Symptoms may include fever, cough, difficulty breathing, weight loss, night sweats and fatigue. It is most likely to occur when the CD4+ T cell count falls below 200 cells per cubic millimeter of blood.

What happens when CD4 count is low?

AIDS is diagnosed when your CD4 count is extremely low. AIDS is the most severe form of HIV infection. It badly damages the immune system and can lead to opportunistic infections. These are serious, often life-threatening, conditions that take advantage of very weak immune systems.

What causes CD4 count to drop?

An infection like the flu, pneumonia, or a herpes simplex virus (including cold sores) can make your CD4 count go down for a while. Your CD4 count will go way down when youre having chemotherapy for cancer.

Can low CD4 count go up?

CD4 cell counts can vary a lot between people. Your own CD4 cell count may go up and down in response to different factors such as exercise, lack of sleep or smoking. But these factors dont seem to make any difference to how well your immune system can fight infections.

What is a normal CD4 cell count?

A normal CD4 count ranges from 500–1,200 cells/mm3 in adults and teens. In general, a normal CD4 count means that your immune system is not yet significantly affected by HIV infection. A low CD4 count indicates that your immune system has been affected by HIV and/or the disease is progressing.