Hiv/aids/low immune system?

I am concerned for my friend. She had unprotected sex with a few people 5-13 years ago with various realtionships. She always gets the flu or colds constantly but has other medical issues as well such as fibromaygia and is on strong pain medication. I have been doing a search online for people with low imune systems and pointed to hiv. She had bloodwork done (not for hiv) and it came out normal. She has gone through alot of surgeries and had blood work done each time. If someone has normal white cell count does that mean there is no way they could possibly have hiv? It was not casual sex but unprotected with some long term realtionships and they dont know why she gets sick so often. I am concerned. I know she can just go do the test but she doesnt seem willing to. She doesnt have hiv symptons but she gets colds/flu alot and is weak, nausea. Doc said nothing in her blood work show signs of someone who may have hiv,is it possible to have normal blood results/white count have hiv?

she doesnt have any of the symptons weight loss, swollen glands, fevers , she just basically picks up colds, never even considered this untill i brought it up. if she did get it, would of been from at least 6 years or more ago and shes had surgeries that required full physical and blood work. so if all these times here blood work were normal doesnt that mean its not even considered. when she asked her doctor yesterday he said no way, there is nothing in her blood work that would indicate hiv

Typically, HIV infection will lower the level of circulating CD4 cells. However, the CD4 cells make up a very small portion of total White Blood Cells, so if the bloodwork was just for WBCs and not CD4 cells then it might not appear abnormal.

Additionally, some people with HIV lose CD4 cells quicker than others. A very rare few people are termed "non-progressors", meaning that although they are infected with HIV, their CD4 count remains more or less the same.

It's not possible to diagnose HIV infection through a CD4 count, or by how many colds, flu, or bacterial infections someone has. There are certain "AIDS-defining" illnesses such as PCP pneumonia, Kaposi's sarcoma, and Toxoplasmosis of the brain, but they won't appear until someone has full-blown AIDS. An ELISA antibody test and a Western Blot are the only way to go for definitive testing.

John S is absolutely right. It may take up to 10 years to show in your system, but she should really get tested.You can have HIV and not have any of the symptoms for a while. Considering she get a lot of colds she should change her eating habit and talk to her doctor about a prescription multi-vitamin. If her immune system is weak that is why she keeps getting sick, she is only getting rid of the cold on the surface. I hope she gets well, and I hope this helps.