Is Hiv Transmitted Through Saliva

Hiv Transmission Through Other Sexual Activities

HIV is also sometimes transmitted during oral sex . It may occasionally be passed from an HIV-positive person to someone sucking their penis.

Oral sex is much less risky than vaginal or anal sex, but it is not risk free. The risk depends on the viral load of the person with HIV, the dental health of the person performing oral sex and untreated sexually transmitted infections.

“Not every act of unprotected sex with an HIV-positive person results in HIV transmission.”

HIV can be transmitted by sharing sex toys such as dildos or butt plugs. They should be covered with condoms or disinfected between use by different people.

How Can You Get Hiv

HIV is found in the following bodily fluids of someone living with the virus:

• blood
• vaginal fluids
• breastmilk.

For you to get HIV, these bodily fluids need to get into your blood through a mucous membrane , via shared injecting equipment, or through broken skin .

There is not enough HIV virus in other bodily fluids, like saliva, sweat or urine, to transmit it from one person to another.

Someone living with HIV who has an undetectable viral load, meaning effective treatment has lowered the amount of virus in their blood to levels where it cannot be detected by a normal blood test, cannot pass on HIV.

A person living with HIV with a detectable viral load can pass the virus to others whether they have symptoms or not.

HIV is most infectious in the first few weeks after infection. At this time many people are unaware of their status.

The main ways you can get HIV are:

How Is Hiv Transmitted

HIV is transmitted between humans through the exchange of certain types of bodily fluids. Bodily fluids that can transmit HIV include blood, semen, breast milk, and vaginal fluids .

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 .
• Air or water
• 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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How To Minimize Risk

Clearly, the best way to minimize the risk of infection is to practice safer sex. This is especially true if you have multiple sex partners or are unsure about the health of a sex partner. These include condoms and dental dams for those engaging in cunnilingus or anilingus.

There are additional strategies that can further reduce risk:

• If you are HIV-positive, take your HIV medicine as prescribed. If your viral load remains undetectable, you have effectively no risk of sexually transmitting HIV to HIV-negative partners.
• If you are HIV-negative, you can ask your healthcare provider to prescribe HIV pre-exposure prophylaxis , a once-daily drug therapy that can reduce your risk of infection by more than 90%.
• Regular HIV screening is recommended for persons at high risk of infection, including MSM, injecting drug users, and persons with multiple sex partners. Periodic STD screenings are also recommended.

Finally, communication is tantamount to the long-term avoidance of HIV. Whether you are HIV-positive or HIV-negative, the most harm comes from leaving things unspoken. Learn more about ways to negotiate safer sex or how to disclose your HIV status to someone you’re dating.

Hiv: How Its Not Transmitted

The following are nine ways the virus is not spread:

Kissing and touching. Social kissing and hugging pose no risk of transmission, Sha says. Also, being sexual with someone without exchanging infected body fluids does not spread the virus. The only time deep kissing is a risk is when the person infected with HIV has open sores or oral bleeding, Sha notes.

Sharing a living space. Any casual contact with someone who has HIV, including sharing a bathroom, is safe. However, Sha tells patients not to share razor blades or toothbrushes. If someone who is infected nicks himself while shaving or has bleeding gums, it could increase risk of transmission.

Sharing food or utensils. The virus cannot survive on surfaces, so sharing utensils and other household items will not spread HIV. You can even share a meal with someone who is infected without worry. Transmission has been associated with mothers pre-chewing food for their babies, when infected blood from the mouth mixes with the food. Known as pre-mastication, it is a common practice in Africa, but not typically done in the United States, Sha says.

Saliva, sweat, or tears. An infected persons saliva, sweat, and tears do not put you at risk.

Water fountains. Sipping from a water fountain after someone who has HIV used it is considered casual contact and will not lead to transmission.

Mosquitoes and other insects. The virus is not viable in insects or ticks, Sha says.

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Can You Catch Hiv From Kissing

No, you cannot catch HIV from kissing. 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 cannot be passed to other people through kissing because a combination of antibodies and enzymes found naturally in saliva prevent HIV infecting new cells.

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.

