AIDS window period symptoms
Disease description:
A female colleague of mine is 26 years old and was recently diagnosed as being in the window period of HIV infection. She hasn't shown any noticeable symptoms. I would like to ask, what are the symptoms during the window period of HIV infection?
Doctor's answer (1)
Dr. Yang Ziqi
AIDS is caused by infection with the human immunodeficiency virus (HIV). The window period refers to the time between HIV infection and when the virus's antibodies can be detected in the blood, typically ranging from 2 weeks to 3 months after infection, with an average of approximately 4 weeks. During this phase, conventional antibody tests may yield negative results due to insufficient antibody production by the immune system, although the virus is already present.
Symptoms during the AIDS window period mainly include sore throat, fever, swollen lymph nodes, and body aches—similar to symptoms of upper respiratory tract infections—and may also involve night sweats, nausea, vomiting, diarrhea, rash, and neurological symptoms.
It is important to emphasize that these symptoms are also common in many other diseases; therefore, it is not possible to determine HIV infection based solely on symptoms. Even in the absence of noticeable symptoms during the window period, infection may still have occurred. If you suspect you may have been infected with HIV, you should seek medical attention promptly.
