Brief Answer: Symptoms categorized into stages... Detailed Answer: Hi, HIV symptoms are classified into 3 stages. If you are infected with HIV, you will go through these stages. 1. The first stage of acute infection lasts for few weeks. At the most acute infection can last for 6-8 weeks. Here you would have flu like symptoms - fever, headache, body aches, nasal congestion, cough, joint pains, weakness, low appetite, nausea, vomiting, rashes, altered bowel habits and so on. You would experience a waxing - weaning type of symptoms, in the sense you develop symptoms and it resolves to recur again. The number of such cycles is not clearly defined. 2. This stage is followed by an asymptomatic phase where you do not have any symptoms at all. A few individuals note swollen lymph nodes in this stage. Asymptomatic phase can last for months to years. There are instances where the asymptomatic phase has lasted for more than 10 years without recognition and treatment. 3. The last stage of chronic infection - on and off fever, yeast infections, opportunistic infections, systemic abscess and many more occur as immune cells get depleted. We recognize this state as AIDS. As I said earlier not all people progress to this state; even if they progressed the current antiretroviral drugs are able to improve the quality of life and help them get over those infections. In your case, since your suspected exposure was 6-7 months ago if you are infected you would be asymptomatic. You may find swollen lymph nodes here and there. Hope this answers your question. Let me know if you need clarifications. Regards

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