HIV is a virus that gets transmitted via exposure to contaminated bodily fluids. Women can become infected with HIV due to sexual intercourse or sharing needles with an infected intravenous drug user. An HIV infection has three main stages: acute HIV syndrome; an intermediate stage that has few symptoms; and AIDS.
Acute HIV Syndrome
When women are initially infected with HIV, they may develop some initial symptoms, which are known as acute HIV syndrome. The National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases explains that these symptoms include a fever, swollen lymph nodes, a headache and persistent fatigue. These symptoms typically resemble the flu and occur one to two months after the initial infection. Acute HIV syndrome typically lasts for a week, though the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases explains that it can last longer in some women. During this period of time, infected females are highly contagious due to large amounts of the virus in their bloodstream.
Opportunistic Infections
Once the symptoms of acute HIV syndrome have subsided, most women do not have any further symptoms for several years. During this time the virus gradually weakens the immune system, leading to the development of AIDS, AIDSInfoNet explains. Once the immune system is depleted, women are prone to developing certain diseases, termed opportunistic infections, that rarely affect patients with healthy immune systems. One common example is pneumocystic carinii pneumonia, which is a potentially fatal type of fungal pneumonia. Women may also develop toxoplasmosis, which is a dangerous parasitic brain infection. Women may also become blind as a result of a cytomegalovirus infection. Candidiasis, another opportunistic infection, can cause a fungal infection of the vagina, mouth and throat. Patients are also susceptible to outbreaks of the herpes simplex virus as well as tuberculosis.
Late-Stage HIV Symptoms
Women can also develop late-stage symptoms as a direct result of the HIV infection, the "Journal of the American Medical Society" explains. Some of these symptoms are common to many viral infections and include fatigue, fever, diarrhea and swollen lymph nodes. Patients with AIDS, however, may experience these symptoms for months at a time. Patients can also experience weight loss and blurred vision and severe headaches. Another symptom of late-stage HIV infection in women is the development of purple, red, blue or yellow blotches on the skin.
