Occurs soon after acquiring HIV; flu-like illness with swollen lymph nodes, fever, discomfort and rash lasting about 2 β 3 weeks.
This is the advanced stage of the disease. It takes an average of 8 to 10 years from the time of exposure for an untreated person to show the first signs of AIDS. Symptoms like fever, unexplained weight loss and diarrhoea are common. Rare cancers and infections may develop, and common infections may be severe.
All people infected with HIV are able to spread the infection to others through unsafe high risk activities. You should consider getting tested every 6 to 12 monthly if you engage in any of the following high-risk activities:. It is not anonymous. If you require an anonymous test, contact the registered anonymous testing clinics. If you wish to opt out from the test, please let us know. The window period for HIV is the period between the point of infection and the time a HIV blood test detects the infection.
This is between 1 to 3 months. If the blood test is done during the window period, the result is not as reliable. Re-testing is advised at 3 months if your initial test was negative.
Meanwhile, abstain from sex to avoid the possibility of passing the infection to others while awaiting the result of the confirmatory test. A positive test result does not mean that the person has AIDS, which is the end stage of the infection. Anti-HIV medications are available to keep the infection under control so a person stays healthy.
