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What Are Signs of Having HIV or AIDS?

The signs of having contracted HIV are fairly limited, especially as significant symptoms are not present until HIV disease has advanced to its third stage. The first stage of HIV disease causes a flu-like illness in some people, which transitions into the asymptomatic stage of HIV after symptoms clear. Third-stage HIV disease manifests as a chronic flu-like illness with the presence of some other systems; AIDS is the fourth stage and produces a broad array of symptoms.

  1. Acute HIV Infection

    • Acute HIV infection occurs about one month after the virus is contracted. During this time, some people develop a flu-like illness whose symptoms include fever, swollen lymph nodes, aches and pains, digestive problems, fatigue and skin rash, according to HIV-Symptoms.info. Other people do not develop any symptoms, or their symptoms are very mild.

      The symptoms of acute HIV infection are non-diagnostic; this means that, even if individuals seek out medical treatment at this stage, a diagnosis of HIV will not be reached based on these symptoms alone.

    Asymptomatic HIV

    • When the symptoms of acute infection clear, HIV enters its asymptomatic stage. This stage has no symptoms and lasts for an average of 10 years, although there is no way to know how long this stage will last in a given individual. Many people are unaware that they have contracted HIV during this time because of the lack of symptoms; this poses a risk of infection to one's sexual partners and people with whom one shares hypodermic needles.

    Testing

    • The only way to know one's HIV status for sure is through testing; this helps identify HIV infection before it has progressed to symptomatic HIV or AIDS. Knowing one's status allows one to take appropriate steps to protect others and to make decisions about seeking treatment to manage HIV disease. See Resources below to learn more HIV testing and to locate testing centers.

    Symptomatic HIV

    • Symptomatic HIV occurs after asymptomatic HIV and before AIDS. It is at this stage that many individuals realize for the first time that they have contracted HIV. In addition to a chronic flu-like illness, people living with symptomatic HIV disease experience weight loss, night sweats, fungal infections and skin and breathing problems.

    AIDS

    • AIDS is diagnosed when an HIV-positive individual's CD4 cell count drops below 200 per milliliter; this is called the loss of cell-mediated immunity. AIDS is also diagnosed when an opportunistic infection occurs; opportunistic infections only occur in people whose immune systems have become severely weakened. Common opportunistic infections include pneumocystis pneumonia, thrush, toxoplasmosis and cytomegalovirus.

      In addition to opportunistic infections, AIDS can lead to severe weight loss, called wasting; cancers, including a skin cancer called Kaposi's sarcoma and lymphomas; and neurological problems, including AIDS Dementia Complex.

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