What are the symptoms if one has AIDS?

Most common is the flu, but if you go thinking that everyone who sneezes has AIDS, you wont have many friends... Look at he below website for real info.

The symptoms of AIDS are primarily the result of conditions that do not normally develop in individuals with healthy immune systems. Most of these conditions are infections caused by bacteria, viruses, fungi and parasites that are normally controlled by the elements of the immune system that HIV damages. Opportunistic infections are common in people with AIDS [18]. Nearly every organ system is affected. People with AIDS also have an increased risk of developing various cancers such as Kaposi sarcoma, cervical cancer and cancers of the immune system known as lymphomas. Additionally, people with AIDS often have systemic symptoms of infection like fevers, sweats (particularly at night), swollen glands, chills, weakness, and weight loss [19][20]. After the diagnosis of AIDS is made, the current average survival time with antiretroviral therapy is estimated to be between 4 to 5 years [21], but because new treatments continue to be developed and because HIV continues to evolve resistance to treatments, estimates of survival time are likely to continue to change. Without antiretroviral therapy, progression to death normally occurs within a year [22]. Most patients die from opportunistic infections or malignancies associated with the progressive failure of the immune system [23]. The rate of clinical disease progression varies widely between individuals and has been shown to be affected by many factors such as host susceptibility [24][25][26], health care and co-infections [27][28], and peculiarities of the viral strain [29][30][31]. [edit] The major pulmonary illnesses Pneumocystis jiroveci pneumonia: Pneumocystis jiroveci pneumonia (originally known as Pneumocystis carinii pneumonia, often abbreviated PCP) is relatively rare in normal, immunocompetent people but common among HIV-infected individuals. Before the advent of effective treatment and diagnosis in Western countries it was a common immediate cause of death. In developing countries, it is still one of the first indications of AIDS in untested individuals, although it does not generally occur unless the CD4 count is less than 200 per µl. [32] Tuberculosis: Among infections associated with HIV, tuberculosis (TB) is unique in that it may be transmitted to immunocompetent persons via the respiratory route, is easily treatable once identified, may occur in early-stage HIV disease, and is preventable with drug therapy. However, multi-drug resistance is a potentially serious problem. Even though its incidence has declined because of the use of directly observed therapy and other improved practices in Western countries, this is not the case in developing countries where HIV is most prevalent. In early-stage HIV infection (CD4 count >300 cells per µl), TB typically presents as a pulmonary disease. In advanced HIV infection, TB may present atypically and extrapulmonary TB is common infecting bone marrow, bone, urinary and gastrointestinal tracts, liver, regional lymph nodes, and the central nervous system.[33] [edit] The major gastro-intestinal illnesses Esophagitis: Esophagitis is an inflammation of the lining of the lower end of the esophagus (gullet or swallowing tube leading to the stomach). In HIV infected individuals, this could be due to fungus (candidiasis), virus (herpes simplex-1 or cytomegalovirus). In rare cases, it could be due to mycobacteria [34]. Unexplained chronic diarrhea: In HIV infection, there are many possible causes of diarrhea, including common bacterial (Salmonella, Shigella, Listeria, Campylobacter, or Escherichia coli) and parasitic infections, and uncommon opportunistic infections such as cryptosporidiosis, microsporidiosis, Mycobacterium avium complex (MAC) and cytomegalovirus (CMV) colitis. Diarrhea may follow a course of antibiotics (common for Clostridium difficile). It may also be a side effect of several drugs used to treat HIV, or it may simply accompany HIV infection, particularly during primary HIV infection. In the later stages of HIV infection, diarrhea is thought to be a reflection of changes in the way the intestinal tract absorbs nutrients, and may be an important component of HIV-related wasting.[35] [edit] The major neurological illnesses Toxoplasmosis: Toxoplasmosis is a disease caused by the single-celled parasite called Toxoplasma gondii. T. gondii usually infects the brain causing toxoplasma encephalitis. It can also infect and cause disease in the eyes and lungs.[36] Progressive multifocal leukoencephalopathy: Progressive multifocal leukoencephalopathy (PML) is a demyelinating disease, in which the myelin sheath covering the axons of nerve cells is gradually destroyed, impairing the transmission of nerve impulses. It is caused by a virus called JC virus which occurs in 70% of the population in latent form, causing disease only when the immune system has been severly weakened, as is the case for AIDS patients. It progresses rapidly, usually causing death within months of diagnosis.[37] HIV-associated dementia: HIV-1 associated dementia (HAD) is a metabolic encephalopathy induced by HIV infection and fueled by immune activation of brain macrophages and microglia.[38] These cells are actively infected with HIV and secrete neurotoxins of both host and viral origin. Specific neurologic impairments are manifested by cognitive, behavioral, and motor abnormalities that occur after years of HIV infection and is associated with low CD4+ T cell levels and high plasma viral loads. Prevalence is between 10-20% in Western countries[39] and has only been seen in 1-2% of India based infections.[40][41] [edit] HIV-associated malignancies Patients with HIV infection are susceptible to a number of malignancies.[42][43] The most common is Kaposi's sarcoma, and the appearance of this tumor in young gay men in 1981 was one of the first signals of the AIDS epidemic. In addition, patients with HIV infection have a higher incidence of certain high grade B cell lymphomas, especially Burkitt-like and large cell lymphomas. These tumors, as well as aggressive cervical cancer in women, confer a diagnosis of AIDS in patients with HIV infection. Most AIDS-associated malignancies are caused by co-infection of patients with an oncogenic DNA virus, especially Epstein-Barr virus (EBV), Kaposi's sarcoma-associated herpesvirus (KSHV), and human papillomavirus (HPV). In areas where HAART is extensively used to treat AIDS, the incidence of many AIDS-related malignancies has decreased, but at the same time malignancies overall have become the most common cause of death of HIV-infected patients.[44] [edit] Transmission Since the beginning of the epidemic, three main transmission routes of HIV have been identified: Sexual route. The majority of HIV infections have been, and still are, acquired through unprotected sexual relations. Sexual transmission occurs when there is contact between sexual secretions of one partner with the rectal, genital or mouth mucous membranes of another. Blood or blood product route. This transmission route is particularly important for intravenous drug users, hemophiliacs and recipients of blood transfusions and blood products. Health care workers (nurses, laboratory workers, doctors etc) are also concerned, although more rarely. Also concerned by this route are people who give and receive tattoos and piercings. Mother-to-child route (vertical transmission). The transmission of the virus from the mother to the child can occur in utero during the last weeks of pregnancy and at childbirth. Breast feeding also presents a risk of infection for the baby. In the absence of treatment, the transmission rate between the mother and child was 20%. However, where treatment is available, combined with the availability of Cesarian section, this has been reduced to 1%. HIV has been found in the saliva, tears and urine of infected individuals, but due to the low concentration of virus in these biological liquids, the risk is considered to be negligible. AIDS, or Aids, is an acronym for acquired immunodeficiency syndrome or acquired immune deficiency syndrome and is defined as a collection of symptoms and infections resulting from the specific damage to the immune system caused by infection with the human immunodeficiency virus, commonly called HIV.[1] Although treatments for both AIDS and HIV exist to slow the virus' progression in a human patient, there is no known cure. Most researchers believe that HIV originated in sub-Saharan Africa [2] during the twentieth century; it is now a global epidemic. UNAIDS and the World Health Organization (WHO) estimate that AIDS has killed more than 25 million people since it was first recognized in 1981, making it one of the most destructive epidemics in recorded history. In 2005 alone, AIDS claimed between an estimated 2.8 and 3.6 million, of which more than 570,000 were children.[3] In countries where there is access to antiretroviral treatment, both mortality and morbidity of HIV infection have been reduced [4]. However, side-effects of these antiretrovirals have also caused problems such as lipodystrophy, dyslipidaemia, insulin resistance and an increase in cardiovascular risks [5]. The difficulty of consistently taking the medicines has also contributed to the rise of viral escape and resistance to the medicines [6].

