The symptoms of HIV infection and AIDS are usually the symptoms of the diseases that attack the body because of a weakened immune system:

• fever that lasts from a few days to longer than a month
• loss of appetite or weight, especially loss of more than 10% of body weight
• nausea and vomiting
• tiredness
• prolonged swelling of the lymph nodes
• sore throat
• long-lasting or multiple viral skin problems, such as herpes sores or plantar warts
• repeated, severe yeast infections in your mouth or vagina despite treatment
• chronic muscle and joint pain
• diarrhea, especially if it lasts longer than a month
• headache
• blurry vision or other problems with vision.

The serious opportunistic diseases that most often affect someone with AIDS include a type of cancer called Kaposi's sarcoma and these infections: Pneumocystis carinii pneumonia (PCP), tuberculosis, meningitis, and herpes simplex infections.