The major problem with relying on symptoms to detect HIV or AIDS is that sometimes these conditions show no sign of their presence at all. You may feel and look great and still be HIV positive. Now that is a scary fact. And the reality is, you may be passing on the disease to others without even realizing it.

Now to avoid the guilt of this and to take action on your own condition, if you have even the smallest suspicion that you are suffering from HIV, get a test done to confirm it. That is the only way you will ever know.

However, some people do exhibit various symptoms and it is important to note them as well. Perhaps you do not suspect that you have contracted HIV at all and are not even thinking about that possibility. That is when being aware of the symptoms to look out for can come in handy.

Now, without further adieu, here are the major symptoms those with HIV complain of:

-A fever that you cannot seem to get rid of

-Persistent diarrhea

-Headache

-Swollen glands in the neck, groin and/or armpits

-White spots on the tongue, throat or in the mouth

-Night sweats

-Dry cough

-Fatigue

-Blotches on the skin or under it. Can also appear in the mouth, nose or on the eyelids. They are usually purple, brown or red in color.

And some of the more serious symptoms include:

-Depression

-Pneumonia

-Weight loss

-Memory loss

As the HIV virus takes over the white blood cells, the virus then causes AIDS. AIDS occurs when the immune system has been severely weakened by the HIV virus and you either develop something called an opportunistic infection, or an infection that occurs because your immune system is so ?down,? or your lymphocyte count is below 200.

Some symptoms associated with an opportunistic infection caused by the progression of the HIV virus include:

-Severe chills

-Severe night sweats

-Persistent fever of over 100 F

-Blurred vision

-Rapid weight loss

-Shortness of breath

-Severe diarrhea

-Lesions in the mouth, on the tongue or in the throat that will not go away.

The development of cancer is also more likely in those with advanced HIV disease.

The most common killer of those with advanced HIV or AIDS is Pneumocystis carinii pneumonia or PCP'an opportunistic infection and type of pneumonia that develops exclusively in AIDS patients.

Contracting HIV or AIDS used to be a death sentence. And while there is still no cure, treatments have improved vastly. The AIDS drug ?cocktail? has helped many people live longer and happier lives than ever thought possible with the disease. Plus, new medical treatments are helpful prolong the period of time before HIV turns into AIDS. These are all great developments and who knows what the future will bring?