Early Warning Signs of HIV Infection:
HIV is no longer a news, but most people still ignore the messages about getting tested to know their status. HIV is a virus that weakens the defence system of a person. (antibodies that fight against any infection invading your body). It can weaken the immune system to the point where a person’s body struggles to fight infections and disease.

 

If you don’t treat HIV, it can turn into AIDS. Acquired immunodeficiency syndrome is what AIDS stands for. AIDS is the last stage of HIV. It happens when a person’s body can’t fight off infections that could kill them.

 

The Centres for Disease Control and Prevention say that more than 1.2 million people in the U.S. are infected with HIV right now, and up to 12.8% of those people (one in eight) do not know they are affected.

 

 

In Nigeria, 3.1% of adults have HIV, which is much lower than in South Africa (19.2%) and Zambia (12.9%), but because of the country’s large population, that means that 3.5 million people were living with HIV in 2015.

 

If a person receives treatment for HIV after an early diagnosis, they are less likely to develop AIDS.

 

People need to know their HIV status, as this can help them receive treatment and prevent them from transmitting HIV to other people.

 

 

Don’t forget to read: What Is Hepatitis c

 

 

What you should know about HIV

There are three stages of getting HIV.

Stage 1 after the first illness may feel like the flu, but not everyone will.

 

In Stage 2, there may be no more signs for about ten years.

 

Stage 3 is when the immune system has been so badly damaged that it can no longer fight off severe infections and diseases.

 

Read: Oral sex has been linked to an increase risk of Human papilloma virus infection

What can increase HIV risk?

 

The CDC says that having sex or sharing needles isn’t the only way that someone can get or give HIV. Many other things can make it more likely. There is not a single risk level for contracting HIV. A high viral load makes it much more likely that someone will give you HIV, and having a sexually transmitted disease can also make it more likely that someone will get or give you HIV.

 

Using drugs and alcohol, or aspects of your relationships with sexual partners, can also increase the chance of HIV exposure.

 

It is important to know that many things work very well to decrease HIV risk.

What are the early signs and symptoms of HIV

 

Sometimes, the signs of HIV differ for men and women. 

According to the Office on Women’s Health, some health issues, including sexually transmitted infections and vaginal yeast infections, are more common and more severe in women who have HIV.

Early on in their HIV infection, about one to four weeks after getting HIV, some people feel like they have the flu. Things might not get worse for a week or two, and you might not even feel like you have the flu. 

Symptoms can include:

If a person has HIV and does not receive treatment, they may eventually progress to the late stage of the HIV infection, AIDS.

The symptoms of AIDS can also be related to other illnesses. Many of the more severe symptoms occur due to opportunistic infections. These can infect a person with AIDS due to their immune system being too severely damaged.

Symptoms of AIDS include:

1. Rapid weight loss

2. Severe night sweats

3. Fevers

4. Unexplained tiredness

5. Prolonged swelling of lymph glands in the groin, neck, or armpits

6. Severe diarrhoea (which usually lasts for more than a week) 

7. Sores located near the mouth, genitals, or anus

Pneumonia

8. Blotches on or under the skin, blotches inside the mouth, nose, or eyelids

9. Memory loss

10. Depression

All of these signs and symptoms can also be signs of other illnesses. Getting checked is the only way to be sure if you have HIV.

The earlier you have HIV diagnosed and start treatment, the better your likely long-term health because many people do not have any symptoms for stages 1 and 2; HIV often gets transmitted from people who don’t know they are infected.

Read more on hiv.gov