Symptoms

Recognising the initial symptoms of HIV is important. A person unknowingly HIV infected can get the same diseases as a non-infected person, so they might be harmless. However, if some of these symptoms last longer than usual, a doctor should be consulted and a HIV test should be taken to rule out an underlying HIV infection.

First symptoms: Shortly after becoming infected with HIV, the body has not yet had time to produce antibodies against the virus. In many cases the symptoms are misdiagnosed as other viral illnesses like the flu. They might even be so mild as to be completely unnoticed and the infected person does not feel ill at all. Doctors call these symptoms 'serconversion illnesses'. During this phase symptoms experienced are mainly due to the immune system's response to the virus. During this time your body is fighting HIV for the first time and producing antibodies to HIV. This process is called seroconversion.

First symptoms include

• Fever
• Night sweats
• Aching limbs
• Rash (may be mistaken as allergy)
• Headache
• Diarrhoea
• Mouth ulcers
• NOT: Coughing, Sneezing and a sore throat - this is most probably a common cold or the flu!

Asymptotic phase: After a while, the immune system has produced its antibodies and the initial signs of infection wear off. The infected person might not develop further symptoms for a long time. However, the virus is still replicating in the body. Due to the constant production of virus and the loss of immune cells, mild symptoms may occur but these often go unnoticed.

Other symptoms which may occur during the asymptotic phase often include

• Night sweats
• Swollen lymph nodes
• Mild weight loss

Severe infection: The longer the HIV goes untreated, the higher the risk of developing more severe symptoms. This is why it is so important to be tested for HIV if you believe you are at risk of infection or experience any symptoms. If untreated the virus can reproduce at a faster rate which results in a weakened immune system leading to certain more severe infections which can be called opportunistic infections mark the beginning of AIDS.