Within a month or two of HIV entering the body, 40% to 90% of people
experience flulike symptoms known as acute retroviral syndrome (ARS).But
sometimes HIV symptoms don’t appear for years—sometimes even a
decade—after infection.
“In the early stages of HIV infection, the most common symptoms are
none,” says Michael Horberg, MD, director of HIV/AIDS for Kaiser
Permanente, in Oakland, Calif. One in five people in the United States
with HIV doesn’t know they have it, which is why it’s so important to
get tested, especially if you have unprotected sex with more than one
partner or use intravenous drugs.
Here are some signs that you may be HIV-positive.
Fever
One of the first signs of ARS can be a mild fever, up to about 102 degrees F.
The fever, if it occurs at all, is often accompanied by other usually
mild symptoms, such as fatigue, swollen lymph glands, and a sore
throat.
“At this point the virus is moving into the blood stream and starting
to replicate in large numbers,” says Carlos Malvestutto, MD, instructor
of infectious diseases and immunology in the department of medicine at
NYU School of Medicine in New York City. “As that happens, there is an
inflammatory reaction by the immune system.”
Fatigue
The inflammatory response generated by your besieged immune system also
can cause you to feel tired and lethargic. Fatigue can be both an early
and later sign of HIV.
Ron, 54, a public relations executive in the Midwest, started to
worry about his health when he suddenly got winded just walking.
“Everything I did, I got out of breath,” he says. “Before that I had
been walking three miles a day.”
Ron had tested HIV positive 25 years before feeling so tired; fatigue
during acute, or newly contracted, HIV might not be so obvious.
Achy muscles, joint pain, swollen lymph nodes
ARS is often mistaken for the flu, mononucleosis, or another viral infection, even syphilis or hepatitis.
That’s not surprising: Many of the symptoms are the same, including pain in the joints and muscles and swollen lymph glands.
Lymph nodes are part of your body’s immune system and tend to get
inflamed when there’s an infection. Many of them are located in your
armpit, groin, and neck.
Sore throat and headache
As with other symptoms, sore throat and headache can often be recognized as ARS only in context, Dr. Horberg says.
If you’ve engaged recently in high-risk behavior, an HIV test is a
good idea. Get tested for your own sake and for others: HIV is most
infectious in the earliest stage.
Keep in mind that the body hasn’t produced antibodies to HIV yet so
an antibody test may not pick it up. (It can take a few weeks to a few
months for HIV antibodies to show in a blood test). Investigate other
test options such as one that detects viral RNA, typically within nine
days of infection.
Skin rash
Skin rashes can occur early or late in the course of HIV/AIDS.
For Ron, this was another sign that he might not have run-of-the-mill allergies or a cold.
“They were like boils, with some itchy pink areas on my arms,” Ron
says. The rashes can also appear on the trunk of the body. “If [the
rashes] aren’t easily explained or easily treated, you should think
about having an HIV test,” Dr. Horberg says.
Sunday 5 March 2017
10 SIGNS THAT YOUR S£XUAL PARTNER MAY BE HIV POSITIVE…FORGET ABOUT HIS/HER LOOKS, HANDSOME OR BEAUTIFUL!…PLEASE READ THIS SURPRISING HEALTH FACTS BEFORE YOU #DIE…
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