Unprotected anal and vaginal sex leads to far more HIV infections than oral sex.

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:

• HIV positive

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Am I At Higher Risk If I Have Sex With A Member Of The Same Sex

HIV is transmitted sexually regardless of your sexual preference. Note however, that worldwide there is a higher prevalence of the virus in certain groups because of their sexual practices and therefore having unsafe sex with someone from one of these groups places you at a higher risk of contracting the virus. Men who have sex with men, commercial sex workers, and people who have a sexually transmitted infection are examples of such groups.

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Can Hiv Be Transmitted Through Saliva And Urine

The majority of your daily activities do not pose a risk of HIV transmission, even though HIV is contagious. HIV can only be transmitted through certain body fluids, such as blood, semen, vaginal fluid, anal fluid, and breast milk. Saliva, sweat, skin, feces, and urine cannot be transmitted through these methods.

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I Shared A Spoon With Someone Who Has Hiv Could I Be Infected

Category:

i used the spoon of the infected person . do i have HIV ?

No it isnt possible to become infected with HIV by sharing a spoon with someone who is HIV positive. HIV, the virus that can cause AIDS, is transmitted in blood, semen, breast milk, and vaginal fluids but not in saliva.

HIV is most commonly transmitted by having vaginal or anal intercourse without a condom with someone who has HIV/AIDS, sharing needles or syringes with someone who has HIV/AIDS, or getting HIV-infected blood, semen, or vaginal fluid into open wounds or sores. It is NOT spread through casual contact like kissing, hugging, or sharing drinking glasses or utensils.

Tags: AIDS, HIV, saliva

Planned Parenthood delivers vital reproductive health care, sex education, and information to millions of people worldwide. Planned Parenthood Federation of America, Inc. is a registered 501 nonprofit under EIN 13-1644147. Donations are tax-deductible to the fullest extent allowable under the law.

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Can Hiv Be Contacted Through The Eyes

Theoretically, it is possible for someone to get infected with HIV through mucous membranesincluding their eye. But in reality, it just doesnt happen. Since the 1990s, possible HIV transmissions through the ocular membrane have been suspected in several occupational exposures such as lab researchers and nurses.

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Ways The Virus Can Spread And Ways It Cannot

• Factors that Increase Risk

HIV is a virus that can be transmitted from someone with HIV to someone without through body fluids like semen, blood, vaginal secretions, and breast milk. HIV is most commonly passed during unprotected sex, primarily anal and vaginal sex, but is also effectively transmitted through . HIV can also be passed from mother to child via the placenta during pregnancy or during childbirth, due to exposure to blood or vaginal fluid, or while breastfeeding.

Theresa Chiechi / Verywell

Some modes of transmission are more efficient than others. In order for HIV to be transmitted, the virus needs to come into contact with porous mucous membranes , pass through breaks and tears in tissues , or enter the bloodstream directly .

Moreover, there is needs to be ample quantities of the virus to breach the bodys frontline immune defenses. This is why HIV cannot be passed through saliva, the environment of which is hostile to the virus, or when the virus is fully suppressed in an HIV-positive person on antiretroviral therapy.

Can Hiv Be Transmitted Through Oral Sex

Yes, but the risk is relatively low.

HIV is transmitted through seminal and vaginal fluids, including menstrual fluids. The virus can enter the body through the bloodstream or by passing through delicate mucous membranes, such as inside the vagina, rectum or urethra.

If a person gives fellatio and has bleeding gums, a cut, or an ulcer inside their mouth, HIV could enter their bloodstream through infected fluid. This could also happen if infected fluid from a woman gets into the mouth of her partner during oral sex.

Using a condom during sex, including oral and anal sex, is the best way to prevent sexually transmitted infections , including HIV. Avoid using an oil-based lubricant, such as Vaseline or baby oil, because they can weaken the condom and increase the risk of it splitting.

You can use a dental dam to cover the anus or female genitals during oral sex. A dental dam is a latex or polyurethane square, measuring about 15cm by 15cm. It acts as a barrier to help stop STIs passing from one person to another.

