Most people infected with HIV experience a short, flu-like illness that occurs 2-6 weeks after infection. After this, HIV may not cause any symptoms for several years.
It's estimated up to 80% of people who are infected with HIV experience this flu-like illness.
The most common symptoms are:
- raised temperature (fever)
- sore throat
- body rash
Other symptoms can include:
- tiredness
- joint pain
- muscle pain
- swollen glands
The symptoms usually last 1-2 weeks, but can be longer. They're a sign that your immune system is putting up a fight against the virus.
But having these symptoms doesn't necessarily mean you have the HIV virus. Remember: they're commonly caused by conditions other than HIV.
If you have several of these symptoms and think you've been at risk of HIV infection within the past few weeks, you should get an HIV test our clinic.
We have seen patients who were never checked this even with multiple hospital admissions and hence we are now proactively testing patients for this whenever your doctor feels it is necessary.