Can You Catch Hiv From Kissing
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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.
Ok But What About My Specific Hiv Risk Question
Over the years, we’ve receivedand our experts have answeredliterally thousands of questions from people concerned about a potential exposure to HIV. Some of them have been extremely detailedbut those details don’t change any of the basic facts about how HIV is and isn’t transmitted.
You can figure out the answer to just about every question that could possibly exist about HIV transmission by reading the rest of our article above. But let’s dive into a handful of the most common kinds of questions we’ve seen over the years:
Is There A Risk Of Hiv Transmission When Getting A Tattoo Or A Body Piercing Or While Visiting The Barber Or Hairdresser
Persons who carry out body-piercing and tattoos should follow procedures called âUniversal Precautionsâ, which are designed to protect both workers and their customers from the transmission of blood borne infections such as HIV and Hepatitis B. The guidelines state that any instrument designed to penetrate the skin such as tattoo or acupuncture needles should be either used only once and discarded , or should be thoroughly cleaned and sterilized after each use.
When visiting the barber there is no risk of infection unless the skin is cut and if there is a transfer of infected blood. If the instruments are contaminated with infected blood and are not sterilized between clients there is a risk of HIV transmission.
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Whats The Difference Between Hiv And Aids
HIV is the virus that causes AIDS. AIDS stands for Acquired Immune Deficiency Syndrome. HIV and AIDS are not the same thing. And people with HIV do not always have AIDS.
HIV is the virus thats passed from person to person. Over time, HIV destroys an important kind of the cell in your immune system that helps protect you from infections. When you dont have enough of these CD4 cells, your body cant fight off infections the way it normally can.
AIDS is the disease caused by the damage that HIV does to your immune system. You have AIDS when you get dangerous infections or have a super low number of CD4 cells. AIDS is the most serious stage of HIV, and it leads to death over time.
Without treatment, it usually takes about 10 years for someone with HIV to develop AIDS. Treatment slows down the damage the virus causes and can help people stay healthy for several decades.
Which Bodily Fluids Can Pass Hiv
HIV does not spread throughout the body evenly. Some bodily fluids have it, but most dont. In fact, HIV can only be transmitted to another person through these three types of bodily fluids:
Thats it.
HIV cannot be passed from person to person via other fluids like tears, saliva, vomit, or feces. This is an incredibly important point about HIV transmission that is often misunderstood.
For decadesand still todaypeople have worried they might catch HIV from a toilet seat, perhaps by touching the urine or fecal matter of an HIV-positive person. This absolutely does not happen.
People have also worried they might catch the virus from the saliva of an HIV-positive person who kisses them or spits on them. In fact, this fear is so pervasive that some states have made it a felony for people with HIV to spit at or bite someone else. Those laws are based on outdated science.
The only way it would be possible to transmit HIV through saliva is if the HIV-positive person had bleeding gums or sores, and somehow that bloody saliva got into the bloodstream of the HIV-negative person. However, experts agree that the risk of this happening is so statistically tiny that its not worth worrying about.
So, to recap:
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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.
How Does Hiv Affect Women Differently
HIV may cause some health problems that are unique to women, such as:
- Gynecological health issues
- Increased risk of cervical cancer
- Increased risk of heart disease
- HIV medicine side effects and drug interactions
- Aging-related issues
Pregnancy and birth control also require careful management with a health care provider.
The good news is that women with HIV who take HIV medicine exactly as prescribed and get and keep an undetectable viral load can stay healthy and have effectively no risk of transmitting HIV to an HIV-negative partner through sex. An undetectable viral load is a level of HIV in your blood so low that a standard lab test cant detect it.
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If I Have Sex With A Commercial Sex Worker Will I Get Hiv
Unprotected sex places you at a high risk of contracting the virus whether it is with a commercial sex worker or anybody else. Statistics from the Caribbean and several other parts of the world have shown that there is a higher prevalence or occurrence of HIV in commercial sex workers . Therefore by having unprotected sex with a commercial sex worker the risk of contracting HIV is high.
