Tuesday, March 19, 2024

Can I Get Hiv From Kissing An Hiv Positive Person

Someone Told Me That You Can Get Hiv From Deep Kissing And Now Im Freaking Out Could I Have Gotten Aids From Making Out With My Boyfriend

HIV Positive: Seriously, you can’t catch it from kissing – BBC Stories

Great question. First, its awesome that youre thinking about HIV prevention! Rates of a variety of sexually transmitted infections are currently on the rise among teens, and its important to be aware of how to protect yourself and your partner. Second, I have good news: You can relax. It is incredibly unlikely that you could have gotten HIV from kissing someone, even if it was deep.

To understand why, lets do a quick refresher on HIV/AIDS.

HIV is a virus that attacks your bodys immune system . If left untreated, HIV will make it super easy for bacteria, viruses, fungi, and certain cancers to attack your body, and you get very sick, very easily. At that point, you are considered to have AIDS . Today, HIV is manageable but NOT curable. This means that once HIV enters your body, it will be there for the rest of your life. However, if identified and properly treated, people with HIV can live long and happy lives.

You can get HIV from coming into contact with certain bodily fluids: blood, semen, vaginal fluid and breast milk. This list does NOT include saliva, so kissing is generally not a problem. The only time that someone can get HIV from kissing is if your partner is HIV positive AND bleeding in or near their mouth. So, avoid kissing people who have bleeding gums or open sores. Otherwise, you can make out as much as you want!

However, you should know that it is possible to transmit HIV via sex.

A version of this post was originally published in November, 2016.

Should I Take A Medicine To Help Prevent Hiv

PrEP is highly effective at preventing HIV transmission but isnt necessary in a monogamous relationship if your HIV-positive partner is taking their medication as prescribed and has an undetectable viral load. In rare cases, says Wohlfeiler, hell prescribe PrEP in this situation after discussing pros and cons of the treatment and making it clear to them that from a medical perspective, they dont really need to go on preventive therapy.

If someone is not undetectable or for some reason cant take their HIV medications every day, I would definitely want the negative individual to be on PrEP, says Gandhi. Treatment as prevention relies on people taking their medications and staying undetectable.

Going on PrEP is also a good idea if your relationship isnt monogamous and youre regularly having sex with different partners, says Wohlfeiler. If youre going to have occasional encounters outside the relationship, he notes, condoms are just as effective at preventing HIV and also have the advantage of protecting you from other STDs.

Should I Get Tested For Hiv Regularly

Yes, you should get tested for HIV at regular intervals, according to your doctors recommendation. Depending on your situation, this could be as often as every 3 months or as infrequently as once a year.

Generally, Wohlfeiler recommends being tested every 3 to 6 months if youre having sex outside your relationship, or once a year if your relationship is monogamous. HIV screening involves a simple blood draw at a regularly scheduled lab or doctors appointment.

For someone who has an HIV-positive partner, getting tested regularly is just good preventative healthcare, Gandhi notes, even though your risk of getting HIV from your partner is essentially zero if their viral load remains undetectable.

Also Check: How Can Hiv Be Controlled

Ways Hiv Can Be Transmitted

How is HIV passed from one person to another?

Most people who get HIV get it through anal or vaginal sex, or sharing needles, syringes, or other drug injection equipment . But there are powerful tools that can help prevent HIV transmission.

Can I get HIV from anal sex?

You can get HIV if you have anal sex with someone who has HIV without using protection .

  • Anal sex is the riskiest type of sex for getting or transmitting HIV.
  • Being the receptive partner is riskier for getting HIV than being the insertive partner .
  • The bottoms risk of getting HIV is very high because the rectums lining is thin and may allow HIV to enter the body during anal sex.
  • The top is also at risk because HIV can enter the body through the opening at the tip of the penis , the foreskin if the penis isnt circumcised, or small cuts, scratches, or open sores anywhere on the penis.

