prevent HIV.

If you need HIV/AIDS testing and treatment, call Faiza Tahir, MD PA, or book an appointment online today.

What we offer

Services