Do I Have AIDS? Signs and Symptoms of AIDS

Becky Kuhn, M.D., describes the symptoms of AIDS. According to the United States Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, the symptoms include:
* "rapid weight loss"
* "dry cough"
* "recurring fever or profuse night sweats"
* "profound and unexplained fatigue"
* "swollen lymph glands in the armpits, groin, or neck"
* "diarrhea that lasts for more than a week"
* "white spots or unusual blemishes on the tongue, in the mouth, or in the throat"
* "pneumonia"
* "red, brown, pink, or purplish blotches on or under the skin or inside the mouth, nose, or eyelids"
* "memory loss, depression, and other neurological disorders"

If you have one or more of these symptoms, does it necessarily mean you are infected with HIV or have developed AIDS? No. Many common diseases can cause one or more of these symptoms. For example, most people with a fever or sore throat are probably just experiencing common illnesses such as the cold, influenza, or mononucleosis. A person is only diagnosed if they are confirmed HIV+ and also either have a CD4 count under 200 or have an opportunistic infection that is indicative of a weakened immune system. So don't panic. But if you have any of these symptoms and think theres even the slightest chance you might ever have been exposed to HIV, you should see a doctor and ask to be tested for HIV. Remember, the CDC recommends that all adults be tested for HIV regardless of whether they believe they have any risk factors or exposure to HIV and regardless of whether they have any symptoms of HIV/AIDS. Get tested!

[Source: "How can I tell if I'm infected with HIV? What are the symptoms?" United States Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Accessed 21 June 2008. Last updated 22 January 2007.] This video is freely downloadable from http://www.archive.org/details/DoIHaveAidsSymptomsOfAids . Disabled accessibility: The transcript for this and many other AIDSvideos.org videos can be downloaded from http://aidsvideos.org/translate.shtml . [Do you want to help prevent the spread of HIV/AIDS? Are you fluent in a language other than English? Then volunteer to translate this video into another language! Click http://AIDSvideos.org/translate.shtml to learn how you can help!!! © Copyright 2008-2011 Global Lifeworks. All rights reserved. This work is licensed to be used for non-commercial purposes under the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivs 3.0 Unported License. To view a copy of this license, visit http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/3.0/.]

Category:

Education

Tags:

• hiv
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• swollen
• lymph
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• night
• sweats
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• weight
• loss
• dry
• cough
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• fever
• fatigue
• diarrhea
• pneumonia
• memory
• depression
• blotches
• white
• spots
• CDC
• recommendation
• positive

[irukaio]

I should probably get tested....

[AIDSvideos]

@irukaio: Go to hivtest dot org to find a free testing site in the U.S. near you.

[MegaJuggalo19]

How thank god i dont have any of these i looked this up because my growing iches and it has these small dot looking things do u think this is a sign of HIV OR AIDS pleas write back

[AIDSvideos]

@MegaJuggalo19: This is Eric; I'm not a doctor; I can't diagnose anything. See a doctor.

[thelightsout1337]

@AIDSvideos Can you get a STD from Masturbating?

[scam009]

Can u get aids from a shitty toilet seat ?

[megamunchit2008]

Great, this video just made me even more scared to have sex. I'm 30 years old and only been with 6 women in my life!

[shinlord00000]

@thelightsout1337 Aahahaha!!! dont make me laugh

[Squeaky4CC]

@thelightsout1337 if you use your feces as lube yes

[AIDSvideos]

@KhagarBalugrak: I definitely agree with you that: (1) HIV is dangerous and people should make every effort to avoid contracting or transmitting it. (2) The fact that a person can have HIV with no visible symptoms makes it more dangerous in that way than diseases in which the person has symptoms making it obvious they are ill and potentially might transmit an infection to you. (3) The long asymptomatic latency period increases that problem.

[KhagarBalugrak]

@AIDSvideos, killing people slowly is what makes HIV the worst disease. I'd rather have a quick death than a slow death, and so would almost anyone else. However, I agree with you that diseases transmitted by air are scarier in the sense that they are more contagious and therefore more dangerous. However, what makes HIV just as dangerous is that you usually cannot tell if someone has it; with ebola, at least you'll probably know just by looking and stay away from that person.

[AIDSvideos]

@educatedkids Talk to your parents and see a doctor.