The term "lab results" means the combined results of a blood test. It is recommended that people with HIV have their blood tested regularly. The laboratory values show how much virus is in your body and whether it has done any damage to your immune system.
Two laboratory values are especially important: the viral load indicates how much HIV is in your blood. The number of helper T cells indicates to what extent the immune system has already been damaged.
From these test results, your doctor can tell whether it is time to start HIV treatment or whether the treatment is working properly. If the test results show that the treatment is not working, you will need to change to a different combination of drugs.
As well as having regular tests to check how well the drugs are working, you will have other blood tests to see if HIV, or the drugs, are affecting any other parts of your body, such as your internal organs and bones.