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Myth: People Who Have Hiv Cannot Have Sex With People Who Do Not Have Hiv
Fact: There are plenty of HIV positive people who have healthy sex and relationships with HIV negative people. Thats what condoms are for! If theyre practicing safer sex, theres no reason why a HIV positive person shouldnt have just as active and full a sex life as anyone else. Plus, if a HIV positive person is on effective medication and their viral load is undetectable they cannot pass HIV to their sexual partner. Undetectable = untransmittable.
Remember: The age of sexual consent in Ireland is 17. If youre over 16, you can consent to medical treatment including any treatment or tests needed.
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If Saliva Cant Transmit Hiv That Means Kissing Is Safe Right
Yes, usually, and thatâs why kissing is unlikely to be on the radar of anyone considering safe sex for mixed status couples.
However, thereâs a theoretical chance that certain kinds of kissing you know, the kind that goes by terms like âmaking outâ, âFrench kissingâ, âtongue kissingâ, and âdeep kissingâ could facilitate contact with blood. This is because itâs possible that both kissers have very small and bleeding injuries in their mouths, caused by things like gum disease and cheek-biting.
Research into this mode of transmission is already very dated, with two different studies published in 1989 . A few years after these studies came out, this literature was joined by one single case study in which HIV was most likely transmitted this way. Both partners reported sexual intercourse exclusively with condoms, and both had bleeding in the oral cavity when the previously HIV negative partner tested positive.
If you just want to peck a friend or relative with a different HIV status than you on the cheek, or receive a cheek-kiss, youâre also good to go.
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.
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Can You Get Hiv/aids From A Toilet Seat
For an answer to this common question, here’s longtime HIV expert Nancy Breuer:
“I include the word ‘immediate’ because the virus cannot survive for long outside the body. Oxygen destroys the virus. If any one of these four body fluids were on a toilet seat, oxygen would probably have destroyed it before anyone else approached it, and a person sitting on a toilet seat does not expose the bloodstream or a mucous membrane to the fluid on the seat, so there is no potential mode of transmission.
“If you find a toilet seat with blood or another potentially infectious body fluid on it, make sure that the seat is properly cleaned before anyone else uses it, for reasons of general hygiene. But do not be concerned about the possible transmission of HIV in that setting.”
How Is Hiv Transmitted
Not all body fluids can transmit HIV. The following cannot transmit HIV:
- Exchanging saliva, like through closed-mouth kissing or sharing drinks/utensils
- Coming in contact with an HIV positive personâs tears, sneezes, or sweat
- Ordinary physical contact, such as hugging, hand shaking, or touching shared objects like cutlery, cups, or toilet seats .
- Pets and insects cannot carry the virus and infect you, because transmission of HIV is only between humans .
While care needs to be taken in some situationsâlike when having sex or when open injuries are presentâthis certainly does not mean that it is unsafe to be around people with HIV. Think of how you interact with the vast majority of peopleâbodily fluids are not exchanged. Harboring discriminatory thoughts only perpetuates a fearful stigma against someone with HIV, which only hurts the person who has it.
HIV is often transmitted through sexual activity and drug use in adults in the United States . Maternal transmissionâfrom mother to childâis how the infection is spread to infants .
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Can Hiv Be Transmitted Through Saliva
The human immunodeficiency virus or HIV is the cause of the disease known as AIDS or acquired immunodeficiency syndrome and not all people who contract it develop this disease, but they do become carriers and, therefore, possible transmitters. As it is a virus that attacks our immune system producing a depression or deficiency of this, it is very important to stay well informed about what exactly it is, how it is spread, what are its symptoms and possible solutions.
But, although today there are many doubts about this virus and the disease it causes, many people continue to have unsolved questions and live in fear of contracting the disease. For this reason, it is vital to consult specialists to help us clear up our doubts and explain the facts well. Thus, in this FastlyHealarticle we want to dispel a very frequent doubt about the spread of this virus: can HIV be transmitted through saliva? Keep reading and discover all the details about it.
How Do People Get Infected
HIV is an infectious disease, but not in the ways that some people might think. Some people think that it can be passed on through physical contact, or through sweat and saliva, but these are all untrue.
In rare cases, people can also get infected if they receive a blood transfusion from a person who is HIV positive. Pregnant mothers can also pass on HIV to their babies during pregnancy, and also through breastfeeding.
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How Can You Tell If You Have Hiv
The only way to know for sure if you have HIV is to get tested. You cant rely on symptoms to tell whether you have HIV.
