Symptoms of HIV and what is it

The well-known acronym HIV stands for Human Immunodeficiency Virus, the virus that causes AIDS or Acquired Immune Deficiency Syndrome. The disease was first reported in 1981, but it was not until 1983 that the virus responsible for the infection, which was named HIV, was first isolated. So far, two types have been identified, called HIV 1 and 2, but they appear to have similar characteristics. It is characterized by the rapid mutation and preference of the cells of the immune system, which causes the infected person to enter a state of deep immunosuppression, i.e. he no longer has any immune defenses. Since the AIDS patient no longer has any defenses, he may die from any trivial infection. Often, people living with HIV are asymptomatic, i.e. neither “identifiable” nor “suspected”. In fact, patients may not know they are HIV-positive at first and make a diagnosis when they develop more severe symptoms.

Sometimes very non-specific symptoms may be noticed which, along with the knowledge that you are at risk, may suggest the idea of ​​an HIV test. Symptoms vary depending on the stage of infection being treated.

Stage 1, acute The first symptoms of infection appear 1 to 4 weeks after infection. These early symptoms of HIV include excessive fatigue from very little exercise, persistent fever and excessive night sweats, swollen glands (lymph nodes) in the neck, armpits, and groin, rashes, and frequent skin or fungal infections.

As you can see, these are nonspecific symptoms that are also present in other diseases. In detail, in 80% of cases, we found:

fever, burning throat, HIV skin rash, oral candidiasis, headache, lymphadenopathy, muscle and joint pain.

Stage 2, asymptomatic After the first stage is considered acute and the immune system is particularly stressed, the second stage begins and is in most cases asymptomatic. Patients complain of fewer symptoms, which can persist for a long time, up to 10 years. However, the virus is active and replicating and continues to damage the immune system of HIV-positive patients.

Stage 3, symptomatic HIV-AIDS infection In stage three, the immune system is very weak and infections, bacterial or fungal diseases can develop that can be treated well but can be dangerous for HIV-positive people. These are so-called opportunistic infections. The most common symptoms at this stage are: fever, lose weight, night sweats, persistent cough, chronic diarrhea, oral and skin problems, recurrent infection.