Often there aren't symptoms for up to 15 years. The first symptom is being HIV positive. You can't have AIDS without first having HIV. You get sick easier. Your immunse system is lower. The first thing that happens after infection is that many people develop a flu-like illness. This may be severe enough to look like glandular fever with swollen glands in the neck and armpits, tiredness, fever and night sweats. Some of those white cells are dying, virus is being released, and for the first time the body is working hard to make correct antibodies. At this stage the blood test will usually become positive as it picks up the tell-tale antibodies. This process of converting the blood from negative to positive is called `sero-conversion'. Most people do not realise what is happening, although when they later develop AIDS they look back and remember it clearly. Most people have produced antibodies in about twelve weeks. Then everything settles down. The person now has a positive test, and feels completely well. The virus often seems to disappear completely from the blood again. However, during this latent phase, HIV can be found in large quantities in lymph nodes, spleen, adenoid glands and tonsils. We do not know how many people will go on to the next stage. As we saw in an earlier chapter, at first doctors thought it might only be one in ten, then two or three out of ten. Now it looks as though at least nine out of ten will develop further problems. San Francisco studies show that in developed countries, without use of the latest therapies, 50% with HIV develop AIDS in ten years, 70% in fourteen years. Of those with AIDS, 94% are dead in five years. The rate of progression can be much faster in those with weakened immunity from other causes---drug users or those in developing countries, for example. It can be far slower in those on various treatments. Most scientists and doctors are convinced that if we follow up infected people for long enough---maybe for twenty years or more---then all or nearly all will die of AIDS, unless they have died of something else in the meantime such as a heart attack or cancer. How long can someone live before some infection triggers production of more virus and death of more white cells? The next stage begins when the immune system starts to break down. This is often preceded by subtle mutations in the virus, during which it becomes more aggressive in damaging white cells. Several glands in the neck and armpits may swell and remain swollen for more than three months without any explanation. This is known as persistent generalised lymphadenopathy (PGL). But you can't look at a person and know they have AIDS, so I hope thats not why you are asking.