Can I get HIV from vaginal sex?

You can get HIV if you have vaginal sex with someone who has HIV without using protection .

Can HIV be transmitted from a mother to her baby?

HIV can be transmitted from a mother to her baby during pregnancy, birth, or breastfeeding. However, it is less common because of advances in HIV prevention and treatment.

Can I get HIV from sharing needles, syringes, or other drug injection equipment?

You are at high risk for getting HIV if you with someone who has HIV. Never share needles or other equipment to inject drugs, hormones, steroids, or silicone.

Can You Catch Hiv From Kissing

Living With HIV

No. Evidence shows that the HIV virus is spread through the exchange of bodily fluids such as blood, semen and vaginal fluids, but not saliva.

Although HIV can be detected in saliva, it can’t be passed to other people through kissing because a combination of antibodies and enzymes found naturally in saliva prevent HIV infecting new cells.

Read Also: Can Hiv Be Spread By Saliva

Why Is Hiv Test Recommended To All Pregnant Women

A HIV-positive pregnant woman can transmit the infection to her child during pregnancy, during delivery, and after birth during breastfeeding. To prevent this, antiretroviral drugs both before and after childbirth are prescribed. The test is not obligatory but voluntary and is carried out after signing an informed consent, but it is definitely recommended because it allows women who are positive to access preventive medical treatment, and HIV-negative women to become aware of all the information to prevent future exposure to the virus, thanks to medical advice.

Can I Infect My Unborn Child If I Am Positive

Women with HIV can transmit the virus to their fetus. However, the use of special drugs, during pregnancy and at birth, can help reduce the transmission of HIV from mother to child.

For this reason it is important that every pregnant woman takes an HIV antibody-test. Medicines that reduce the chance of infection for the child are available for all pregnant women that are HIV infected and live on St. Maarten. It does not matter if you are insured, non-insured, legal or illegal on the island. Sometimes it is advised to repeat this test later during the pregnancy. Steps to prevent HIV transmission to the baby can be taken even if very late in the pregnancy.

For additional information you can check with your doctor or Dr. van Osch at Union Road Medical Clinic. More information on HIV and pregnancy can be found here.

Read Also: How Often Do You Have To Take Hiv Medication

Is It Safe To Share Food Toilets Or Toothbrushes

In most realistic scenarios, HIV cannot be spread by food, skin-on-skin contact, toilets, or sharing a toothbrush. There are nearly nonexistent exceptions to each of these cases, such as a theoretical risk from eating food that someone with HIV has already chewed if they have a mouth sore, or skin-on-skin contact when semen is present and you have an open sore on your skin. This minuscule risk vanishes if your partners treatment for HIV is effectively suppressing the virus.

Take Hiv Medications To Prevent Hiv

How is HIV Transmitted? Episode 2

People living without HIV may want to consider preventive HIV medications to avoid the risk of acquiring HIV. Currently, there are two strategies for preventing HIV with antiretroviral therapy. One of the medications is taken daily, as a preventive measure. The other is taken after potential exposure to HIV.

Don’t Miss: How Would Know If You Have Hiv

What Should I Do If My Test Is Positive

One of the first things you should do after receiving a positive outcome is to visit a Clinical Center with a Department of Infectious Diseases, for a first specialist visit. People with both symptomatic and asymptomatic HIV are followed entirely on an outpatient hospital both as regards the diagnostic tests that opportunistic infections and any antiretroviral therapy. This condition gives you the right to a full exemption from the ticket that will allow you to perform, for free, all controls and diagnostic tests related to it.

You Can Choose Not To Have Sex

You might not be ready to have sex if:

  • you aren’t sure about it
  • you feel pressured, scared or uncomfortable
  • you need to get drunk or high to do it.
  • your partner is not ready
  • you can’t talk to your partner about safer sex, birth control or STI
  • you or your partner could get pregnant but don’t want a baby and don’t use birth control
  • you don’t have condoms or dental dams to protect yourself and your partner

Text box 4

STI rates are the highest among Canadians 25 years or younger. If you choose to have sex, remember to always use condoms and/or dental dams.

