How To Tell If You Have Aids Or Hiv

How To Tell If You Have Aids Or Hiv – Medically Reviewed by Elizabeth Thotchery, MD – Rachel Nall, MSN, CRNA – Updated January 6, 2023

HIV can affect anyone and some symptoms are different for women. In addition to flu-like symptoms and skin changes, a person may notice menstrual irregularities, frequent vaginal infections, and mood swings.

How To Tell If You Have Aids Or Hiv

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Transgender women surveyed in seven major US cities have HIV, with two-thirds of African American/Black transgender women and one-third of Latinx transgender women reporting HIV-positive.

Signs Of Hiv To Know

Below we describe the symptoms of HIV in women, how doctors make a diagnosis and what treatment options are available.

Sexuality and gender exist on a spectrum. This article uses the terms “male”, “female”, or both to refer to the gender assigned at birth. Click here to learn more.

Within a few weeks of being infected with HIV, the body undergoes seroconversion, during which time the virus multiplies rapidly.

These symptoms can be cold or fever-like, so a person does not initially associate it with HIV.

Symptoms Of Hiv

After acute HIV infection, the virus progresses slowly. A person may or may not have symptoms.

Treatment can slow or stop the progression of the virus. Even without treatment, some people may experience no additional symptoms for up to a decade after the initial infection.

The throat may be swollen under the jaw and behind the ears. The swelling can cause difficulty swallowing and last from a few days to months.

If a person does not receive HIV treatment, the virus can cause nausea, diarrhea, poor absorption of food, and loss of appetite.

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This can include depression, which can cause feelings of hopelessness and great sadness. People may experience stress and forgetfulness.

Abnormal spots form on the skin. They can be red, pink, brown or purple. These spots can appear on the mouth, eyelids or nose.

Some menstruating and HIV infected people experience light or heavy bleeding. If a person experiences rapid weight loss, they may begin to miss periods.

Hormonal fluctuations can also change or worsen menstrual symptoms, such as cramping, breast tenderness and fatigue.

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It is important to note that menstrual changes are normal and not necessarily a symptom of HIV. But if they show other symptoms, HIV testing may be necessary.

Although almost everyone has vaginal yeast infections from time to time, HIV can make these infections more common.

When a person has HIV, the immune system uses a lot of energy to fight the virus. Therefore, their bodies are not equipped to fight other infections.

It should be noted that even recurrent yeast infections are very common in vaginal people. They are not a sign of HIV and are more common in diabetics. That said, persistent yeast infections may warrant HIV screening, especially if they occur at the same time as other symptoms.

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HIV-positive transgender women experience the same symptoms as cisgender women. These include flu-like symptoms, swollen lymph nodes, rapid weight loss, skin changes and mood swings.

Although some studies suggest a correlation between antiretroviral therapy and female hormone therapy for the treatment of HIV, it is recommended that trans women continue with gender affirming care after HIV diagnosis.

Get tested for HIV at least once as part of routine care. They advise all pregnant women to get an HIV test.

If a person has any of the above risk factors, they should talk to their doctor about getting an HIV test. The doctor should also advise how often the test should be done.

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In 2019, there were approximately 7,000 new HIV diagnoses among young women in the United States and its dependent territories. This number corresponds to 19% of all diagnoses in these areas that year.

In 2019, there were a total of 37,801 new HIV diagnoses in the United States and dependent areas of the United States. in that,

It was under gender division. According to a 2022 Pew Research Center survey, approximately 1.6% of US adults identify as transgender or non-binary.

Different types of tests can help a doctor diagnose HIV. Some tests cannot detect the virus in the early stages.

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People who are infected with the virus and have early symptoms can talk to their doctor about a nucleic acid test.

Although there is no cure for HIV, doctors can prescribe drugs that stop the virus from multiplying or slow the rate at which the virus multiplies.

When a person takes antiretroviral therapy as prescribed, the virus stops replicating and the immune system can control what’s left.

Viral levels may drop until they are undetectable. But HIV remains in the body, and if a person stops taking their medication, the virus can start multiplying again.

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Different regimens can be used for these drugs, but they can be given as a once-daily pill (it is rare for patients to receive more than one particular drug).

HIV symptoms are similar to other diseases. The first symptoms can be similar to the flu, for example.

Thanks to treatment innovations, people can manage HIV like any other chronic disease. This will help prevent later symptoms.

Medical News Today follows strict sourcing guidelines and only pulls from peer-reviewed studies, academic research institutions, medical journals and associations. We avoid the use of third party referrals. We link to primary sources, including research, scientific sources and statistics, in each article and list them in the sources section below our articles. You can find out more about how we ensure our content is accurate and up-to-date by reading our editorial policy. HIV progresses through three stages. The first symptoms can appear within a few weeks of exposure to the virus. However, in some cases, symptoms may not appear for years.

Hiv Signs And Symptoms In Women

HIV is a virus that destroys the immune system. There is currently no cure for HIV, but since the late 1980s, treatment has been available in the form of antiretroviral drugs that help reduce the effects of any symptoms.

In most cases, once a person is infected with HIV, the virus remains in the body for life. However, HIV symptoms differ from other viral infections in that they come in phases.

If left untreated, the disease caused by the infection has three stages. Each has different symptoms and complications.

But regular antiretroviral therapy can reduce HIV to undetectable levels in the blood. This means that the virus cannot progress to the later stages of HIV infection or be transmitted to a partner during sex.

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Primary HIV infection is the first stage noticed. This stage is also called acute retroviral syndrome (ARS) or acute HIV infection.

It usually causes flu-like symptoms, so at this stage a person is more likely to think they have a high fever or another viral illness such as HIV. Fever is the most common symptom.

, the first HIV symptoms may appear 2 to 4 weeks after initial exposure. They last for several weeks. However, some people only have symptoms for a few days.

ARS is common when a person gets HIV. But that’s not the case for everyone, because according to HIV.gov, symptoms may not appear for a decade or more.

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Although the virus multiplies rapidly in the weeks following infection, early symptoms of HIV occur only when the rate of cellular damage is high.

This does not mean that asymptomatic HIV cases are not serious or that an asymptomatic person cannot transmit the virus to others.

There are different stages of HIV infection. In the early stages after exposure, symptoms may be flu-like or cold-like. It may resolve on its own if HIV is still active in the body. It can then progress to a chronic infection, where symptoms can vary widely, but also include weight loss, fatigue and unexplained fever. The chronic phase can occur at any time after the acute phase, but not necessarily immediately. If left untreated, HIV can progress to AIDS, which is diagnosed by the number of white blood cells circulating in the blood.

After initial exposure and possible primary infection, HIV can transition into a clinical latent infection phase. Due to the lack of symptoms in some people, it is also known as asymptomatic HIV infection.

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According to HIV.gov, the latent period of HIV infection can be as long as 10 or 15 years. This means that the virus reproduces much more slowly than before. But that does not mean that HIV is gone and that the virus cannot be transmitted to others.

Symptoms of chronic HIV can vary, from mild to more severe. People may experience the following symptoms, especially in advanced stages:

Clinically latent infection can progress to the third and final stage of HIV, known as AIDS. A person living with HIV is more likely to progress if they do not receive or continue treatment such as antiretroviral therapy.