Unprotected sex is a common practice in this day and age. While many look for ways to practice safe sex, there are one in five people in America today who are unaware of their HIV infection due to risky sexual behavior. Early detection of HIV can help slow its progression to AIDS, giving you a longer lifespan. You; therefore, need to know what first signs of HIV to look out for if you suspect you may be exposed to it.

Early Signs of HIV Infection

During the early stages of infection different people present various symptoms. These first symptoms of HIV appear during the first to second month post infection. When you are first infected, your body responds to the virus by experiencing flu-like symptoms.

This is known as the 'sero conversion' period. It is crucial to get tested at this time, if possible, as you are at greater risk of infecting someone else due to the high viral load. Early signs of infection include:

• Fever Often considered the first symptom of HIV infection, it precedes other signs like fatigue, sore throat, and swollen lymph glands. At this stage, the virus is beginning to replicate, and this triggers an inflammatory reaction from your immune system.
• Headache and Fatigue Due to your body's reaction via an inflammatory response, you experience fatigue and lethargy. You might feel out of breath a lot of the time and experience headaches. It's important to note that fatigue is both an early and late stage symptom of HIV.
• Joint Pain, Swollen Lymph Nodes, and Achy Muscles Another effect of the inflammatory body response to the virus is swollen lymph nodes. The function of these nodes in the body is to eliminate viruses and bacteria in the blood. During an infection, they swell, and since a large number of them are in the groin, armpit and neck areas, you experience aches and pains as they swell.
• Night Sweats A lot of sweating during the night which isn't as a result of exercise or environmental temperature is common during early stages of HIV infection. It can also happen during the later stages as well.Night sweats can also be a side effect of the fever which results from an opportunistic infection, e.g., tuberculosis.
• Diarrhea, Nausea, and Vomiting The digestive system experiences problems on the onset of HIV infection. One good way to identify this is if diarrhea doesn't abate after conventional therapy. These signs can also appear during later stages of infection.
• Skin Rash Rashes appear during the early infection stage and can at times mimic boils with pink breakouts that are very itchy.
• A Dry Cough and Sore Throat When one gets infected with HIV, they experience a dry, severe cough persisting for weeks to months without abating despite medical intervention.

Top 5 Routes for "Early Signs Of HIV Infection"

1. Healthline.com This is a health-focused website that specializes in providing information on various diseases and medical conditions. It outlines their causes, symptoms, treatments, and management. It delivers news of note concerning the different diseases and conditions it features and also has a symptoms tracker.
2. HIV.gov This is an official website of the government of the United States of America. It is managed by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services to provide current and timely information on HIV and AIDS.
3. EndingHIV.org.au This is a website that focuses on providing information on HIV and AIDS with a goal of ending it by the year 2020. It educates on testing and treating and the opportunistic infections that come with it. It also delivers noteworthy news around HIV and AIDS.
4. HIVAIDSinitiative.com This is a website that provides information on HIV and AIDS. It aims to inform both the infected and affected on how to live positively through good practices and encouragement.
5. DrEd.com This is an online medical consultation website that shares information about HIV and AIDS. It provides information on various diseases and conditions. It covers the causes, symptoms, treatment, and management of the different ailments under review.