Symptoms of HIV Infection

HIV or Human Immunodeficiency Virus is an illness that affects your bodies immune system. This Virus attacks T4 cells in the body, lowering its count to about 200 per cubic millimeter of blood. Although HIV is more commonly transmitted via unprotected sexual encounters with an infected partner, it could also be transmitted through sharing of needles with an infected person, usually in taking drugs, getting a tattoo, and body piercing.

The common early signs of an HIV infection are usually in the form of flu-like symptoms such as chronic headaches, rash, sudden weight loss, fevers, muscle aches, and the swelling of lymph nods and glands. Although these symptoms have usually been found with patients early in the course of their infection, most patients are asymptomatic, and may only reflect signs of a full-blown AIDS infection eight to ten years after acquiring the virus.

In extreme cases, signs of being infected may involve more distressing symptoms such as the appearance of purplish lesions inside the mouth of on the skin, chronic diarrhea for a month or more, body rashes, easy bruising, night sweats, and bouts of extreme exhaustion.

In most cases, early treatment may delay the virus from progressing into full-blown AIDS. The progression may be suppressed by up to 10 to 15 years. As of now, there is no known cure for HIV and AIDS.