Symptoms of HIV

Some symptoms appear in the early stage of HIV, while others show up in later stages. Not everyone will experience symptoms early on, or have the same symptoms at the same stage. The primary treatment for HIV is antiretroviral therapy, or ART.

As many as two out of three people with acute-stage HIV do not know they have it. AIDS, also known as late-stage HIV, is when your immune system is very damaged. During this time, you’re likely to develop certain infections or diseases, known as opportunistic infections.

Chronic or Asymptomatic HIV Infection

• HIV can progress to acquired immune deficiency syndrome (AIDS) over time if left untreated.
• HIV/AIDS is a global pandemic, though its impact varies across regions.
• Better antiviral treatments have greatly decreased deaths from AIDS worldwide.
• It depends on the person and what stage of the disease they are in.

Self-testing allows people to take an HIV test and find out their result in their own home or other private location. You can buy a self-test kit at a pharmacy or online, or your health care provider may be able to order one for you. Some health departments or community-based organizations also provide self-test kits for a reduced cost or for free.

HIV Symptoms FAQs

Without treatment, the number of CD4 cells will drop, and you’ll be more likely to get other infections. Night sweats can occur during the acute stage as the body fights the virus and during the chronic phase if there is an opportunistic infection. In addition to ART, patients may need preventive medications to guard against opportunistic infections like tuberculosis, pneumonia, or fungal infections. Vaccinations, healthy bitit review lifestyle choices, and regular medical monitoring are also key. When it comes to HIV symptoms, remember that it’s not always HIV itself that makes people feel sick. Many HIV symptoms, particularly the most severe ones, arise from opportunistic infections.

Many individuals and communities have turned their struggle into activism, leading to global movements that demand research, funding, and justice. When HIV was first discovered, a diagnosis was often seen as a death sentence. But today, thanks to advances in medicine, HIV is a manageable chronic condition for many people. After exposure, it takes time before HIV can be detected by tests. This is known as the “window period,” which typically ranges from 10 days to 3 months depending on the type of test. During this period, a person can be infectious even if their test results are negative.

Prevention: Stopping HIV Before It Spreads

• Yet it is also a story of resilience, innovation, and hope.
• Taking medicines early can help limit damage to your immune system to keep you healthy.
• You may experience a persistent headache that can range from mild to severe.
• Sore throat and dry cough can be symptoms of early HIV infection, but they also appear in later stages of HIV.
• Having AIDS means your immune system is very damaged.
• Fear and misinformation continue to fuel prejudice, despite decades of education campaigns.

They may not know they have the virus, but they can still pass on HIV. But medicines can control the infection and keep the disease from getting worse. Antiviral treatments for HIV have reduced AIDS deaths around the world. There’s an ongoing effort to make ways to prevent and treat HIV/AIDS more available in resource-poor countries. The sooner you find out you have HIV, the sooner you can start treatment.

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In wealthier nations, new infections have declined thanks to education, prevention, and treatment. But challenges persist, especially among marginalized groups such as men who have sex with men, transgender people, sex workers, and people who inject drugs. Once inside, HIV replicates and eventually destroys the host cell, releasing new viral particles that go on to infect other cells. This ongoing cycle gradually weakens the immune system. AIDS, or Acquired Immunodeficiency Syndrome, is the most advanced stage of HIV infection. Not everyone with HIV develops AIDS, but without treatment, HIV almost inevitably progresses to this stage.

But there’s a lot you can do to protect yourself from getting it in the first place. If you think you may have HIV or are at risk, get tested to find out. Taking medicines early can help limit damage to your immune system to keep you healthy. Antiretroviral therapy (ART) also can keep the virus at an undetectable level so that you can avoid passing the virus on to anyone else. When early (acute) symptoms are present, they will likely appear in the first month or two after infection.

Even as the other signs of the acute HIV infection go away, swollen lymph nodes can persist in some people for many weeks or months. However, the virus will still be active, infecting new cells and making copies of itself. If left untreated, HIV infection will cause severe damage to the immune system.

Since not everyone has early symptoms of HIV, getting tested is the only way to know if the virus has been contracted. An early diagnosis also allows an HIV-positive person to begin treatment. Proper treatment can eliminate their risk of transmitting the virus to their sexual partners. Most people don’t have symptoms they can see or feel at this stage. You may not realize you’re infected and can pass HIV on to others. If you’re taking ART, you might stay in this phase for decades.

The earlier you are diagnosed with HIV and start treatment, the better your health will be over time. This is why testing for HIV is so important because you can’t know if you have HIV from symptoms alone. Once you’re diagnosed you can start HIV treatment which keeps you healthy and make less likely to pass HIV on.

How does HIV become AIDS?

During this stage, people experience no symptoms while the viral infection progresses at very low levels. Many people show no symptoms of HIV during this entire 10- to 15-year period. The first stage of HIV is known as acute or primary HIV infection. During this stage, some people experience common flu-like symptoms that may be hard to distinguish from a gastrointestinal or respiratory infection.