Believe me or not but HIV is real and a lot of people are living with it without them knowing in Africa according to the World health organisation over 20 million people all over the world are living with HIV. 
Even though there is no hope right now, for the over 20 million people go get cured, there is still hope for us who are yet not infected to take necessary precautions which is very important. 

HIV is in three stages which I will talk more about below.

HIV Symptoms
First Stage: Acute HIV Infection Symptoms
Most people don't know right away when they've been infected with HIV. But they may have symptoms within 2 to 6 weeks after they’ve gotten the virus. This is when your body's immune system puts up a fight. It's called acute retroviral syndrome or primary HIV infection.

The symptoms are similar to those of other viral illnesses, and they're often compared to the flu. They typically last a week or two and then go away. Early signs of HIV include:

Aching muscles
A red rash that doesn't itch, usually on your torso
Ulcers (sores) in your mouth, esophagus, anus, or genitals
Headache and other neurological symptoms
If you have symptoms like these and might have come into contact with someone with HIV in the past 2 to 6 weeks, go to a doctor and ask that you get an HIV test. If you don’t have symptoms but still think you might have come into contact with the virus, get tested.

Early testing is important for two reasons. First, at this stage, levels of HIV in your blood and bodily fluids are very high. This makes it especially contagious. Second, starting treatment as soon as possible might help boost your immune system and ease your symptoms.

A combination of medications (called HIV drugs, antiretroviral therapy, or ART) can help fight HIV, keep your immune system healthy, and keep you from spreading the virus. If you take these medications and have healthy habits, your HIV infection probably won’t get worse.

Second Stage: Clinical Latency Symptoms
After your immune system loses the battle with HIV, the flu-like symptoms will go away. But there’s a lot going on inside your body. Doctors call this the asymptomatic period or chronic HIV infection.

In your body, cells called CD4 T cells coordinate your immune system’s response. During this stage, untreated HIV will kill CD4 cells and destroy your immune system. Your doctor can check how many of these cells you have with blood tests. Without treatment, the number of CD4 cells will drop, and you’ll be more likely to get other infections.

Most people don't have symptoms they can see or feel. You may not realize that you're infected and can pass HIV on to others.

If you’re taking ART, you might stay in this phase for decades. You can pass the virus on to other people, but it’s extremely rare if you take your medicines.

Third Stage: AIDS Symptoms
AIDS is the advanced stage of HIV infection. This is usually when your CD4 T-cell number drops below 200 and your immune system is badly damaged. You might get an opportunistic infection, an illness that happens more often and is worse in people who have weakened immune systems. Some of these, such as Kaposi's sarcoma (a form of skin cancer) and pneumocystis pneumonia (a lung disease), are also considered “AIDS-defining illnesses.”

If you didn't know earlier that you were infected with HIV, you may realize it after you have some of these symptoms:

Being tired all the time
Swollen lymph nodes in your neck or groin
Fever that lasts more than 10 days
Weight loss with no obvious reason
Purplish spots on your skin that don't go away
Shortness of breath
Severe, long-lasting diarrhea
Yeast infections in your mouth, throat, or vagina
Bruises or bleeding you can't explain
Neurological symptoms such as memory loss, confusion, balance problems, behavior changes, seizures, and vision changes
People with AIDS who don't take medication live about 3 years, or less if they get another infection. But HIV can still be treated at this stage. If you start on HIV drugs, stay on them, follow your doctor’s advice, and keep healthy habits, you can live a long time.

 Medical Reference
The only way you can know for sure if you have HIV is to get tested. Although the virus can cause symptoms, they’re not a reliable way to tell if you’re infected. In fact, some people won’t have any symptoms at all. So even if you don’t have any of the typical signs of an infection, you should always get tested if you think you are at risk.

Am I at Risk for HIV?
You get HIV through direct contact with certain kinds of body fluids -- blood, semen, pre-seminal fluid (also called pre-cum), vaginal fluids, rectal fluids, and breast milk. The biggest risks are having vaginal or anal sex without a condom or sharing needles with someone who has HIV. But other things can increase your odds of having it, too.

The CDC recommends that everyone in the United States between the ages of 13 and 64 get tested for HIV at least once as a precaution. In addition, you should ask yourself the following questions, and if you answer yes to any of them, you should get tested:

Have you had unprotected sex with someone who has HIV or a person whose HIV status you don’t know?
Have you injected drugs (including hormones, steroids, and silicone) and shared needles or syringes with others?
Have you been diagnosed with an STD?
Have you been diagnosed with tuberculosis (TB) or hepatitis?
Have you had sex with anyone who would answer “yes” to any of the questions above?
Have you been sexually assaulted?
How Long Does It Take to Show Symptoms of HIV?
Some people notice flu-like symptoms 1-4 weeks after they're first infected. They often only last a week or two. This stage is called acute or primary HIV infection.

Then, you may go for 10 years or more without further symptoms. This is called asymptomatic HIV infection. Even though you feel fine, the virus is still active in your body. And you can still give it to someone else.

Once HIV has seriously harmed your immune system, you're at risk for diseases that a healthy body could fight off. In this stage, symptomatic HIV infection, you start to notice problems caused by those "opportunistic" infections.

What Are the Signs and Symptoms of HIV?
No two people with HIV will have the same symptoms, and some may not have any at all. But the infection can cause some common changes over time.

In the first few weeks: These first, flu-like symptoms happen because your body is reacting to HIV. Your immune system is trying to fight it off. The symptoms at this stage can include:

Headache
Aches and pains in muscles and joints
Keep in mind that even if you have these symptoms, that doesn’t automatically mean you are HIV-positive. Many different illnesses can cause these problems. Talk to a doctor or an HIV testing facility if you think you might be infected.

At this early stage of HIV infection, it’s important to know that you may not get accurate results from an HIV test. It can take 3-12 weeks for enough signs of the virus to show up on routine tests for the infection, which measure antibodies against HIV. A new kind of screening, called a nucleic acid test, can detect the virus itself during this early stage, but it’s expensive and not usually used for routine HIV testing.

Let the testing site or your doctor know if you think you might be recently infected. Also, be sure to use a condom every time you have sex, and take other steps to prevent spreading the virus.

Months to years after infection: After the first stage has passed, most people with HIV will start to feel healthier. But that doesn’t mean the virus is gone. It can take a decade for other symptoms to show up. During this time, if your HIV infection is untreated, the virus is still infecting new cells in your body.

After years with untreated HIV, you’re likely to get infections caused by bacteria, viruses, or fungi that your body is no longer strong enough to fight off. They can be a sign that your infection has gone from HIV to AIDS. You might have:

Weight loss
Diarrhea
Fever
A cough that won’t go away
Night sweats
Mouth and skin problems
Frequent infections
Serious illnesses or diseases

Again, these symptoms can also be the signs of other illnesses and don’t necessarily mean you have HIV or AIDS. Get tested to know for sure.Early treatment is the key to surviving and living with HIV. In the 20 years since combination therapy has been implemented, survival rates among those infected and who adhere to treatment have increased significantly. Studies have found that, depending on how early the infection is treated, the life span of HIV patients undergoing regular treatment my be essentially no different from someone who does not have HIV.

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