The first symptoms of HIV infection are headache, low fever, excessive tiredness, sore throat and joint pain, which may appear about 2 to 4 weeks after infection and disappear spontaneously, but does not mean that the virus has been eliminated from the body. body.
As the virus multiplies in the body, the immune system’s defense cells decrease, which can lead to the development of AIDS, with symptoms such as constant fever, frequent infections or the development of cancer, such as Kaposi’s sarcoma.
If symptoms of HIV or AIDS appear, you should go to a health center or hospital to take HIV tests, and if positive, start treatment recommended by the infectious disease specialist with antiretroviral medicines. See how the HIV test is done.
First symptoms of HIV infection
The first symptoms of HIV infection are:
- Excessive tiredness;
- Headache;
- Low fever or chills;
- Lumps, especially on the neck;
- Sore throat;
- Joint or muscle pain;
- Canker sores or mouth sores;
- Night sweats;
- Cough;
- Diarrhea;
- Skin rash.
In general, the first symptoms of HIV infection appear approximately 2 to 4 weeks after contact with the virus, however, in some people, HIV infection does not cause any signs or symptoms, and this asymptomatic phase can last up to 10 years.
Don’t ignore the signs your body is giving you!
After initial symptoms, HIV may not cause symptoms for many years, this period being called the latent phase.
The fact that there are no signs or symptoms does not mean that the virus has been eliminated from the body, but rather that the virus is silently multiplying, affecting the functioning of the immune system and the subsequent emergence of AIDS.
Read too: Main symptoms of HIV in babies
Symptoms of chronic HIV
The main symptoms of chronic HIV infection, without the development of AIDS, are:
- Vaginal or oral candidiasis;
- White plaques or balls on the tongue, inside the cheeks or on the gums;
- White, rough spot on the tongue;
- Purple to bright red lumps on the skin;
- Herpes zoster;
- Chronic diarrhea;
- Ease of getting purple spots on the body;
- Weight loss for no apparent reason.
In addition, in women, changes may appear in the Pap smear such as cervical dysplasia or cervical cancer. on site. Know how to identify the symptoms of cervical cancer.
Main symptoms of AIDS
The main symptoms of AIDS are:
- Constant high fever;
- Frequent night sweats;
- Continuous diarrhea;
- Excessive tiredness that does not improve;
- Weakness;
- Red spots on the skin;
- Chronic ulcers caused by herpes simplex;
- Difficulty breathing;
- Persistent cough;
- Constant white spots on the tongue and mouth;
- Wounds in the genital region;
- Rapid weight loss;
- Memory problems.
At this stage, it is also common for the person to have frequent opportunistic infections such as tonsillitis, candidiasis and even pneumonia.
Therefore, one can think about diagnosing HIV infection, especially when there are frequent and repeated infections.
AIDS symptoms occur due to damage caused by the HIV virus to the immune system, leaving it very weakened and increasing the risk of infections or other opportunistic diseases, such as cervical cancer, Kaposi’s sarcoma or lymphoma.
When to get tested for HIV
Ideally, HIV should be diagnosed during the initial phase, before developing AIDS, as the virus is still in low concentration in the body, making it easier to control its multiplication with antiretrovirals. Check out the main HIV tests.
Furthermore, early diagnosis also prevents the virus from spreading to other people, as from that moment on, you should not have sex without condoms again.
How the treatment is carried out
The treatment of HIV and AIDS must be carried out with guidance from an infectious disease specialist who can recommend a combination of medicines called antiretrovirals, which are provided free of charge by the SUS.
These antiretrovirals prevent the HIV virus from multiplying, reducing and controlling the viral load and preventing the development of AIDS.
Some antiretrovirals that may be indicated are etravirine, tipranavir, tenofovir, lamivudine or efavirenz, for example. Learn more about HIV and AIDS treatment.
When AIDS has already developed, it is much more difficult to try to control the progression of the disease with medication and, therefore, hospitalization is often necessary to receive antibiotics, antivirals or antifungals to prevent and/or treat infections that arise.
Care during treatment
It is important to take some precautions during HIV and AIDS treatment, such as:
- Take antiretroviral medications correctly at the times and doses recommended by the infectious disease specialist;
- Follow up with the infectious disease specialist regularly;
- Carry out tests regularly requested by your doctor to assess CD4 lymphocytes and viral load;
- Maintain a balanced, healthy and nutritious diet;
- Do not breastfeed the baby with breast milk if the woman is HIV positive;
- Practice physical exercise regularly, as advised by your doctor;
- See your dentist regularly to assess the health of your mouth and teeth.
Furthermore, condoms must be used in all relationships to avoid transmission of the disease, as there are several types of HIV viruses and, therefore, partners can be infected with a new type of virus, making it difficult to control the disease. See the main types of HIV.
It is important to note that, when carrying out treatment according to the doctor’s instructions, it is possible that the HIV viral load is undetectable, which represents a lower risk of transmitting the disease, but does not eliminate it.
Understand AIDS better
AIDS is a syndrome caused by the HIV virus that attacks the immune system’s defense cells, called CD4+ lymphocytes, to multiply.
This leaves the immune system weakened to fight infections and more prone to opportunistic diseases that would generally be easily resolved.
Generally, an HIV-positive person is considered to have AIDS when the CD4+ lymphocyte count is less than 200 cells/microL. See how to understand the result of lymphocytes in the blood count.
