Early HIV symptoms in men

HIV, or human immunodeficiency virus is a virus which we are not yet capable of dealing with, taking thousands and thousands of lives each month. Basically, it attacks the white blood cells in our organism, decreasing immunity and killing of the body's natural defense mechanisms, making one more prone to other diseases. However, HIV has certain early symptoms which can be tracked in men.

Facts about HIV

This virus is most commonly known for its capability of causing AIDS which stands for acquired immunodeficiency syndrome, where the sufferer becomes extremely vulnerable to many different infections and forms of cancer. Almost all cancer-fighting cells in the body of a person with AIDS get destroyed, leaving the person unprotected and extremely prone to diseases of various types. In most cases, HIV evolves into AIDS over the course of several years. Nevertheless, signs of HIV are noticeable just a couple of weeks after the infection takes place.

HIV spreads through blood, breast milk and vaginal fluids. Thus, one of the main ways of contracting the virus is through unprotected sex or using a contaminated needle, which is the common scenario for drug addicts. However, people may get infected in hospitals, through transfusion of infected blood and babies may get infected by their mother's breast milk, if the mother has been infected beforehand.

Signs of HIV in Men

In their initial state, HIV symptoms greatly resemble those of pneumonia. Thus, an infected person may suffer from fever, headaches which can range from mild to moderate, a sore throat, swollen glands in the neck and under the armpits, tiredness and loss of strength, pain in the joints and muscles, diarrhea and skin rashes which disappear over a short period of time, usually appearing on the chest area.

As the infection gets worse, the symptoms become more severe as well. With the decrease of the immune system and the onset of AIDS, new, serious signs start appearing.

These are constant tiredness which is extremely abnormal, rapid weight loss and chronic diarrhea. Also, sufferers may be prone to night sweats, chills and fevers which affect them over and over again, dry cough and constant headaches. Moreover, as the infection progresses, pneumonia may strike, along with unusual white spots on the tongue, mouth and throat, swollen lymph nodes and the appearance of small purple or brown spots under the skin of the nose and mouth.

Treatment for HIV and AIDS

After this illness has been diagnosed in a patient, the treatment may vary. The main goal, however, is suppressing the symptoms of the condition. Numerous drugs have been developed for these purposes and many are capable of slowing down or partially inhibiting the growth and spreading of this virus. However, since there is still no cure for HIV and AIDS, prevention is the best possible treatment.