Healthy New Jersey

HIV Services

Symptoms

Key Points
  • Most people have flu-like symptoms within 2 to 4 weeks after infection.  This is stage 1 HIV.
  • The only way to know if you have HIV is to get tested.
  • When people don't get treatment, they typically progress to stages 2 and 3.
  • Stage 2 is when HIV is still active and most people don't display symptoms. People who take HIV treatment may never move into stage 3 (AIDS).
  • Stage 3 is Acquired Immunodeficiency Syndrome (AIDS). It is the most severe stage of HIV infection.
  • Without treatment, people with AIDS typically survive about three years.
  • HIV treatment helps people live long, healthy lives and prevents HIV transmission.

When people with HIV don't get treatment, they typically progress through three stages. But HIV treatment can slow or prevent progression of the disease. With advances in HIV treatment, progression to Stage 3 (AIDS) is less common today.  There are several symptoms of HIV. Not everyone will have the same symptoms. Symptoms vary by person and what stage of the disease they are in.

Below are the three stages of HIV and some of the symptoms people may experience:

Stage 1: Acute Infection

  • People have a large amount of HIV in their blood and are very contagious.
  • Many people have flu-like symptoms.
  • If you have flu-like symptoms and think you may have been exposed to HIV, get tested.

Within 2 to 4 weeks after infection with HIV, about two-thirds of people will have a flu-like illness. This is the body's natural response to HIV infection.

Flu-like symptoms can include:

  • Fever
  • Chills
  • Rash
  • Night sweats
  • Muscle aches
  • Sore throat
  • Fatigue
  • Swollen lymph nodes
  • Mouth ulcers

These symptoms can last anywhere from a few days to several weeks but some people do not have any symptoms at all during this early stage of HIV. Don't assume you have HIV just because you have any of these symptoms--they can be similar to those caused by other illnesses. If you think you may have been exposed to HIV, get a HIV test. Here's what to do:

  • Find HIV testing sites near you here--You can get a HIV test at your primary care provider's office, your local health department, a health clinic, or many other places.
  • Request a HIV test for recent infection--Most HIV tests detect antibodies (proteins your body makes as a reaction to HIV), not HIV itself. But it can take a few weeks after you have HIV for your body to produce these antibodies. There are other types of tests that can detect HIV infection sooner. Tell your doctor or clinic if you think you were recently exposed to HIV and ask if their tests can detect early infection.
  • Know your status--After you get tested, be sure to learn your test results. If you’re HIV-positive, see a health care provider as soon as possible so you can start treatment with HIV medicine. And be aware: when you are in the early stage of infection, you are at very high risk of transmitting HIV to others. It is important to take steps to reduce your risk of transmission. If you are HIV-negative, there are prevention tools like pre-exposure prophylaxis (PrEP) that can help you stay negative.

Stage 2: Clinical Latency

  • This stage is also called asymptomatic HIV infection or clinical latency.
  • HIV is still active and continues to reproduce in the body.
  • People may not have any symptoms or get sick during this phase but can transmit HIV.
  • People who take HIV treatment as prescribed may never move into Stage 3 (AIDS).
  • Without HIV treatment, this stage may last a decade or longer, or may progress faster.
  • At the end of this stage, the amount of HIV in the blood (viral load) goes up and the person may move into Stage 3 (AIDS).

In this stage, the virus still multiplies, but at very low levels. People in this stage may not feel sick or have any symptoms. This stage is also called chronic HIV infection. Without HIV treatment, people can stay in this stage for 10 or 15 years, but some move through this stage faster. If you take HIV medicine exactly as prescribed and get and keep an undetectable viral load, you can live and long and healthy life and will not transmit HIV to your HIV-negative partners through sex. But if your viral load is detectable, you can transmit HIV during this stage, even when you have no symptoms. It’s important to see your health care provider regularly to get your viral load checked.

Stage 3: Acquired Immunodeficiency Syndrome (AIDS)

  • The most severe stage of HIV infection.
  • People receive an AIDS diagnosis when their CD4 cell count drops below 200 cells per milliliter of blood, or they develop certain illnesses (sometimes called opportunistic infections).
  • People with AIDS can have a high viral load and may easily transmit HIV to others.
  • People with AIDS have damaged immune systems.
  • They can get an increasing number of other serious illnesses.
  • Without HIV treatment, people with AIDS typically survive about three years.

If you have HIV and you are not on HIV treatment, eventually the virus will weaken your body’s immune system and you will progress to AIDS. This is the late stage of HIV infection.

Symptoms of AIDS can include:

  • Rapid weight loss
  • Recurring fever or profuse night sweats
  • Extreme and unexplained tiredness
  • Prolonged swelling of the lymph glands in the armpits, groin, or neck
  • Diarrhea that lasts more than a week
  • Sores of the mouth, anus, or genitals
  • Pneumonia
  • Red, brown, pink, or purplish blotches on or under the skin or inside the mouth, nose, or eyelids
  • Memory loss, depression, and other neurologic disorders

Each of these symptoms can also be related to other illnesses. The only way to know for sure if you have HIV is to get tested. If you are HIV-positive, a health care provider will diagnose if your HIV has progressed to stage 3 (AIDS) based on certain medical criteria. Many of the severe symptoms and illnesses of HIV disease come from the opportunistic infections that occur because your body’s immune system has been damaged. See your health care provider if you are experiencing any of these symptoms. But be aware: Thanks to effective treatment, most people in the U.S. with HIV do not progress to AIDS. If you have HIV and remain in care, take HIV medicine as prescribed, and get and keep an undetectable viral load, you will stay healthy and will not progress to AIDS.

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