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Estimating Risk By Exposure Type

The likelihood of transmitting HIV through oral sex depends largely on the type of contact involved. Putting aside all other risk factors, the potential for infection can vary based on whether the non-infected person is either performing or receiving oral sex.

Broadly speaking, the risk of HIV from oral sex can run anywhere from 0% to 1%, according to research from the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine.

However, numbers can change once you factor in specific sexual behaviors. Among them:

• Receptive fellatio, meaning that the non-infected person is performing oral sex on a male partner with HIV, is considered exceptionally low risk. Among men who have sex with men , the per-act risk hovers at around 0.04 percent.
• Insertive fellatio is even less likely given that the enzymes in saliva can neutralize the HIV viral particles.
• Cunnilingus has also proven to be a highly unlikely route.
• Anilingus is also regarded as being of negligible risk, particularly for the receptive partner.

While these figures suggest that the risk of HIV is low from a population perspective, that shouldn’t imply that it is inherently low from an individual perspective. Clearly, the more risk factors you have, the greater the risk of transmission will be.

Hiv Treatment & Undetectable

Todays HIV treatments, called antiretroviral therapy or ART, are extremely effective. Some treatments are a single tablet. Long-acting injectable medications are likely to be approved and available soon. Medicine has come a long way since the first HIV treatment options became available in the 1990s.

There is still no functional cure for HIV, but ART can help people live long, healthy lives. Todays medications are provided in combinations that reduce a persons viral load to levels so low its undetectable. People who become undetectable cannot transmit the virus to others.

Viral load is a term that describes how much virus a person living with HIV has in their body.

Without HIV medications, the virus replicates which causes the amount of virus in the body to increase.

HIV medications prevent HIV from making copies of itself. Then, the amount of HIV in the body goes down.

To see how well HIV treatments are working, doctors and other providers measure the amount of virus in the blood and report a measurement called your viral load. Its simply a measurement of how many copies of the virus are in a single unit of blood.

A very low amount of virus may even be undetectable by viral load tests . A common undetectable level is < 20 copies per milliliter of blood. Low viral loads are those that are less than 200 copies per milliliter. Very high viral loads can be over 500,000 copies per milliliter.

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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.

How Is Hiv Transmitted Or Spread

The following are the means by which the HIV virus is spread:

• Vertical transmission. HIV can be spread to babies born to, or breastfed by, mothers infected with the virus.

• Sexual contact. In adults and adolescents, HIV is spread most commonly by sexual contact with an infected partner. The virus enters the body through the lining of the vagina, vulva, penis, rectum, or abraded or irritated tissues in the lining of the mouth through sexual activity.

• Blood contamination. HIV may also be spread through contact with infected blood. However, due to the screening of donated blood for evidence of HIV infection, the risk of acquiring HIV from blood transfusions is extremely low.

• Needles. HIV is frequently spread by sharing needles, syringes, or drug use equipment with someone who is infected with the virus. Transmission from patient to health care worker, or vice-versa, through accidental sticks with contaminated needles or other medical instruments, is rare.

No known cases of HIV/AIDS have been spread by the following:

• Saliva

• Malaise

• Enlarged lymph nodes

An HIV-infected child is usually diagnosed with AIDS when the immune system becomes severely damaged or other types of infections occur. As the immune system deteriorates, complications begin to develop. The following are some common complications, or symptoms, of the onset of AIDS. However, each child may experience symptoms differently. Symptoms may include:

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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.

Does Hiv Viral Load Affect Getting Or Transmitting Hiv

Yes. Viral load is the amount of HIV in the blood of someone who has HIV. Taking HIV medicine daily as prescribed can make the viral load very lowso low that a test cant detect it .

People with HIV who take HIV medicine daily as prescribed and get and keep an undetectable viral load have effectively no risk of transmitting HIV to an HIV-negative partner through sex.

HIV medicine is a powerful tool for preventing sexual transmission of HIV. But it works only as long as the HIV-positive partner gets and keeps an undetectable viral load. Not everyone taking HIV medicine has an undetectable viral load. To stay undetectable, people with HIV must take HIV medicine every day as prescribed and visit their healthcare provider regularly to get a viral load test. Learn more.

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