Common Symptoms of HIV in Women

The early signs and symptoms of HIV can be easily mistaken to be something else since they are not that prominent. However, ignoring these symptoms can turn out to be a major problem. It is for this reason that one should keep a check on the health. Most of the people are often embarrassed by the fact of getting affected by HIV, since it is believed sexual contact leads to HIV. Nonetheless, there are other prominent reasons by which one can get affected by HIV such as getting injected by an infected needle. Although sexual contact happens to be the most common reason, there may be other reasons too. Compared to the men, women are more prone to the risk of HIV. If you are sexually active and have had multiple sex partners, you should consider the treatment.

The symptoms of HIV in women are usually different from those of men. The common symptoms of HIV infection in women include the following

Flu-like Symptoms

In the early weeks, not many may show their prominent symptoms. Some people do not have outbreak of these symptoms for a long time. Some of the prominent symptoms include fever, lack of energy, pain in the body, headache and more. These are the initial symptoms which may break out in the initial stage itself. However, if you wait for the severe symptoms to appear, it may take more than 10 years.

Skin Rashes and Sores

Generally people suffering from HIV develop rashes over the time. These are considered to be one of the common symptoms related to HIV. It indicates the presence of an infection in the body. If you notice any rash on your skin, you should prefer seeing a healthcare provider who can analyse your medical history. They will be able to tell you whether you need a complete diagnosis or not. These sores or lesions usually appear in the mouths, anus and genitals. However, if these are less serious, it can be easily treated with medications.

Swollen Glands

Lymph nodes are present in all the essential parts of the body. Since it is one effective part of the immune system, the lymph nodes will be attacked by the infections. These pathogens will tend to harm the immune system of the body. When HIV begins to spread around the body, they usually grow out to be the enlarged lymph nodes. These enlarged lymph nodes are further referred to as swollen glands. The swollen glands are the most effective signs that can last for months if you’re infected by HIV.

Fever and Night Sweats

People affected by HIV usually suffer from low grade fever with the temperature ranging between 99.8ºF and 100.8ºF. Although the body will develop this fever, the reason won’t be clear. Most of the people are unaware of them being affected by HIV. Therefore, in cases like this they ignore such mild fevers if they suffer from any. Most of the times, people may also suffer from night sweats which is yet another major symptom.

Menstrual changes

Women affected by HIV usually suffer changes in their menstruation routine. Either they may have very light or heavy period or they may experience no symptom at all. However, the premenstrual symptoms in such women is pretty severe.

Frequent outbreaks of sexually transmitted infections (STIs)

People who have been affected by sexually transmitted infections, prior to being infected by HIV can have worsened conditions. Human Papillomavirus (HPV), the reason for genital warts is pretty active in people tested HIV positive. Any women who have been tested HIV positive will suffer frequent outbreaks of HPV symptoms and even genital herpes. Moreover, the body will fail to respond to the STI treatments too.

HIV is transmitted from one person to another through the bodily fluids. As mentioned above, it may happen due to sexual contact or through excessive drug abuse through needle sharing. As precautions, the people should prefer not sharing needles. Women having HIV positive partners may not develop the disease if the partner is under proper medications.