What are the symptoms of HIV

Human Immunodeficiency Virus (HIV) is a virus that infects the cells of your immune system, typically over a prolonged period. It leaves your body unable to fight off everyday infections and diseases. HIV is transmitted through bodily fluids, which include blood, semen, vaginal and anal fluids, as well as breast milk but cannot be transmitted through saliva, sweat or urine. According to NHS, the most common cause of contracting HIV infection in the UK is unprotected vaginal or anal sex.

What are the symptoms of HIV?

Before trying to establish the symptoms of HIV, it is important to get an idea of how the virus comes about and progresses. According to the NHS, two to six weeks after contracting the HIV infection, a person may experience a short flu-like illness, which usually lasts for a week or two. The surprising thing is that when these symptoms subside, a person can feel well for a considerable period. HIV may not cause any more symptoms to appear for many years, during which the virus continues to damage a person’s immune system all the while. This is the reason why many people with HIV don’t know they are infected until much later.

If left untreated, HIV can progress through a series of stages, from initial flu-like seroconversion illness to late-stage HIV or AIDS. A seroconversion illness is defined as a short, one- or two-week illness during which people may experience symptoms such as fever, sore throat, or body rash. There are several symptoms of HIV, which usually vary from person to person and also depend on what stage the disease is at.

Below are the three stages an HIV-infected person passes through, as well as some symptoms they may experience:

Stage 1: Acute HIV Infection

This stage is characterised by the flu-like seroconversion illness previously discussed. This is the body’s natural reaction to the HIV infection. Within two to four weeks of being infected with HIV, around two-thirds of people will experience these flu-like symptoms, which might present as:

• Fever
• Night sweats
• Chills
• Swollen lymph nodes
• Rash
• Fatigue
• Mouth ulcers
• Muscle aches

These symptoms typically last for one to two weeks. Some people may not experience any symptoms at all during this initial stage of HIV.

Stage 2: Clinical Latency

This stage is also known as chronic HIV infection. During this phase, the virus remains active but multiplies at a slow rate, at very low levels. People infected at this stage may not experience any symptoms or feel unwell. If a person is not undergoing any HIV treatment, then this stage can last for 10 to 15 years, although some people may move through this stage faster than others.

During this clinical latency stage, HIV can still be transmitted to other people if a person has a detectable viral load. Viral load is defined as the amount of HIV in the blood. People who are taking proper HIV medication and have an undetectable viral load are less likely to transmit the virus to others. At the end of this stage, a person’s viral load begins to increase. As this happens, a person may begin to experience other symptoms as the virus levels increase in the body and infection progresses to stage 3.

Stage 3: AIDS

AIDS (Acquired immunodeficiency syndrome) is the last and most severe stage of HIV infection. At this stage, the body’s immune system is so badly weakened that a person can catch a number of severe illnesses such as pneumonia, tuberculosis (TB) and cancer.

It's a common misconception that AIDS is transmittable. It's important to understand that HIV and AIDS are not the same. HIV refers to the virus which progresses to AIDS, while AIDS refers to the symptoms which develop when HIV is not treated. However, a person with AIDS can still carry and pass on HIV to other people.

Symptoms of AIDS include:

• Recurring Fever
• Night sweats
• Rapid weight loss
• Extreme tiredness
• Diarrhoea lasting for more than a week
• Thrush in the mouth
• Prolonged swollen glands in the armpit, neck or groin
• An increase in cold sore outbreaks
• Red, brown or purple blotches on or under the skin or inside the nose, mouth or eyelids
• Memory loss
• Depression or other neurological disorders.

Certain groups of people are advised to have regular HIV tests as they are at greater risk of contracting this virus. These include Black African heterosexuals, men who have sex with other men, as well as people who share syringes or other types of injecting equipment. The most important thing to remember is that proper HIV medication can enable a person to stay healthy and live a normal lifespan.

The sooner a person seeks medical advice and gets tested for HIV if they suspect they might have been exposed to the virus, the better chance they have of managing it.

Sources

Terrence Higgins Trust

HIV.gov

NHS

Authored & Reviewed By

Mohamed Imran Lakhi

MPharm - Lead Pharmacist

Imran Lakhi is the superintendent pharmacist and founder at Prescription Doctor. He has been at the core of our team.

Published on: 20/09/2019 Reviewed on: 05/06/2025