According to the Mayo Clinic, an estimated 39.5 million people worldwide are infected with HIV (human immunodeficiency virus). It is a virus that damages your immune system, slowly destroying it over the years, making your body unable to fight off various life-threatening diseases such as cancer, pneumonia and meningitis. Treatment is available for HIV, and the sooner you are diagnosed, the more effective your treatment will be.
Early Stages of HIV
When you first become infected with HIV, you may not have any symptoms. This does not mean that you cannot transmit the virus to others though. The moment the virus enters your body, it begins attacking your immune system.
Within two to four weeks of becoming infected, it is common to develop flu-like symptoms which include swollen lymph glands, fever, rash and sore throat. At this point, HIV is not the first thing that comes to mind.
Mid-Stage Symptoms
HIV spreads by multiplying in your lymph nodes, destroying the T cells and white blood cells that are responsible for driving your entire immune system. Although you may not experience any symptoms for as long as eight or nine years, eventually mild infections will begin to develop as your immune system breaks down. These infections produce symptoms such as swollen lymph nodes, diarrhea, cough, fever, weight loss and shortness of breath.
Late Stage Symptoms
The most severe symptoms of HIV typically appear 10 years or more after you have become infected. By this time, the virus has now become AIDS, the condition resulting from the damage done to your immune system by HIV. The symptoms at this stage include chills, high fever, night sweats, blurred vision, weight loss, chronic diarrhea and consistent fatigue you cannot explain.
HIV Symptoms in Children
Many children fall victim to HIV, and some of the symptoms they experience may vary slightly from those suffered by adults. These include difficulty in growing and gaining weight, developmental delays, walking difficulties and normal childhood illnesses in more severe forms such as tonsillitis and ear infections.
