Combivir (lamivudine, zidovudine) is an outdated HIV treatment. Learn why modern alternatives like Biktarvy and Dovato are safer, simpler, and now the global standard for starting HIV therapy.
Zidovudine: What It Is, How It Works, and What You Need to Know
When it comes to Zidovudine, a nucleoside reverse transcriptase inhibitor used to treat HIV infection. Also known as AZT, it was the first drug approved by the FDA to fight HIV back in 1987—changing the course of the epidemic and giving people with HIV their first real chance at survival. Before Zidovudine, an HIV diagnosis often meant a death sentence within years. This drug didn’t cure it, but it slowed the virus down, bought time, and paved the way for everything that came after.
Zidovudine works by blocking an enzyme HIV needs to copy itself. Without that enzyme, the virus can’t make new copies of its genetic material. That’s why it’s called a reverse transcriptase inhibitor. It doesn’t kill the virus outright, but it stops it from spreading through your body as fast. Today, Zidovudine is rarely used alone. It’s usually part of a combo—often with other antiretrovirals like lamivudine or tenofovir—because using multiple drugs together keeps the virus from becoming resistant. You’ll find it in fixed-dose combinations like Combivir and Trizivir, which make daily dosing simpler.
It’s not without side effects. Fatigue, headaches, nausea, and anemia are common. Long-term use can affect your muscles and nerves, and in rare cases, it can harm your bone marrow. That’s why regular blood tests are important if you’re taking it. But for many, especially in places where newer drugs aren’t available or affordable, Zidovudine still plays a role. It’s also used to prevent mother-to-child transmission during pregnancy and delivery—cutting the risk of HIV passing to the baby by more than half.
Other HIV medications today are better tolerated and more effective, like dolutegravir or bictegravir. But Zidovudine’s legacy is huge. It proved that antiretroviral therapy could work. It gave hope. And it showed that science could fight back—even when the odds seemed impossible.
Below, you’ll find real-world posts that connect Zidovudine to broader topics: how HIV treatment guidelines evolved, what alternatives exist, how drug interactions can affect outcomes, and how patients manage long-term care. These aren’t just drug facts—they’re stories of survival, adaptation, and progress.