Aids/HIV information, Symptoms, treatment

The stages of HIV infection

Each person’s experience of health and illness is different and everyone experiences HIV infection differently. It’s important to remember that the stages of HIV infection will be different from one person to another. Some people have been HIV positive for many years and haven’t developed an opportunistic infection. On Page 233, you’ll find a checklist of things you may want to monitor with your doctor and care givers, in order to prevent or treat infections.

Primary HIV infection

This refers to the time when you’re first infected with HIV. During this stage, which is also called acute infection, the virus multiplies rapidly. About two to four weeks after infection, you may feel ill, with flu-like symptoms such as fatigue, fever, sore throat, swollen lymph nodes, headache, loss of appetite, or skin rash. This may last for as long as a few weeks. Your T4 cell count may drop during this period, and the amount of virus in your blood may be very high. You might test negative for HIV antibodies at this stage, but you can still pass HIV on to someone else.

Seroconversion

The word “seroconversion” refers to your body responding to HIV by making antibodies. After you seroconvert, a blood test for the HIV antibody will come back positive. This stage usually happens one to three months after infection.

Asymptomatic HIV infection

 “Asymptomatic” means without symptoms. In this stage, which may last years, you may feel perfectly well. However, you may have swollen lymph nodes in two or more different areas (your neck and armpits, for example). This is called “persistent generalized lymphadenopathy,” and may last for months, or even years. Even if you have no physical signs of infection, your T4 cells decrease in number.   

Symptomatic HIV infection

 As your immune system is weakened by the virus, you may develop “constitutional,” or whole-body, symptoms of HIV infection. These can include swollen lymph nodes, night sweats, fever, diarrhea, weight loss, and tiredness. You may develop infections like thrush, persistent vaginal yeast infections, or oral hairy leukoplakia. 

AIDS

 AIDS stands for Acquired Immunodeficiency Syndrome. “Acquired” refers to the fact that the condition is not hereditary - you acquire (get) it at some point in your life. “Immunodeficiency” is a weakness in your immune system. “Syndrome” is a combination of symptoms and/or diseases. AIDS is not a disease. Rather, it is a syndrome associated with HIV infection, decreased numbers of T4 cells.