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When is treatment with antiretroviral drugs started?

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As a general rule antiretroviral drugs are usually started if:

* opportunistic infections or other AIDS-related problems develop, or:
* your CD4 T-cells fall below a certain level (around 350 cells per cubic millimeter of blood or less) - even without symptoms. The exact level when treatment may be advised can depend on other factors such as symptoms, 'viral load', rate of decline of the CD4 T-cells, etc.

However, the treatment of HIV is a rapidly changing area of medicine. Trials are underway to assess whether antiretroviral drugs should be started earlier in people who have no symptoms, even as early as when first infected with HIV. The trials aim to show whether there are benefits from treatment before symptoms develop which outweigh the risk of side-effects from the drugs.

See the British HIV Association for up-to-date guidelines.
Treatment and prevention of infections?

Opportunistic infections can often be treated with antibiotics, antifungals, anti-TB drugs, etc, depending on what infection develops. Even if you have not developed an infection, once the CD4 T-cells falls to a low level you will normally be advised to take a regular dose of one or more antibiotics or other drugs to prevent certain opportunistic infections from developing.