HIV Symptoms

HIV is a dangerous virus, and without taking the proper medication, it can lead to early death. The virus is mostly transmitted through sexual intercourse due to blood contact (CDC, 2022). There are many signs and symptoms of HIV which relate to symptoms of other viruses and diseases.

Symptoms

To be certain whether one is HIV positive, taking a test is the best option since symptoms alone can be unreliable.

Fever

One of the symptoms of HIV is fever. Fever is experienced in the early stages of HIV, which range from two weeks to four weeks. It is the first stage of HIV, and it is easy for a patient to ignore the sign since many diseases and viruses are associated with this symptom. Again, the other symptom experienced in this stage is chills and night sweats.

At times patients experience unbalanced conditions where they have chills and, at the same time, experience sweatiness, especially at night (Prabhu et al., 2019). The clothes and the beddings get soaked by the sweat, and it seems not to end. These symptoms are also associated with other viruses and diseases; therefore, it is advisable to run a test to determine the HIV status.

Muscle aches

Muscle aches are another symptom associated with stage 1 of HIV. Patients feel discomfort around their muscles due to the virus attacking the body cells. It also involves joint aches, but the symptom does not last long. After it has gone, it takes years before the patient might experience it again (CDC, 2022).

Dry cough

A sore throat associated with dry cough is another symptom of HIV. Very ill patients experience a severe dry cough, which often persists despite inhalers and antibiotics (Climaco & Namazie, 2019). The symptom can last for weeks or months. It is advisable to seek professional aid if the symptom persists.

Fatigue, headache

Fatigue which most times comes with headache is another symptom of HIV.

The besieged immune system generates an inflammatory response, which makes the patient feel exhausted. It may also make patients feel like they are running out of breath. The headaches affect normal body performance. These symptoms can be experienced in the early and later stages of HIV (Prabhu et al., 2019). Again, when a virus attacks the body, the lymph nodes are responsible for fighting it; thus, they swell. Therefore, swollen lymph nodes are another symptom associated with HIV. These lymph nodes inflame when an infection is detected, and since they are part of the human immune system, they are designed to attack the virus and get rid of it.

Skin rash

Skin rash is another HIV symptom. The symptom last for like two weeks. In the early stage of the symptom, the patient might not feel itchiness, and it may look like pink breakouts but later gets itchy. It can appear in any stage of HIV. Vomiting, nausea, and diarrhea are other symptoms that generally affect the patient's digestion system. In the early stages, patients infected with HIV experience digestive complications which lead to vomiting and diarrhea (CDC, 2022). At this point, the patient needs to stay hydrated to ease the complications. A patient experiencing diarrhea that does not respond to the usual treatment of diarrhea can indicate early stages of HIV; therefore, the patient needs to seek a doctor's help.

Mouth ulcers

Mouth ulcers are symptoms of HIV. Due to the weak immune system affected by the virus, mouth ulcers get the opportunity to attack, and patient experiences challenges in the mouth when eating or drinking (CDC, 2022). The symptom affects the patient’s quality of life and their diet. Although it is not life-threatening, it significantly impacts the patient's lifestyle and health in general. The symptoms appear in the first two to four weeks of infection. In the late stages, rapid weight loss is a symptom that HIV patients experience.

At this stage, the body's immune system is highly affected, and fighting the virus is extremely challenging for the body’s immune system hence the poor body weight loss. A patient can lose up to 10% of their body weight due to the virus (Prabhu et al., 2019). The patient already has Acquired Immune Deficiency Syndrome (AIDS) at this stage. Patients can receive advanced treatment, but weight loss still affects them. Getting to strengthen the immune system for the patient to gain weight again might take the time or fail to happen to lead to death.