The symptoms for the human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) mirror the flu. Some people show no symptoms. At first, the HIV infection is referred to as acute retroviral syndrome, or "primary HIV infection." Signs that an HIV infection is turning into an acquired immunodeficiency syndrome (AIDS) may not appear until months or years later. But the only way to be sure if you have HIV is by a laboratory test of a sample of your blood.
Fever
One early sign of an HIV infection is a mild fever. This mild fever, often associated with other flu symptoms listed below, may easily be dismissed as having "picked up a bug" or a cold virus. An early sign of HIV turning into AIDS is a fever that won't go away. You may also tend to sweat while sleeping.
Headache
During the initial stage of HIV infection, you may have a mild headache. While not of migraine intensity, headaches of the kind you may have experienced with seasonal flu may mislead the HIV-infected patient into believing she is fighting the flu. When HIV comes back as AIDS, a more generalized syndrome of aches throughout the body make the sufferer feel "sick" all the time, according to the Cleveland Clinic Web site.
Tiredness
You may feel tired even though you have had adequate sleep. The tiredness isn't due to any overexertion or other stress. In the early stage of HIV infection, the feeling of tiredness is temporary. When HIV returns as AIDS, the tired feeling is constant.
Swollen Glands
Early HIV infection signs include swollen lymph glands. The swollen glands will feel tender on either side of your throat at the trachea or under your ears. Both with the initial infection and when HIV turns to AIDS the swollen glands may include the glands under your arms and in the groin area.
Rash
At first with an HIV infection you may experience a skin rash. When HIV turns to AIDS, you may get oral thrush or candidiasis, which appears as white patches in the mouth. This is a yeast infection and is another sign that your immune system is weak.
