Testing is the only way to determine for certain whether you are infected with HIV. In most states, testing can be done only after you give written consent. It is possible to be infected with HIV and yet to have no symptoms for years. It is not possible, however, to be infected and not test positive within three to six months. A positive result on an HIV test means that you have HIV infection, but not necessarily AIDS. Only a physician can determine whether someone with HIV has developed AIDS. Since the symptoms of HIV infection are the same as those of many other illnesses or combinations of illnesses, it is important to avoid selfdiagnosis. If you suspect that you might be infected with HIV, make sure to be tested by a doctor. This is the only reliable way to know whether you are infected.

Remember, you can be diagnosed with HIV infection before any symptoms appear. You can be infected with HIV and have no HIV - AIDS symptoms for years. Symptoms that are associated with HIV infection can last for a few days or weeks and can then go away.

The effect that AIDS has on the body depends on several factors. One is the length of time the person’s immune system has been affected prior to diagnosis; another is the coinfection of HIV/AIDS with other diseases. If a person learns he or she is infected at the end, or AIDS, stage of the disease, the immune system has already been greatly weakened and the person may have unknowingly spread the disease to others.

A person with AIDS can be quite ill for a while. However, new drugs and drug combinations, known as “drug cocktails,” can bolster the immune system so that it is able to return to CD4+ levels above 200 and, thus, to increased protection against invading infections. An improved immune system also enables a person living with AIDS to function in society and often to appear quite well.

In some people who are not able to enhance their immune system, AIDS may progress, and new or more severe neurological and physical symptoms may appear. Some of these symptoms are caused by damage from the disease itself. Severe side effects may be caused or made worse by drugs used to treat HIV infections.

People with AIDS can become quite disoriented. As they sleep longer, it becomes more difficult to wake them. When they are awake, they will rarely seem alert. Sometimes people in this end stage of AIDS hallucinate, which can cause them to be restless or afraid. They also may have trouble seeing or hearing. They often lose control of their bowels or bladder. Their skin might feel cooler to the touch. The area of the skin that touches the bed might appear darker due to a decrease in circulation that is common in people with AIDS.

People with AIDS often experience severe malnutrition, usually due to excessive medication—which can cause a general loss of appetite, nausea, vomiting, and diarrhea—or to an opportunistic cancer. Chronic wasting also can occur in an HIV-positive person and can become more severe in a person with AIDS, particularly one who is not taking his or her medications. Patients should do everything they can to avoid losing weight because weight loss can speed up the progression of AIDS. A person diagnosed with AIDS already may have experienced infections, because HIV impairs the body’s ability to fight them. Sometimes multiple infections can leave a person with a very low body weight (from chronic wasting) or dementia. One thing that causes low body weight is the incredible demand the body is under to reproduce CD4+ T cells to replace those destroyed by the virus. An HIV-infected person can suffer from many disorders, ranging from common infections that will not go away to cancer.

People must increase their knowledge about HIV virus since it becomes one of the most deadly diseases in the world. At least, you should know the primary symptoms of HIV virus. Primary HIV infection is the stage when a person has been infected with HIV virus for a few weeks or months. Person infected with HIV virus may have symptoms that resemble the flu or mono (mononucleosis) during this time. During primary HIV infection a person will not get clear test result to determine if they are infected or not using standard HIV antibody tests.

Most people with primary HIV infection have symptoms of HIV that occur usually 2 to 6 weeks after becoming infected with HIV. Acute retroviral syndrome is always experienced by people with these symptoms. Primary HIV infection can have different symptoms on different people. Some scientists believe that rash and fevers are the main symptoms of primary HIV infection especially when it present in combination with one or more of the symptoms of HIV.

Those who do have symptoms generally experience fever, loss of appetite and joint pain. Other common symptoms can include sore throat, muscle pain, swollen lymph nodes, diarrhea, fatigue, headache, oral or genital ulcers, nausea and vomiting. These symptoms can occur within days or weeks of the initial exposure to the virus during primary or acute HIV infection period.

In other cases, people with HIV show no symptoms at all. However, most people always show some symptoms. Some people even have severe symptoms that make them to go to the emergency room. Others may only show mild symptoms. When the primary or acute HIV infection is over, the symptoms reduce itself and patients look better for a while. Most people do not show any visible symptoms for longer period of time, it is about 8-10 years.

If these conditions left untreated, the immune system becomes rapidly weaker and the disease progresses to AIDS. The next symptoms experienced by person infected with HIV virus are often related with the opportunistic infections that attack patients with HIV - AIDS symptoms include pneumonia, tuberculosis, and toxoplasmosis.

Primary HIV infection or primary symptoms of HIV are a stage that needs immediate medical treatments. You should search for prompt medical treatment from a doctor who specializes in treating HIV. Or you can seek prompt attention from a local public health clinic if you don't have a private doctor or medical insurance. Then, you should ask for a doctor who specializes in HIV or infectious diseases.

HIV - AIDS Complications