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Definite Symptoms of HIV

Some people do not experience symptoms in the early stages of HIV infection, but there are a few symptoms to watch for if you think you may be at risk.

  1. What is HIV?

    • The human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) is a virus that inhibits your body's ability to fight off illness and disease. HIV can be transmitted through sexual contact, infected blood transfer, sharing of needles or sometimes from mother to child during pregnancy, delivery or breastfeeding. Advanced HIV is known as acquired immunodeficiency syndrome (AIDS).

    Early Symptoms

    • When a person is first infected, it's very common to show no signs or symptoms at all for up to ten years. However, some individuals may have a brief flu-like illness with symptoms such as fever, sore throat, headaches, swollen lymph nodes and a rash.

    Advanced Symptoms

    • As the disease progresses, the infected individual may start to develop symptoms such as diarrhea, weight loss, fever, cough and swollen lymph nodes. If the disease has fully progressed to AIDS, a sufferer may have fatigue, night sweats, fever, chills, weight loss, chronic diarrhea, dry cough, blurred vision and white spots or lesions in the mouth. Late stage AIDS may also involve opportunistic infections, cancer and a low white blood cell count.

    Symptoms in Children

    • Children with HIV may have difficulty growing at a normal rate and gaining weight, difficulty walking, mental development issues and persistent childhood illnesses.

    Getting Tested

    • Because the early signs of HIV often go undetected or are mistaken for a cold or flu, it's very important to get tested if you think you are at risk of infection. Testing is the only way that a person can be absolutely sure whether or not they have the disease. Early testing is also the key to preventing further spread of the infection.

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