Signs & Symptoms of HIV and AIDS
What are the first symptoms of HIV infection?
Symptoms of initial HIV infection are not very specific. Initial symptoms include a dry cough, shortness of breath and a flu like illness. During this very early period of infection only a small minority of people experience symptoms, which are serious enough to require a doctor's attention.
During this stage, which is also called acute infection, the virus multiplies rapidly. You might test negative for HIV antibodies during this stage, but you can still pass HIV on to someone else. This is called the Window period of three weeks to six months (usually before 3 months) from the time of infection to the time when you will show antibodies against HIV.
HIV antibodies begin to show in an infected person's blood when they seroconvert.
How can you determine if someone has HIV?
The only way to ascertain if you are infected with HIV is to have a test for HIV. Most test for HIV are done on blood, but there are test on the market that use saliva, or urine. When you do a HIV test, it should actually be called a
HIV antibody test, because it looks for anti bodies, small proteins in your blood that your immune system produces once infected with a disease (in this case HIV). Saliva and Urine do not contain the actual virus (or at least not in amounts that could give risk for infection). These body fluids do contain antibodies against HIV so they can be used for testing.
Blood contains the virus and the antibodies and is the best body fluid to confirm HIV infection.
What is Seroconversion?
This 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 lasts three weeks to six months (usually before 3 months) after you are infected with HIV.
When do I develop AIDS?
Several years after infection with HIV a person may experience symptoms of particular illnesses and cancers. These are the result of the infected person's immune system being damaged by HIV to the point where it is no longer able to fight off these opportunistic infections. In general it can take 8 – 10 years before these symptoms show up. But off course this also depends on the strength of an individual’s immune-system from the start, and how well he/she is able to keep a strong immune-system with measures of proper diet, exercise, positive attitudes, spirituality, etc. Genetics play a role here to.
What are signs that I have AIDS?
The current Caribbean Epidemiology Centre (CAREQ case definition for AIDS in adults and adolescents (age 13 and over) is:
1) They are HIV positive and they have
2) At least 2 major signs and at least I minor sign or at least I AIDS defining illness (the presence of one or more opportunistic infections)
