HIV symptoms can be easily overlooked or mistaken for the flu. The first signs of infection appear up to six weeks after the virus enters, which later dormates and stays in it for up to ten years. Only after a long time after infection do the first signs of impaired immunity appear. What are the first symptoms of HIV?
HIV - symptoms
HIV virusmay not cause any symptoms for years , but soon after it enters the body, it may or may not appear very Non-specific symptoms that can easily be mistaken for the common flu.
The human immunodeficiency virus has a devastating effect on the immune system, and as the time passes from infection, it wreaks more havoc on the body until the body of the infected person is unable to defend itself against minor infections.
Early HIV symptoms
Up to six weeks after HIV entry into the body, symptoms that could be mistaken for another infection may appear. These symptoms are:
- fever,
- joint pain,
- mouth ulcers,
- enlarged lymph nodes,
- pharyngitis,
- rash
- and general body weakness.
Less often, less than 1/5 of respondents also develop stuffy nose. Typically, these symptoms persist for two weeks if they occur, but in some cases they may last up to ten weeks.
Otherwise, these symptoms of HIV infection are called symptoms of acute retroviral disease, which is directly related to the intense replication of the virus shortly before it goes into latency. At that time, a person infected with HIV is extremely contagious.
HIV virus - latent symptoms
After a period of intensive replication, HIV virus goes into a latency state, which can last up to ten years. This does not mean that during this period, an infected person cannot transmit the pathogen to others. This is why HIV testing is so important - you may not know that you are sick and still infect your partners and / or sexual partners, transmit the virus to your baby during childbirth and / or breastfeeding, or through accidental blood contact.
During the latency of HIV, there are no symptoms, the infected person feels well, butthis time, the retrovirus is not idle. It replicates and the number of lymphocytes slowly declines and the functions of the immune system are disrupted.
At the end of the latency period, various lymph nodes may become enlarged. When this period is over, opportunistic infections begin. This means that the body is slowly losing its ability to defend itself against infections. The likelihood of cancer also increases. It is only when this condition worsens that AIDS, i.e. the acquired immunodeficiency syndrome, is diagnosed.
HIV and AIDS
Safe sex can protect against HIV infection. By undergoing anonymous and safe testing in this direction, you can detect infections early and start treatment that stops disease progression.
Modern methods of therapy mean that HIV-positive people may not transmit the virus further, in the name of the principle undetectable=non-infectious.
With diligent antiretroviral (ARV) therapy, viral loads may drop to 200
It also becomes less prone to infections and other complications caused by the virus. The likelihood of mother-to-child transmission of HIV during childbirth is also reduced.
HIV treatment in Poland, including post-exposure treatment (i.e. treatment used after contact with the virus to prevent its replication), is fully reimbursed.
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