Last Updated on March 3, 2025 by Analgesia team
What Does HIV Pain Feel Like?
Pain is common for people living with HIV/AIDS, and can have many causes.
Causes
- HIV itself: The virus can cause inflammation and nerve damage
- Medications: Some HIV medications can be neurotoxic
- Immune response: The body’s immune response to HIV can cause inflammation
- Secondary complications: Cancers and infections can cause pain
- Aging: Pain becomes more common as people with HIV age
Types of pain
- Painful neuropathy in the hands and feet
- Headaches
- Pain in the mouth, throat, abdomen, chest, and anus
- Joint and muscle pain
- Painful skin conditions
- Pain from Kaposi’s sarcoma
Management
- Non-drug therapies like massage, acupuncture, meditation, and exercise can help manage pain
- Heat or cold therapy can help with pain
- Anti-inflammatory diet
- Talk therapies
- Joining a chronic pain support group
Other considerations
- Pain can be widespread and affect multiple parts of the body
- Pain can be difficult to manage
- HIV-positive women may experience pain more frequently and more intensely than men
- The risk of opioid misuse is elevated in the HIV-infected population
What Does HIV Pain Feel Like
HIV pain can feel like muscle and joint aches, nerve pain, headaches, and abdominal pain.
Muscle and joint pain
- Achy muscles and joints are common early symptoms of HIV
Nerve pain
- Peripheral neuropathy is nerve damage that can cause numbness, tingling, or burning. It usually affects the feet and hands but can also affect the arms and legs.
Headaches
- Headaches can be a common side effect of HIV drugs. They can feel like pressure, throbbing, or a dull ache.
Abdominal pain
- HIV drugs can cause nausea, diarrhea, and stomach cramps. These symptoms often go away in a few days or weeks.
Other pain
- Back pain can occur in the early stages of HIV
Other HIV symptoms
- Sore throat,
- Body rash,
- Tiredness,
- Swollen glands,
- Mouth sores, and
- Fever.
Even when HIV is suppressed to undetectable levels, people can still develop pain.
Causes of HIV-related pain
- Inflammation of the pancreas
- HIV itself
HIV drugs
- Other medical conditions such as diabetes
- Infections caused by bacteria or parasites
- Problems of the digestive tract