Embarrassing Illnesses

The initial stage of HIV is known as primary HIV infection. In people who are infected with HIV, 60% will develop associated symptoms, usually two to six weeks after they are first infected with HIV.

Symptoms of primary HIV infection may include:

• fever,
• sore throat,
• tiredness,
• joint pain,
• muscle pain,
• swollen glands (nodes), or
• a blotchy rash on the chest.

These early symptoms are often very mild, so it is easy to mistake them for another condition, such as a cold or glandular fever.

After the initial symptoms listed above, HIV will often not cause any further symptoms for many years. This is known as asymptomatic HIV infection. During this time, the virus is still reproducing and damaging your immune system.

Late-stage HIV infection

Left untreated, HIV will lower the number of CD4 cells in your body to a dangerously low level, and your immune system will stop working. It normally takes 10 years for the virus to damage the immune system in this way. A damaged immune system will inevitably result in you developing a serious infection.

Possible symptoms of a serious infection caused by a damaged immune system include:

• persistent tiredness,
• night sweats,
• unexplained weight loss,
• persistent diarrhoea,
• blurred vision,
• white spots on your tongue or mouth,
• dry cough,
• shortness of breath,
• a fever of above 37C (100F) that lasts a number of weeks, or
• swollen glands that last for more than three months.

AIDS-related illnesses, such as TB, pneumonia and some cancers, may appear. Many of these, though serious, can be treated to some extent and some are likely to improve if you start treatment and your CD4 count increases.