The symptoms of HIV are divided into several stages. The first stage is the stage of acute infection, and occurs in the first few months after a person is infected with HIV. At this stage, the immune system of an infected person forms antibodies to fight the HIV virus.
In many cases, symptoms at this stage appear 1-2 months after the infection occurs. Patients are generally unaware of being infected with HIV. This is because the symptoms that appear are similar to the symptoms of flu, and can disappear and recur. Please note, at this stage the amount of virus in the bloodstream is quite high. Therefore, the spread of infection is easier to occur at this stage.
Symptoms of the acute stage of infection can be mild to severe, and can last up to several weeks, which includes:
- Fever to shivering.
- A rash appears on the skin.
- Gag.
- Pain in joints and muscles.
- Swollen lymph nodes.
- Headache.
- Stomach ache.
- Sore throat and canker sores.
After several months, HIV infection enters a latent stage. Latent stage infections can last for several years or decades. At this stage, the HIV virus develops and damages the immune system.
Symptoms of HIV infection at latent stages vary. Some sufferers do not feel any symptoms during this stage. However, some other sufferers experience a number of symptoms, such as:
- Weight loss.
- Sweating at night.
- Fever.
- Diarrhea.
- Nausea and vomiting.
- Shingles.
- Swollen lymph nodes.
- Headache.
- The body feels weak.
Latent stage infections that are late to treat, will make the HIV virus grow. This condition makes HIV infection enter the third stage, namely AIDS. When the sufferer enters this stage, the body's immune system has been severely damaged, making the patient more susceptible to other infections.
Symptoms of AIDS include:
- Weight loss goes unnoticed.
- Sweating at night.
- White patches on the tongue, mouth, genitals, and anus.
- Purple spots on the skin that cannot be lost.
- Fever lasting more than 10 days.
- Chronic diarrhea.
- Nervous disorders, such as difficulty concentrating or memory loss.
- Fungal infections in the mouth, throat, or vagina.
- Easy bruising or bleeding without cause.
- Easy to get angry and depressed.
- Rash or spots on the skin.
- Hard to breathe.
- The body always feels weak.
Complications of HIV and AIDS
HIV infection makes the immune system weaker, so the body is more susceptible to various diseases, including:
- Tuberculosis (TB). TB is a lung infection that often attacks people with HIV, and is even a major cause of death in AIDS patients.
- Toxoplasmosis is a parasitic infection that can trigger seizures if it spreads to the brain.
- Cytomegalovirus. Cytomegalovirus is an infection caused by one group of herpes viruses. This infection can cause damage to the eyes, digestive tract and lungs.
- Candidiasis. Candidiasis is a Candida fungal infection that causes a rash in a number of areas of the body.
- This infection is caused by parasites that live in the digestive system.
- Cryptococcal meningitis. Meningitis is inflammation of the lining of the brain and spine caused by fungi.
- Wasting syndrome. Wasting syndrome is a condition when AIDS sufferers lose 10% of their body weight. This condition is generally accompanied by diarrhea and chronic fever.
- HIV-associated nephropathy (HIVAN). HIVAN is inflammation of the filter in the kidney. This condition causes a disruption to remove metabolic waste from the body.
- Neurological disorders. Although AIDS does not infect nerve cells, AIDS sufferers can experience a number of conditions such as depression, irritability, even difficulty walking. One of the most common nervous disorders affecting AIDS sufferers is dementia.
In addition to a number of diseases above, there are several types of cancer that can attack HIV sufferers, including Kaposi's sarcoma and lymphoma. Kaposi sarcoma is a cancer that can appear along blood vessels or lymph channels. Whereas lymphoma is a cancer of the lymph nodes.