HIV is a type of virus that attacks and weakens the immune cells of its victim. If left unattended, it can develop to AIDS. HIV is normally found within the blood and to other forms of bodily fluid such as vaginal fluids and semen. The virus cannot survive for that long outside ones body, thus to be transmitted with HIV one will need to have the infected persons body fluid inside his/her body. It can enter through inside the body by means of contact within the bloodstream or through the delicate types of mucous membranes, like the inside of the rectum, urethra or vagina.

The initial signs of HIV vary in both males and females. Most of the time, the males will experience fever and mild to moderate periodic headaches. These kinds of headaches do not differ much from the headaches we normally experience in our daily lives. A man may start to observe some inflammation or swelling in a number of lymph glands in his body. A gland in his groin, neck or armpit will begin to swell and become firm and raised. This swelling does not normally bring any type of discomfort or pain to the gland and could be mistaken with other types of conditions.

HIV symptoms in men can also display dramatic changes in their stamina or energy level. They may experience unexplainable fatigue or tiredness. Physical exercise can have a different effect on them and could be mistaken as a result of stress from work.

Historically, more men are infected with HIV than women yet more women today are accounted for the new HIV cases and may catch up or even surpass the men in the near future. AIDS is just a few cases behind heart disease and cancer as the main killer conditions of women. The hardest hit of the infection are the African-American women. Women of the younger generation are the ones more prone to the infection as compared to their older counterparts. It usually takes years before HIV symptoms in women would start manifesting.

The infected females usually encounter persistent vaginal infections, in which include yeast infections. Abnormal pap smears and pelvic inflammatory disease are also common HIV symptoms in women. It could also include ulcers or genital warts.

Infected women may also start to feel some abnormalities in their menstrual cycles. It can start from a series of missed periods and could develop to having no periods in the long run. A couple of weeks after infection most women will start to experience flu-like symptoms that involves sore throat, body aches, fever and fatigue. These symptoms are a result of the body struggling to fight off the virus that attacks the cells. They may also start to lose weight rapidly due to frequent diarrhea and loss of appetite.

Once you begin noticing these symptoms, the wise thing to do is to immediately contact a medical professional and ask to be tested. Getting tested for HIV can be a scary thing to do, yet do not worry that much cause a lot of HIV testing clinics offer fast, reliable and highly confidential tests. Getting tested is crucial not only for ones health but for others as well who are going to be susceptible of getting infected without you knowing it.

HIV Symptoms in Men and Women – their symptoms greatly vary, so one should be aware of it. Learn more about the disease now and have yourself protected.

A person who has been infected with the HIV virus may not be aware of it because there are no symptoms upon entry of the virus into the body. Thus, it is important for those who are sexually active and those who utilize hypodermic needles to get tested for HIV. It is important to note that the tests for HIV do not actually look for the virus but instead try to detect if there are any HIV antibodies, which are created by the body’s immune system in its effort to combat the infection. Thus, the presence of HIV antibodies means a person is HIV positive while their absence means that a person is HIV negative.

However, the body may need three weeks to three months before it is able to generate enough HIV antibodies to be noticeable in a test. Sometimes, it may even require six months before sufficient antibodies can be found to indicate the presence of HIV. Thus, it is advisable to take the test at least three months after the possible exposure. This period between the time of possible exposure and the time when the antibodies can be detected is called the HIV window period. During this time, a person is still regarded as being capable of transmitting the disease even if initial tests turned out to be negative.

There are four types of HIV tests, and they are the conventional blood tests, rapid tests, oral tests and home tests. The blood test may require one to two weeks before the results are available. And if this turns out to be positive, a different test is conducted to eliminate the potential for a false positive result. The rapid test requires only 20 minutes before the results can be obtained but once again, confirmatory tests must be done if a positive result is obtained. Meanwhile, oral testing is now possible where samples of oral fluids, such as saliva, are taken instead of blood. A Western blot is needed to confirm a positive result.