HIV Symptoms

HIV that is Human Immuno deficiency Virus infects cells of the immune system of humans and destroys them. Most of the symptoms are not a cause of HIV and are not a definite sign of HIV. The method used to make sure whether an individual is infected by HIV is the HIV test.

What are the symptoms of HIV ?

People infected with HIV will not experience any immediate symptom. Nevertheless, the initial symptoms are like viruses of common cold or flu. People who have symptoms might experience fatigue, fever, rash, headache, sore throat, chest infection, vomiting, diarrhea and swollen lymph nodes. However symptoms are not specific with primary HIV infections. HIV symptoms might be experienced with the progress of the infection.

Initial stage: In the initial stage of HIV infection symptoms are like flu. It may develop within few days of one getting infected with HIV or even after several weeks. The symptoms experienced during this stage are: nausea, abdominal cramps, diarrhea, lymph nodes getting enlarged, skin rashes, loss of weight, sore throat, headache, fever, pain in the muscle and joints.

The symptoms mentioned above might be severe or mild and may also disappear after few days or weeks.

Chronic stage: In the chronic stage it might take many years for the HIV symptoms to develop. Even though the symptoms are not present the virus continues to multiply itself. The immune system gets weakened after years. Some of the symptoms are: diarrhea or bowel changes, confusion, fatigue, dry cough, loss of appetite, mouth sores, night sweats, pain while swallowing, and shortness of breath, weight loss, numbness and weakness in the limbs, yeast infection of the mouth. If you have most these symptoms you probably have HIV infection.

HIV may be suspected in women having vaginal yeast infection and pelvic inflammatory disease.

Final stage of HIV: In the last stage of HIV, Aids which is a later stage of HIV develop in people if HIV goes untreated for many years. The immune system becomes very weak and cannot fight HIV virus at a certain stage. With the passage of time and without any effective treatment for HIV, the immune system becomes more vulnerable to opportunistic infections. These infections are caused by germs which are normally around us. Most of the cancers are also a cause of weakened immune system. Hence the early the HIV infection treated, the better. With the treatment of HIV risk of getting Aids not only gets delayed but also prevented. Some infections and illnesses develop like cancer which is because of the immune system getting weakened.

Children may grow slowly and fall sick frequently if diagnosed with HIV. They may have problems in walking and mental development might get delayed. Some childhood infections like tonsillitis, pneumonia and ear infections also get severe.

The progress of HIV varies in individuals which may last from few months to several years. The virus continues to multiply and invades and kills the cells of the immune system. The immune system is severely damaged when Aids develop.