HIV AIDSSigns And Symptoms
The symptoms of an HIV infection diverse, ranging from an acute syndrome associated with primary infection to a prolonged asymptomatic state to advanced disease. HIV disease can be divided empirically based on the degree of immunodeficiency into (1) early stage (CD4 T-cell count >500/?L), (2) intermediate stage (CD4 cell count 200-500/?L), and (3) advanced stage (CD4 cell count <200/?L). The third stage of HIV infection has been given a variety of names, including preacquired immune deficiency syndrome (AIDS) and AIDS-related complex.
The time from initial infection to clinical disease is highly variable, with a median time of approximately 10 years.
During the first two to four weeks of infection the virus migrates to various organs in the body, particularly the lymphoid organs, which may cause flu-like symptoms and enlarged lymph nodes. During this period people are highly infectious and HIV is present in large quantities in genital secretions.
Acute HIV infection affects the lymphatic system, skin, gastrointestinal system, genitourinary system, bone marrow, and neurologic system. Symptoms of acute HIV infection include persistent generalized lymphadenopathy (disease or swelling of the lymph nodes), thrush, pharyngitis, herpes simplex virus, rash, anaemia, thrombocytopenia (a low platelet count), primary neurological manifestations due to HIV infection, and secondary due to opportunistic infections, neoplasms (new abnormal growth of tissue) or other.
A strong immune defense reduces the number of viral particles in the blood stream, marking the start of the infection's clinical latency stage. This clinical latency can last from two weeks up to 20 years. During this early stage of infection HIV is active within lymphoid organs.
According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, the following are symptoms that may be warning signs of HIV infections:
Rapid weight loss
Dry cough
Recurring fever or profuse night sweats
Profound and unexplained fatigue
Swollen lymph glands in the armpits, groin or neck
Diarrhea that lasts for more than a week
White spots or unusual blemishes on the tongue, in the mouth or in the throat
Pneumonia
Red, brown, pink or purplish blotches on or under the skin or inside the mouth, nose or eyelids
Memory loss, depression and other neurological disorders
The most severe manifestation of HIV infection is AIDS. Left untreated HIV progresses to AIDS in nine to ten years, and the median survival time after developing AIDS is 9.2 months. Nevertheless, the range of clinical disease progression varies widely between individuals from two weeks up to twenty years. The rate of progression can also be influenced by certain factors that influence the body's ability to defend against HIV like age, poor access to health care, coexistent infections such as tuberculosis, the genetic inheritance, etc.
The symptoms of AIDS are mostly the result of conditions that do not normally develop in individuals with healthy immune systems. Most of these conditions are infections caused by bacteria, viruses, fungi and parasites that are normally controlled by the elements of the immune system that HIV damages. They are known as opportunistic infections. This means that an infection takes the "opportunity" provided by the weakened immune system to cause an illness that is usually controlled by a healthy immune system. These infections are sometimes life-threatening and require medical intervention to prevent or treat serious illnesses. Persons living with advanced HIV infection suffer opportunistic infections of the lungs, brain, eyes and other organs.
People with AIDS also have an increased risk of developing various cancers such as Kaposi's sarcoma, cervical cancer and cancers of the immune system known as lymphomas. They often have systemic symptoms of infection like fever, sweat (particularly at night), swollen glands, chills, weakness, and weight loss.
The major opportunity diseases are Pneumocystis jiroveci pneumonia, tuberculosis (TB), esophagitis, unexplained chronic diarrhea, toxoplasmosis, AIDS dementia complex, cryptococcal meningitis, cytomegalovirus (CMV), infections with Mycobacterium avium-intracellulare, penicilliosis, etc.
Because HIV symptoms are often not present upon infection with the HIV virus, it is important you go for HIV testing if you think you have been exposed to the virus.
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