Question
How long can HIV hide before showing symptoms?
21 August 2021. Related: All topics, Living with HIV long-term, Newly diagnosed, Southern Africa.
How long can HIV hide in one’s body before showing symptoms?
Answer
Hi
Thanks for your question.
The range for this is very wide.
Most people – maybe 4 in 5 (80%) get symptoms of early infection. These are usually about 14 days after infection (range about 4 to 21 days). See: seroconversion symptoms.
These range from being mild and flu-like to rare cases when people are hospitalised.
But 1 in 5 (20%) might not get any symptoms at all.
After this, without treatment, HIV can take from 2 to 20 years to cause enough immune damage for symptoms of other infections start to show.
This is why regular routine HIV testing is recommended for people at risk of catching HIV.
Hello By and thanks for getting in touch.
Chances are your mum was on ARVs throughout her pregnancy, and you were also given ARVs at birth.
You would also have been tested at very your age, before you were 2 years old so you wouldn’t remember it.
I feel that if you were living with HIV you would have been on ARVs throughout childhood.
However, that doesn’t make you immune to HIV. You can still catch HIV, like everyone else.
You should use the prevention tools like condoms or PrEP and you should test often, even every 3 months.
So, to answer your question, if I was you, I would take an HIV test.
Knowledge is power
I am 22 years old and when I was born my family was living with HIV. I didn’t take the HIV test and i haven’t seen any infection that indicate HIV. Is it possible I am living with HIV?
Hi Emily, thanks – and good luck with your career to help people living with HIV.
I’m a Caregiver so I’m interested in Hiv and AIDS Professional Field,and I would to Study further education in his Field ad obtain a Diploma.
I do have a Certcate but I’m interested in studying further, because I want to start a Support Group.in this field,
Hi Hilde, have you been monitored over this time?
Did you ever have a viral load test and has your CD4 count changed at all?
So long as your viral load has been detectable, you are still likley to get a positive test results now.
If you never went back for treatment though, or to have the test result confirmed, perhaps the first result was not accurate.
The only way to know if to have a test now but without more details it is difficult to comment.
If you haven’t been monitored over this time, please do go to an HIV clinic now becasue you might also be at high risk from not using treatment.
Hi I’m stay with Hiv positive for 17 years now and I did not have any treatment. So if I go to the testing it still showing positive?