AIDS symptoms, like chronic fevers, reoccurring infections, night sweats, and fatigue can emerge at the end-stage of an HIV infection. They are usually a sign that the immune system has been severely damaged.

AIDS symptoms develop overtime if a patient with HIV is left untreated. With the right antiretroviral medications, AIDS can be avoided and symptoms will not worsen. Learn more about HIV symptoms that can emerge in early stages of this condition.

Symptoms of AIDS can overlap with symptoms of other conditions that can develop as a result of HIV, like cancer, hepatitis or tuberculosis.

List of symptoms

Symptoms of AIDS include:

Persistent fever;
Frequent diarrhea;
Prolonged dry cough and scratchy throat;
Night sweats;
Swollen lymph nodes for more than 3 months;
Headache and difficulty concentrating;
Pain in the muscles and joints;
Tiredness, fatigue and loss of energy;
Fast weight loss;
Frequent oral or genital yeast infections;
Persistent nausea or vomiting;
Reddish spots or sores on the skin.

These symptoms will emerge when an HIV infection has developed and spread throughout the body, affecting white cell production and the immune system. They occur about 8 to 10 years after onset.

Opportunistic infections, such as viral hepatitis, tuberculosis, pneumonia or toxoplasmosis, may also develop at this stage due to the weakened immune system.

Confirming a diagnosis

Confirming an AIDS diagnosis starts with assessing your risk for being exposed to HIV, which is typically transmitted through unprotected sex or shared syringes.

AIDS symptoms will develop if an HIV has been left untreated. In the first days to weeks of HIV infection, patients will present with mild flu-like symptoms, like a fever, sore throat, headache and fatigue. Patients with these symptoms who have engaged in risky behaviors recently can be tested for HIV and AIDS through a blood test.

If you are at risk for having developed HIV or AIDS, you are advised to get a blood test 40 to 60 days after the potential exposure. If the test comes back negative, you should repeat it after 3 months and again after 6 months.

Treatment for AIDS

There is no cure for AIDS, and therefore life-long treatment will be required once this phase of the HIV infection is reached. The main goals of treatment involve strengthening the immune system to fight any impending virus, and managing growing levels of the virus in the blood.

Ideally, you should start treatment before the HIV infection develops into AIDS. This can be done with a combination of different medications such as efavirenz, lamivudine and tenofovir.