People can live with HIV for years without knowing they have it. In many cases, the virus causes no symptoms during the early stages.
Some people experience flu-like symptoms within weeks of exposure, but they might not realize it’s HIV.
Even if they feel fine, HIV can still be active in the body and slowly weaken the immune system. Untreated HIV may lead to more serious complications, including stage 3 HIV (also known as AIDS).
Getting tested is the only way to know for sure whether they have HIV — and starting early treatment can make a huge difference in their health.
After HIV enters the body, it goes through several
- Acute infection: Within 2 to 4 weeks after exposure, some people develop symptoms similar to the flu, such as fever, sore throat, rash, or swollen lymph nodes. This stage is called acute HIV infection.
- Clinical latency (chronic HIV): After the acute stage, HIV enters a period called clinical latency or the chronic stage. The virus is still active but reproduces at lower levels during this time. Many people have no symptoms during this stage, which can last years without treatment.
- Stage 3 HIV: Without treatment, HIV may progress to stage 3, which is the most severe stage. At this point, the immune system experiences serious health effects, and the person becomes susceptible to opportunistic infections and certain cancers.
Untreated HIV may progress to stage 3 within
Learn more about the HIV timeline.
Yes, it’s possible. Right after infection, the body needs time to produce detectable levels of HIV antibodies or antigens. This period is called the window period.
During the window period, people might have symptoms of acute HIV infection and still test negative on certain HIV tests.
This scenario is why healthcare professionals often recommend repeat testing if someone has a recent exposure. Some modern HIV tests can help doctors detect the virus sooner than older methods, but no test can help them detect HIV immediately after exposure.
If someone suspects HIV exposure and tests negative, it’s a good idea to retest after the window period to be sure.
The window period for HIV depends on the
- Nucleic acid tests: These tests can usually help doctors detect HIV 10 to 33 days after exposure.
- Antigen/antibody tests (from blood draw): They can often help doctors detect HIV 18 to 45 days (about 2 to 6 weeks) after exposure.
- Rapid tests and self-tests (antibody-only): Doctors typically use these tests to detect HIV 23 to 90 days after exposure.
A person must talk with a healthcare team if they suspect HIV exposure. The team may recommend starting postexposure prophylaxis (PEP) — a medication that can help prevent HIV if someone takes it within
Yes. Many people with HIV feel healthy and have no symptoms for years, especially during the clinical latency stage.
Without treatment, the virus can quietly weaken the immune system, so a person may not experience noticeable health issues until the immune system weakens severely.
The length of time someone can stay in this symptom-free stage varies. Research suggests that, without antiretroviral therapy (ART), the clinical latency stage typically lasts about
However, many people can stay healthy with ART and suppress the virus for decades. ART also lowers the viral load (amount of HIV in the body) to undetectable levels, which means the virus can’t be
People can live with HIV for many years without realizing they have it, especially if they don’t develop early symptoms. But even without symptoms, HIV can still harm the immune system over time.
Getting tested is the only way to know for sure whether someone has HIV. If they test positive, starting treatment early can help them live a healthy, full life — and prevent the virus from progressing to later stages.
It’s a good idea for someone to talk with a healthcare team if they suspect HIV exposure or have concerns about the risk. Regular screening and early care can make all the difference.