The first symptoms of AIDS infection include malaise, fever, dry cough, and sore throat, which often mimic cold symptoms and last for about 14 days. They can appear 3 to 6 weeks after initial HIV infection.
Contamination usually occurs as a result of risky behavior, such as intimate contact without a condom or sharing needles contaminated with HIV. The virus should be tested 40 to 60 days after any risky behavior, as the test may not detect the virus in the blood before this period.
- The main symptoms of AIDS only appear if the person is not receiving any treatment for the virus and may appear between 8 and 10 years after being infected with HIV or in certain situations where the immune system is weakened.
- These symptoms may include:.
The symptoms mentioned above usually occur when the HIV virus is present in the body in large numbers and the number of defense cells is very small compared to a healthy adult. Opportunistic infections, such as viral hepatitis, tuberculosis, pneumonia or toxoplasmosis, also often develop. at this stage of the disease when there are symptoms, as the immune system is weakened.
However, the person may have undetected symptoms, such as low fever and discomfort approximately 2 weeks after contact with the HIV virus.
To find out if you have been infected with the HIV virus, you should first see if you are engaging in risky behavior, such as unsused intimate contact or shared needles, and be aware of symptoms such as fever. , general discomfort, sore throat, and dry cough.
You should have a blood test 40 to 60 days after any risky behavior to find out if you have HIV, then start the test again after 3 months and again after 6 months, because even if you don’t show symptoms, you may have been infected with the virus.
AIDS is incurable and therefore a lifetime patient’s treatment is necessary. The main goal of treatment is to strengthen the immune system and fight the virus, controlling and reducing its amount in the blood.
Ideally, start HIV treatment before it becomes AIDS. This treatment can be done with a cocktail of different medications such as efovienz, lamivudine and tenofovir that are provided free of charge by the government, as well as the tests necessary to evaluate the progression of the disease and viral load.