Approximately 40,000 people are diagnosed with HIV yearly in the United States, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, though most of these people have been infected with HIV for years prior to a diagnosis. The reason for the late diagnosis is that HIV is often asymptomatic for many years. However, an early diagnosis can significantly prolong the life expectancy of the patient as well as delay HIV's progression toward AIDS, states The Body, an online HIV/AIDS resource.
Acute Phase HIV Symptoms
According to MayoClinic.com, HIV symptoms vary considerably depending on the phase of the infection. The first phase is called an acute, or primary, HIV infection. During this stage, the patient typically either has no symptoms at all, or the symptoms are relatively minor and resemble those of the flu. These symptoms can appear two to six weeks after the person got infected and last for a few days. The initial symptoms may include fever, headache, rash, swollen lymph glands or sore throat. Since these symptoms are common in so many other diseases, most HIV infected people don’t even seek medical help at this stage. However, even if the person does not have any HIV symptoms at this phase, he can still spread the virus to other people.
Chronic Phase HIV Symptoms
MayoClinic.com states that although many infected people do not develop any significant symptoms for up to a decade, the virus keeps on attacking the immune system and killing the CD4 lymphocytes that defend the body against infections and diseases. Eventually, the number of these white cells drops so low that the person starts getting sick frequently and more severe symptoms appear. These include diarrhea, weight loss, dry cough and fever. Moreover, a person's lymph nodes remain swollen for a longer period of time, and towards the end of this phase, many people get diagnosed with HIV. According to The Body, an early diagnosis and treatment can significantly improve a person's immune system and prolong the time that he spends in this phase without getting diagnosed with AIDS.
AIDS Symptoms
According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, when the person's CD4 lymphocyte count is 200 or less--the standard being 800 to 1,200--and she begins to suffer from so-called opportunistic infections, HIV infection meets the official definition of AIDS. The opportunistic infections are illnesses that a normal, healthy person can fight off, but a person with a significantly weakened immune system cannot. Yet a person can be infected with an opportunistic disease even if he does not have HIV or AIDS. According to The Body, examples of typical opportunistic disease are tuberculosis, toxoplasmosis, malaria, candidiasis, herpes simplex viruses and pneumocystis pneumonia. Besides the symptoms of the opportunistic diseases, AIDS symptoms also include shortness of breath, night sweats, white spots on the tongue or mouth, chronic diarrhea, fever higher than 100 F that continues for several weeks, persistent headaches, blurred vision and significant weight loss. People infected with HIV are also more likely to develop certain cancers than people with normal immune systems.