Read Also: How Does The Immune System Fight Hiv

Can I Get Hiv From A Tattoo Or Body Piercing Needle

The risk of getting HIV from tattoo or body piercing needles exists if the needles are not properly sterilized or disinfected. Instruments that are intended to pierce the skin should only be used once and then disposed of or thoroughly cleaned and disinfected. If you are considering getting a tattoo or piercing done, ask the staff at the establishment what precautions they take to prevent the spread of HIV.

What We Know About Anal Sex

Testing

Anal sex is the riskiest type of sex for getting or transmitting HIV. Although receptive anal sex is much riskier for getting HIV than insertive anal sex, its possible for either partnerthe insertive or receptiveto get HIV.

An HIV-negative receptive partners risk of getting HIV is very high because the lining of the rectum is thin. HIV can enter the body through this lining during anal sex from body fluids that carry HIV, including semen or pre-seminal fluid .

More information

On average, an HIV-negative receptive partner has about a 1 in 70 chance of getting HIV every time they have receptive anal sex with a partner who has HIV.

Being the receptive partner for anal sex is about 13 times more risky for getting HIV from a partner with HIV than being the insertive partner.

For women, anal sex is about 17 times more risky for getting HIV from a man with HIV than vaginal sex.

If the partner with HIV takes HIV medicine as prescribed, and gets and keeps an undetectable viral load , you have effectively no risk of getting HIV through sex with that partner.

See how receptive anal sex compares to other sexual activities here.

An HIV-negative insertive partner is also at risk because HIV can enter the body through the opening at the tip of the penis the foreskin if the penis isnt circumcised or small cuts, scratches, or open sores anywhere on the penis. There is some evidence that circumcision decreases a mans risk of getting HIV during sex.

More information

More information

Don’t Miss: What Does Hiv Do To The Human Body

Can I Become Infected With Hiv If I Inject Drugs And Share The Needles With Someone Else Without Sterilizing The Needles

We strongly recommend that you use new equipment every time you inject. You can get new equipment from Counterpoint Needle & Syringe Program at Regional HIV/AIDS Connection.

There is a possibility of becoming infected with HIV if you share injecting equipment with someone who has the virus. If HIV infected blood remains inside the needle or in the syringe and someone else then uses it to inject themselves, that blood can be flushed into the bloodstream. Sharing needles, syringes, spoons, filters or water can pass on the virus. Disinfecting equipment between uses can reduce the likelihood of transmission, but does not eliminate it.

Now That I Have Hiv I Cant Have Kids

You may be able to safely have children. Doctors can help you take steps to lower — or remove — the chance that youâll pass the virus to your partner during conception. If you’re pregnant, your doctor will give you HIV drugs to protect you and your baby. The baby may also be given medication after birth.

Read Also: How Long Can You Have Hiv Without Knowing

Can The Virus Be Transmitted Through Breastfeeding

Yes, HIV is present in infectious amounts in breast milk. HIV can be passed from an HIV infected mother to her baby through breastfeeding. Most HIV+ children in the Caribbean have been infected through mother-to-child transmission of HIV.

This can be prevented when an HIV infected mother does not breastfeed her baby and uses other alternate milk recommended by her doctor. More information on HIV and pregnancy can be found here.

What Happens If I Get A Negative Result

Is it possible to transmit HIV through saliva?

This means that no HIV antibodies were detected. A negative result doesnt always mean that you dont have HIV. Thats because of the window period. If you get an HIV test after a potential HIV exposure and the result is negative, get tested again after the window period to be sure.

If youre sexually active, continue to take actions to prevent HIV, like using condoms the right way every time you have sex.

