Not a lot is known about the effects of street drugs on HIV / AIDS or how those drugs will affect different treatments. A small amount of alcohol (one or two drinks a day) does not seem to increase damage to your immune system or cause you to get AIDS faster. However, drinking lots, or often, over a long period of time puts stress on your liver and other internal organs, which makes them less able to help your body use any medications you’re taking. Alcohol and drugs can make it harder for your body to absorb important vitamins and minerals, which can contribute to health problems.
Drug use increases the risk of getting bacterial infections such as bacterial pneumonia, sepsis (blood infection), and endocarditis (an inflammation of the heart). It might help to clean your skin with an alcohol swab before shooting up. Tuberculosis and hepatitis B are also major concerns for drug users. Also, it can be difficult to tell the difference between problems related to drug use and symptoms of some infections associated with AIDS. This may prevent the early diagnoses of some infections.