What is the full form of HIV?

The full form of HIV is Human Immunodeficiency Virus. HIV is the primary cause of the chronic, potentially fatal illness known as acquired immunodeficiency syndrome (AIDS) (HIV). HIV interferes with your body’s capacity to fight disease and infection by weakening your immune system.

A sexually transmitted infection is HIV (STI). Additionally, it can be transferred through sharing needles, injecting illegal substances, and coming into touch with infected blood. Additionally, it can be passed from mother to kid while she is pregnant, giving birth, or nursing. Without treatment, it can take years for HIV to progressively impair your immune system to the point where you develop AIDS.

HIV/AIDS has no known cure. However, drugs help manage the infection and stop the disease’s progression.

Depending on the stage of infection, there are different HIV and AIDS symptoms.

Some HIV-positive individuals have flu-like symptoms approximately 2 to 4 weeks after the HIV is injected into the body. Primary (acute) HIV infection is a condition that might last for a few weeks.

Primary early signs include:

• Fever
• Headache
• Muscle aches and joint pain
• Rash
• Sore throat and painful mouth sores
• Swollen lymph glands, mainly on the neck
• Diarrhoea
• Weight loss
• Cough
• Night sweats

You might not even be aware of these symptoms because they can be so minor. The viral load, on the other hand, is currently fairly high in your bloodstream. As a result, the virus spreads more readily during the initial infection rather than during the next stage.

HIV is still present in the body and in white blood cells at this stage of infection. Many individuals, nevertheless, might not experience any illnesses or symptoms during this period.

If you are getting antiretroviral therapy, this stage may last several years (ART). Some persons experience an earlier onset of more severe disease.

• Fever
• Fatigue
• Swollen lymph nodes — often one of the first signs of HIV infection
• Diarrhoea
• Weight loss
• Oral yeast infection (thrush)
• Shingles (herpes zoster)
• Pneumonia