Knowing your HIV status gives you powerful information so you can take steps to keep yourself and your partner healthy:
- If you test positive, you can take medicine to treat HIV. By taking HIV medicine daily as prescribed, you can make the amount of HIV in your blood very lowso low that a test cant detect it . Getting and keeping an undetectable viral load is the best thing you can do to stay healthy. If your viral load stays undetectable, you have effectively no risk of transmitting HIV to an HIV-negative partner through sex.
- If you test negative, there are more HIV prevention tools available today than ever before.
- If you are pregnant, you should be tested for HIV so that you can begin treatment if youâre HIV-positive. If an HIV-positive woman is treated for HIV early in her pregnancy, the risk of transmitting HIV to her baby can be very low.
Use the HIV Services Locator to find an HIV testing site near you.
HIV self-testing is also an option. Self-testing allows people to take an HIV test and find out their result in their own home or other private location. You can buy a self-test kit at a pharmacy or online, or your health care provider may be able to order one for you. Some health departments or community-based organizations also provide self-test kits for free.
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Is Hiv Spread Through Saliva
One of the biggest concerns regarding the human immunodeficiency virus is knowing how its transmission occurs in order to be able to prevent it in the best possible way and to avoid it. But, many people who already know that it is transmitted through body fluids have more specific doubts about whether all fluids can infect it or only some. The truth is that not all are transmission routes and that some, such as presemnial fluid, do not contain enough virus to be dangerous. Regarding this, one of the most frequent doubts is whether this virus can be spread through salivary fluid or saliva. Therefore, we are going to answer this question very clearly:
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What Is The Risk From Oral Sex
Results from the PARTNER study show that if someone with HIV is taking effective HIV medication and has an undetectable viral load, they cannot pass on HIV.
According to Public Health England, around 1-3% of sexual HIV transmissions in the UK are because of oral sex. Other studies found that the risk is very low but is not zero.
The risks are higher if the person giving oral sex has:
- cuts, sores or abrasions in their mouth or gums
- a sore throat or infection in the mouth or throat.
Or if the person receiving oral sex is:
Myth: Becoming Infected With Hiv Is A Death Sentence
Fact: This is one of the biggest myths around HIV and is totally untrue. Theres no cure, but theres great treatment. A person living with HIV and on treatment can now continue to live a full and healthy live, for as long as they would have otherwise. HIV positive people go on to have great relationships, sex lives, and careers.
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Reducing The Risk From Oral Sex
The risk from unprotected oral sex with someone with a detectable viral load increases if you have:
- a throat infection
- damage to the lining of the mouth or throat
- had recent dental work or your gums bleed a lot.
Avoid performing oral sex without protection on someone with a detectable viral load while you have any of the above.
Dont floss or brush teeth before oral sex . Regular check-ups for STIs will pick up infections in your throat.
Remember that other STIs can also be passed on through oral sex, including herpes, gonorrhoea, chlamydia and syphilis.
Can Kissing An Hiv Positive Person Cause An Hiv Infection
No, a person cannot spread HIV through kissing. Although HIV can be present in very small amounts in saliva, there are proteins and enzymes found naturally in saliva which reduce the infectiousness of HIV, making it impossible for the virus to spread through kissing.
If you think you may have been exposed to HIV in the last three days, you should contact our local sexual health clinic immediately to get PEP, that can prevent infection even after exposure, if taken within 72 hours. If you believe the exposure might have happened earlier, make sure to consider the window period before taking an HIV test.
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Aids Phobia And Conspiracy Theorists
With that being said, there are people who still fear that infection is possible from the unlikely sources, including touching, mosquitos, shared grooming products, and, kissing. AIDS phobia, the paralyzing and unreasonable fear of HIV, plays a huge part in these beliefs. At other times, a person may prescribe to contrarian view about HIV or are simply misinformed about HIV in general.
For these individuals, counseling with a qualified professional may be needed as well as psychotherapy for those experiencing extreme anxiety or depression. Additionally, if the person is at risk of acquiring HIV or in a mixed-status relationship, doctors may want to consider prescribing HIV pre-exposure prophylaxis , a once-daily pill that can reduce the risk of HIV by more than 90%.
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