Aids Symptoms - Do You Have Aids?

Acquired Immune Deficiency Syndrome, AIDS, is a condition that strikes the immune system due to the Human Immunodeficiency Virus, HIV. The infection reduces the overall performance of the immune system as well as the nervous system making the person vulnerable to a number of opportunistic diseases.

At the early stages when the HIV virus is present it's unlikely for the person afflicted to exhibit any kind of distinct aids symptoms and therefore during this period the only way to determine if the virus is present is by conducting an HIV examination. It is however possible for the person to exhibit a few symptoms a few weeks after the infection enters the system, such as: a flu-like condition, increased temperature (pyrexia), headache, enlarged lymph nodes, sore throat (pharyngitis) and red spots or a rash on the skin.

The second stage of HIV infection is classified as the asymptomatic phase which is characterized by a significant quantity of the virus being present in the blood of the individual infected. During this period the immune system will respond by creating antibodies and this phase of the infection may go on unnoticed in the body for up to 10-12 years. It's at this time that the HIV virus can develop into Aids if no treatment is undertaken. The person afflicted may also start to demonstrate even more Aids symptoms, such as: loss of appetite, night sweats, significant weight loss, mouth ulcers and unrelenting coughing.

As soon as HIV advances into Aids the individual’s life is seriously at risk by even the most easy to treat, common infections. If the individual has been identified as having Acquired Immune Deficiency Syndrome the individual is now a lot more vulnerable to life-threatening infections. Aids symptoms exhibited comprise of pneumonia, tuberculosis, herpes, candidosis, toxoplasmosis and other viral conditions. Yet another result of this stage is higher susceptibility to cancer tumors, in most cases Kaposi’s sarcoma.

Not all persons will show the same aids symptoms since the condition might have an impact on different organs, such as the lungs, intestine or nervous system. If the central nervous system is heavily affected there's possibility of the individual acquiring progressive dementia, which results from cortical atrophy of the brain.

Injury to the central nervous system can happen even after 20 years following the initial HIV infection as can meningitis and brain blood vessel problems. The individual may also suffer from Aids symptoms such as chronic headaches and vision deterioration, muscle weakness, short-term memory loss and other psychics disorders.

If the HIV virus is caught while in the asymptomatic phase it's possible that the individual might not develop high end-risk Aids symptoms, since the virus can be managed by means of various treatment options. When an HIV test is conducted it is possible to appraise the phase of the infection and move forward accordingly. Anti HIV drugs fundamentally restrain the reproduction of the virus and slow down the progression diseases linked to the virus.

It is essential to note that therapy will in no way cure the infection and any infected individual can continue to transmit the virus. Often Highly Active Antiretroviral Therapy (HAART) might be prescribed, called the “cocktail” which combines three or more anti-HIV drugs taken in a daily schedule. Using this therapy Aids symptoms may be maintained to a minimum. Today, research to develop medicines for the management of AIDS and HIV is still ongoing with many hoping for newer and better therapies.

To get more helpful advice or to get any of your aids symptoms questions answered by an expert, feel free to visit http://www.aids-symptoms.net/