Symptoms of HIV
People who are infected with HIV, often experience a short flu like illness that occurs 2 to 6 weeks after infection. This is known as primary HIV infection. The most common symptoms are: fever (raised temperature) sore throat body rash Other symptoms can include: tiredness joint pain muscle pain swollen glands (nodes) However, these symptoms are most commonly caused by conditions other than HIV, and do not mean you have the virus. If you have several of these symptoms, and you think you have been at risk of HIV infection within the past few weeks, you should get an HIV test. After the initial symptoms disappear, HIV may often not cause any further symptoms for many years. During this time, HIV continues to be active and causes progressive damage to your immune system. Once the immune system becomes severely damaged symptoms can include: weight loss chronic diarrhoea night sweats skin problems recurrent infections serious life-threatening illnesses Earlier diagnosis and treatment of HIV can prevent these problems occurring and reverse them.