In this article, I will tell you a few keys that can help you detect this health problem in time. If you do not want to go at risk, I recommend that you take an exam and do not wait to see symptoms.
Before you start, remember that HIV and AIDS are not exactly the same, because HIV is the virus that causes infectious diseases and destroys your immune system, and AIDS is the terminal stage of this infection. If the HIV test is positive, it does not automatically mean that you have AIDS, because the infection can take several years to develop and does not always cause the syndrome.
To find out that you are HIV positive, you need to have a blood test for antivirus antibodies. Depending on the type of test, you can have a blood test one to four weeks after exposure (antigen measurement – test p24) or 2 to 4 months after exposure (measuring antibodies because the immune system needs time to create them, with a test called ELISA by its initials in English, which is confirmed with one called Western Blot).
The initial symptoms can last up to a month, and these are:
- Fever
- Headache
- Sore throat
- Swollen lymph nodes
- Fatigue
- Rash or rash
Symptoms of an advanced infection
After the initial stage of the infection, some of these symptoms may return or you may not have symptoms for up to 10 years. But that doesn’t mean nothing happens in your body. Meanwhile, the HIV virus multiplies and attacks your immune system, destroying your immune cells, better known as CD4 +. These cells are white blood cells responsible for controlling your immune system to protect you from infections. As CD4 + cells are destroyed, you become more prone to other infections.
The final symptoms of the infection become more and more chronic:
- Total lack of energy
- Sweating during sleep (night)
- Stirred chills
- Fever exceeding 38ºC. This lasts a few weeks
- Dry cough and shortness of breath
- Chronic diarrhea, nausea, and vomiting
- During the disease, you lose a lot of weight
- White blisters on the tongue, mouth or anus due to herpes
- In the neck, the lymph nodes will swell a lot
- Vision and memory problems
The symptoms of AIDS are the same as above, but to officially diagnose that a person has AIDS, they must meet one of the following factors:
- A CD4 + number less than 200. For this to be normal, it must be between 800 and 1,000.
- The development of an opportunistic infection or certain types of cancer, which are not common in healthy people.