Symptoms of Acquired Immunodeficiency Syndrome and Human Immunodeficiency Virus
HIV may not cause symptoms for a number of years.
Early symptoms that you may experience a month or two after becoming infected may last a couple of weeks. These include:
- Rapid weight loss
- Dry cough
- Sore throat
- Recurring fever
- Night sweats
- Extreme, unexplained fatigue
- Swollen lymph nodes in armpits, neck, or groin
- White spots on the tongue or in the mouth or throat
- Headache
- Discomfort from light
- Rash
- Depression
- Irritable mood
- Memory loss or other neurological disorder
After these initial symptoms are gone, there may be no symptoms for months to years. Then, the following symptoms may occur over the course of 1 to 3 years:
- Swollen lymph glands all over the body
- Fungal infections of the mouth, fingernails, toes
- Repeated vaginal infections ( yeast and Trichomonas )
- Development of lots of warts
- Exacerbations of prior conditions, such as eczema , psoriasis , herpes infection
- Shingles
- Night sweats
- Weight loss
- Chronic diarrhea
Once HIV has progressed to AIDS, the immune system has become quite weakened. Opportunistic infections are will occur. These are infections that people with a normal immune system don't usually get. The infections occur in patients with AIDS because of the weakened immune system. Examples of opportunistic infections and other complications of AIDS include: