Question
Can an HIV diagnosis be confused with something else?
21 October 2008. Related: All topics, Living with HIV long-term, Opportunistic infections.
Can HIV be confused with some other illness?
I ask, because I`ve been HIV-positive for 5 years and have been taking medications for 5 years without a problem at all. In fact haven’t had cold or flu for 2 years.
I`ve read people`s questions on here and wonder, I`ve had enlarged lymph glands since I was 13, had a biopsy on one in my neck, which came back ok. I am 27 and they are still there: neck, throat, armpits, and groin.
Answer
Getting an HIV diagnosis should be very accurate because all positive results on the first test should be confirmed with a second type of laboratory HIV test (called western blot).
So long as you had this second confirmatory test the chance of not being positive is close to zero. It would only be explained, for example, if your results were mixed up with someone else’s blood sample.
However, we do occassionally hear of circumstances where the confirmatory second test has not been carried out. This is very bad practice and the second test (called western blot) should be run whenever this is discovered to have happened.
No-one should routinely start HIV treatment (ART) without having had a confirmatory western blot HIV test.
Enlarged lymph nodes are fairly common among people living with HIV and if is continues is called ‘persistant generalised lymphadenopathy’ (PGL).
The strict diagnosis of PGL requires you to have swollen glands in two or more parts of the body outside the groin, such as the neck and armpits, for three months or longer. It is thought to be an indication that the immune system is fighting back against HIV.
PGL does not seem to have any particular value in predicting how HIV will progress; people who develop PGL seem to do no better but no worse than people who do not.
Some people with HIV develop OIs without ever having PGL, while in others the PGL may start to shrink just before an opportunistic infection occurs.
Your risk of catching a cold is not affected by your HIV diagnosis – the risk are the same as for an HIV-negative person.
HIV positive people are advised to have an annual ‘flu jab as ‘flu is more serious if your immune system is already damaged. If your CD4 count is very low the vaccine is less likely to work.
Hi Pretty,
It’s good that hepatitis B has gone away, and that your lymph gland doesn’t seem to be a problem.
Sometimes HIV positive people take TB meds for up to 12 weeks before starting HIV treatment (ART). This can depend on your CD4 count and on your general health. But you can talk to your doctor about this and discuss the best time to start ART.
I have one lymph gland not too big on my neck for two and half years still remain the same size .i go for a hiv test my result come out positive the doctor call me again for another blood test which come out again positive.the thing is it, before i have hepatitis b but now my doctor told me that i dont have it anymore my body has fight it.and they check also for TB my result is negative but the doctor said to me i need to take rifampicin treatment for prevention for TB for three month because it possible i may have TB in the feature.so now am taking the prevention medicine for TB .but since i did the test is three months now no hiv medicine but am doing fine even before i was doing fine i only want for a test because of the lymph gland.
Thanks Juan,
i-Base is a project focused on HIV treatment. Our services are mainly for people who are HIV positive and who want to know about treatment. Please see frequently asked questions here.
I had a kissing session with a guy last week and got sick the very next day and have been losing muscle mass. On the other hand my appeappetite hasn’t changed.
Any illnesses or virus I should be concerned about?
Hi Joe,
Your comment was a bit long so I hope you don’t mind that I’ve edited it down. i-Base is a project focused on HIV treatment. But you can find out much more here. Most frequently asked questions about risks and testing have already been answered on these pages.
Can I have hiv?
I have been sexually active with multiple girls throughout last year. Most was with protection, but I’ve had unprotected sex maybe 3 times last year. One in Jan, the other in June and the last one around August. The last one I ended up catching chlamydia & got it cured immediately (2days).
I had sex about four more times after that going into February of 2018 which is the last time I had sex. I took an hiv test in March when I went to the doctor and everything came back negative or unresponsive.
Do I have hiv?
Hi Lisa,
The women that you’re talking about have basically been very lucky. There’s more about this here at Q5:
http://i-base.info/qa/what-are-the-most-asked-questions
how can a person have full blown aids and no one get affected after he had reported sleeping with over multiple women.
Thanks – the western blot test is essential and emphasied in the answer. We have heard occasional cases where someone is started on ART wihtout the confirmatory test, usually if the CD4 count is low, and usually only outside the UK. This is bad practice and against guidelines.
There are misdiagnoses of HIV and there can be conditions/viruses and other circumstances that can result in a false positive test. Some ID doctors will diagnose HIV without a western blot based solely on a reactive ELISA and how you answer the questions that go along with the test.