Important note: Information in this article was accurate in 2004. The state of the art may have changed since the publication date. Swollen neck glands and HIV - what exactly does it mean when my T-cell count is 795 and my viral load is 1312, or something? Ever since I noticed my neck glands were swollen I knew something was wrong. I just wanted to know is it a different strand or different stage?
Ross Slotten, M.D.
Klein and Slotten Medical Associates
Private Practice in Family Medicine
With a special interest in HIV disease
If I understand your question correctly, you have noticed that you have swollen neck glands. You are also HIV positive with a viral load of 1300 and have a CD4 count in the 700s. You do not say when you noticed the swollen glands--at the time of diagnosis, before diagnosis, or after diagnosis. You also do not say which neck glands are swollen or whether there are swollen glands anywhere else on your body.
Swollen glands are common in people who are infected with HIV. Usually, many glands are swollen, not just the glands in the neck. In the neck, the most significant gland swelling is in the back part of the neck, not just under the jaw. Not everyone infected with HIV has swollen glands, only some people. In the old days, before we had HIV tests, we suspected that a person was infected with the AIDS virus when he or she presented with generalized lymph gland swelling (that is, swelling in the neck, in the arm pits and in the groin area, among other places). Today, we worry about lymph gland swelling only if a gland or glands suddenly swell, become painful or grow rock hard. Such swelling could indicate another infection or even cancer. Otherwise, the lymph gland swelling is harmless, a byproduct of HIV infection. Your CD4 count and viral load numbers do not tell us that you will, or should, have swollen glands.
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