Read Also: What Treatment Is Used For Hiv

How To Use An Internal Condom

Internal condoms are also known as “female” condoms because they’re inserted in an opening, such as the vagina. These condoms are larger than “male” condoms and are pre-lubricated. When used properly, they’re highly effective at preventing pregnancy and reducing the risk of STI. They are primarily used for vaginal sex, but they can also be used for anal sex. It’s not recommended to use a “male” condom and a “female” condom at the same time as it increases the risk of a condom breaking.

1. Open carefully

Don’t use teeth, scissors or a knife to open the condom. Roughly tearing or handling the condom can damage it. If the person handling the condom has long fingernails, be extra careful as they can nick the condom, making it ineffective, putting you at risk of STI or unplanned pregnancy.

2. Placement

The outer ring covers the area around the opening of the vagina or anus. The inner ring is used for insertion and to help hold the condom in place during intercourse. Hold the condom at the closed end, squat, sit or lie comfortably and then slide the inner ring inside. Gently push the inner ring up as far as it will go, with the outer ring remaining on the outside. Guide the penis or sex toy to make sure it’s entering inside the condom, not next to it.

3. Afterwards

To remove the condom, twist the outer ring gently and pull the condom out. Throw the used condom in the garbage and don’t reuse it.

Lubricants

Tips To Avoid Hiv Transmission

To prevent the spread of HIV, follow these guidelines:

  • Use condoms during sexual intercourse
  • Never share needles and syringes
  • Avoid multiple sexual partners
  • Use lubricant during sexual intercourse to reduce friction and dryness which can cause vaginal tears and broken condoms.
  • Speak to your doctor about PrEP , if you believe you are at high risk of exposure. PrEP is a daily medication used to help prevent HIV.
  • Speak to your doctor about taking post-exposure prophylaxis if you think you’ve just been exposed to the virus. PEP is a type of antiretroviral medication that help prevent HIV if started within 72 hours after you might have been exposed to the virus.

You May Like: Does Nba Youngboy Have Hiv

If I Get Infected Fluid From An Hiv

No, HIV is not always passed on from someone living with HIV. There are lots of reasons why this is the case. For example, if the HIV-positive person is on effective treatment it will reduce the amount of HIV in their body. If a doctor confirms that the virus has reached undetectable levels it means there is no risk of passing it on.

If youre concerned that youve been exposed to HIV you may be eligible to take post-exposure prophylaxis , which stops the virus from becoming an infection. However its not available everywhere and has to be taken within 72 hours of possible exposure to be effective.

Its really important to take a HIV test every time you think you have been at risk of HIV.

Saliva Sweat Tears Urine Or Feces

HIV Care Saves Lives infographic

HIV cannot be spread by sharing drinking glasses or by casual kissing. The risk of spreading the virus through “deep” kissing in which large amounts of saliva are exchanged is extremely low. Only one unproven case has ever been reported.

No cases of HIV spread have ever been reported after a person has come in contact with the sweat, tears, urine, or feces of an HIV-infected person.

Recommended Reading: What Is The Hiv Rate In Atlanta

What We Know About Less Common Ways That You Can Get Hiv From Syringe Use

The risk for getting or transmitting HIV is very high if an HIV-negative person , other injection equipment with someone who has HIV. Its also possible to get HIV from tattooing or body piercing if the equipment has someone elses blood in it or if the ink is shared. The risk of getting HIV from tattooing or body piercing is higher when the person doing the procedure doesnt have a license. That person may be more likely to use unsafe practices like sharing syringes or ink. There are no known cases in the United States of anyone getting HIV this way.

More Information On average, an HIV-negative person has a 1 in 420 chance of getting HIV from a needlestick if the needle or syringe contains HIV-infected blood.

More InformationThere may be extremely tiny amounts of blood in syringes or works that you may not be able to see, but could still carry HIV. Be aware that HIV can survive in a used syringe for up to 42 days depending on temperature and other factors.

Popular Articles
Related news