There are no specific symptoms of an HIV infection. In fact, some people may never develop symptoms and for those that do, most of these symptoms will usually go away after a few days, or at most, a couple of weeks. Some people may develop flu-like symptoms 2-6 weeks after HIV infection. Those who do develop symptoms may experience the following: fever, swollen glands, muscle aches, diarrhea, fatigue, rashes. Often these symptoms of an initial HIV infection are hardly noticeable[1] and since many illnesses have flu-like symptoms or cause swollen glands,[2] many people living with HIV actually look and feel fine even though their immune systems are fighting the HIV virus. This stage of an HIV infection is typically called the “asymptomatic period.” This period usually lasts 5-7 years but could last as long as 10+ years.
This is why the only reliable way to diagnose an HIV infection is by getting tested- everything else is merely a guess and HIV is really too important an issue to simply guess about. [3]
Did you google HIV symptoms & diagnose yourself based on your internet findings? Often when a person does this, they find information about symptoms which are common among people who have been living with HIV for several years. After several years of living with the virus untreated, a person’s CD4+ cell count will eventually drop and will put you at an increased risk for developing symptoms of HIV infection.[4] Sometimes called “ARS” symptoms, they may include swollen lymph nodes, night sweats, fever, diarrhea, weight loss and fatigue. At this point, a person may develop infections like thrush or persistent vaginal yeast infections.[5] These are all signs that HIV infection is progressing but NOT a sign that you were infected with HIV a few weeks or months ago. Once again, all of these symptoms mirror many other viral infections and if you are unsure of your status, testing is the only way to know for sure.