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The Real HIV Symptoms

HIV disease has four different stages, each characterized by a different set of symptoms, or, in the case of the longest stage, by the lack of symptoms. These are acute HIV infection, which causes a generally mild flu-like illness; asymptomatic HIV, during which no symptoms are present; symptomatic HIV, which leads to chronic flulike and other symptoms; and AIDS, which is defined by a number of conditions, each with their own symptoms.

  1. Time Frame: First Stage

    • During acute HIV infection, about two to four weeks after contracting the virus, many people develop a flulike illness. According to HIV-Symptoms.info, the symptoms of this illness include fever, headache and sore throat, swollen lymph glands, aches and pains, fatigue, stomach troubles and skin rash. The symptoms of first-stage HIV-disease are nondiagnostic, meaning that a diagnosis of HIV cannot be reached on the basis of these symptoms alone.

    Time Frame: Second Stage

    • Asymptomatic HIV (second-stage HIV disease) occurs after the symptoms of acute HIV infection clear. This is the longest stage of HIV disease, lasting an average of ten years. Many people go unaware that they have contracted HIV at this stage and may expose others to the virus during this time through unprotected penetrative sex or by sharing hypodermic needles.

      The only way to know one's status before symptoms occur is to be tested. HIVTest.org provides information about different types of HIV tests and helps locate HIV testing centers.

    Time Frame: Third Stage

    • Symptomatic HIV (third-stage HIV disease) occurs after asymptomatic HIV. This stage lasts for between one and three years, during which time a chronic flulike illness appears. According to HIV-Symptoms.info, other symptoms include severe weight loss, night sweats and fungal infections as well as breathing and skin problems.

    Effects: AIDS

    • AIDS occurs when cell-mediated immunity is lost, meaning that the immune system has lost the ability to fight off infection on its own. Four groups of conditions occur during AIDS: opportunistic infections, wasting (severe weight loss), cancers and neurological conditions.

    Types

    • Opportunistic infections generally do not cause disease in people with healthy immune systems or cause more severe symptoms in the immunocompromised. These include thrush (an oral fungus), herpesviruses, toxoplasmosis (a brain infection caused by parasites) and Pneumocystis pneumonia.

      Cancers that appear in AIDS include Kaposi's sarcoma and lymphomas. Kaposi's sarcoma is a skin cancer that manifests as purple lesions, and lymphomas are cancers of immune cells (lymphocytes).

      The most significant neurological condition found in AIDS is AIDS dementia complex (ADC). According to HIV InSite, ADC affects motor skills, thinking and behavior.

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