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HIV Transmission...open wounds in mouth....PEP
I was at a club in NYC and a guy (who belongs to a group of people with higher HIV in his population) open mouth-deep kissed me for about 10-20 seconds. I felt his tongue in my mouth. I have gingivitis and my gums often bleed-anytime I brush my teeth and often when I bite into food. I.E. Today I bit into a banana and saw blood. I also am aware that bleeding gums/sores are common in those with HIV and I woke up with a sore throat/cold. While it is said to be low risk of contraction from kissing, what are the chances if he had an open sore in his mouth that came into contact with bleeding gums in mine?
I am very worried-worried absolute sick that I can hardly breathe. I started PEP for prevention about 55 hours later...If I was exposed, what are the chances PEP would protect me after 55 hours?
I am very worried-worried absolute sick that I can hardly breathe. I started PEP for prevention about 55 hours later...If I was exposed, what are the chances PEP would protect me after 55 hours?
COMMUNITY LEADER
Open mouth kiss does not put you at any risk of HIV, even if your gums were bleeding because saliva does not carry the virus. Even if there was a small amount of blood in the mouth and it was infected, enzymes present in the saliva were capable of inactivating it instantly. With this Zero risk activity, PEP was absolutely unnecessary and I doubt if a qualified doctor prescribed it for you.
Your symptoms are not at all related to HIV, it is your stress and anxiety. Sore throat and cold could be picked up from anyone around us, not necessarily from the guy you mentioned.
HIV symptoms do not appear before 1-2 weeks after the exposure, so these symptoms have nothing to do with HIV.
In a real risk situation (Unprotected anal / vaginal sex with someone of unknown health status), PEP is effective if started within 72 hours of the exposure.
Your symptoms are not at all related to HIV, it is your stress and anxiety. Sore throat and cold could be picked up from anyone around us, not necessarily from the guy you mentioned.
HIV symptoms do not appear before 1-2 weeks after the exposure, so these symptoms have nothing to do with HIV.
In a real risk situation (Unprotected anal / vaginal sex with someone of unknown health status), PEP is effective if started within 72 hours of the exposure.
13 Comments
You must have been very anxious because the doctor would know that you had zero risk, so he prescribed PEP just to get you out of his office.
Even if the cuts rubbed up against each other in the kiss-wouldn't that be direct bloodstream to bloodstream?
Thank you for putting my mind much more at ease and for your thoughtful response.I was very disgusted at the time as it was a forced kiss/attempted assault. I recognize my anxiety/disgust levels are probably blowing it out of proportion.
Thank you for putting my mind much more at ease and for your thoughtful response.I was very disgusted at the time as it was a forced kiss/attempted assault. I recognize my anxiety/disgust levels are probably blowing it out of proportion.
Reread about unrealistic and fragile.
Sorry, I meant to post this before. read about unrealistic and fragile.
This answers all of your HIV questions, and if you can think of any more just reread about the 3. You had zero risk therefore testing is irrelevant to your situation because you had zero risk. HIV is a fragile virus, which is instantly inactivated in air and also in saliva which means it is effectively dead so it can't infect from touching, external rubbing or oral activities. It doesn't matter if you and they were actively bleeding or had cuts at the time either because the HIV is effectively dead.
Only 3 adult risks are the following:
1. unprotected penetrating vaginal with a penis
2. unprotected penetrating anal sex with a penis
3. sharing needles that you inject with.
The only way to get HIV is if you did one of the 3. The situation you describe is a long way from any of these 3.
Even with blood, lactation, cuts, rashes, burns, etc the air or the saliva does not allow inactivated virus to infect from touching, external rubbing or oral activities. Doctors have calculated the risk from what you describe to be less than that of being hit by a meteor, therefore no one will get HIV from what you did in the next 40 years of your life either. The above HIV science is 40 years old and very well established, so no detail that you can add to your encounter will change it from zero risk.
If you didn't have one of the 3 then you are just worrying about your own hiv theory - which is unrealistic for you to think that can become reality - so you should move on back to your happy life instead.
This answers all of your HIV questions, and if you can think of any more just reread about the 3. You had zero risk therefore testing is irrelevant to your situation because you had zero risk. HIV is a fragile virus, which is instantly inactivated in air and also in saliva which means it is effectively dead so it can't infect from touching, external rubbing or oral activities. It doesn't matter if you and they were actively bleeding or had cuts at the time either because the HIV is effectively dead.
Only 3 adult risks are the following:
1. unprotected penetrating vaginal with a penis
2. unprotected penetrating anal sex with a penis
3. sharing needles that you inject with.
The only way to get HIV is if you did one of the 3. The situation you describe is a long way from any of these 3.
Even with blood, lactation, cuts, rashes, burns, etc the air or the saliva does not allow inactivated virus to infect from touching, external rubbing or oral activities. Doctors have calculated the risk from what you describe to be less than that of being hit by a meteor, therefore no one will get HIV from what you did in the next 40 years of your life either. The above HIV science is 40 years old and very well established, so no detail that you can add to your encounter will change it from zero risk.
If you didn't have one of the 3 then you are just worrying about your own hiv theory - which is unrealistic for you to think that can become reality - so you should move on back to your happy life instead.
Thank you. You say saliva breaks it down, but HIV is in saliva so how is that true?
So I'm experiencing a different situation than yours (I actually had unprotected oral sex with a CSW), and in terms of probabilities, I think that both of our exposures are super super low in terms of contracting HIV. I have learned a lot about HIV in the last few days, and I wish I knew all that information before. I find really strange, though, that your doctor prescribed PEP for your exposure which is really low, did you ask that doctor about your risk? I think that you, just like me, have a high level of anxiety. I found this post that may help you
https://medhelp.org/user_journals/show/1264961/TO-ALL-THE-WORRIED-WELLS
Good luck
https://medhelp.org/user_journals/show/1264961/TO-ALL-THE-WORRIED-WELLS
Good luck
MAKEMEABIRD This is an hiv prevention forum, and you are not a medical researcher so your question is purposeless. Reread about unrealistic, because no one one this forum is going to conduct a science class for people fixated on hiv to the point that they feel their science fiction theories are important.
WorriedSick2018 it is impolite to hijack this thread and try to link up your anxiety issue which is a bit of a mental health problem, where you pretend you have a risk. You were advised on your thread that you had zero risk, so consider therapy because your problem is not disease, it is fear of a disease you can't have.
I was not hijacking the thread. I was just pointing out that he may have anxiety issues just like I have, do you have reading comprehension? Dude stop being so full of yourself.
WorriedSick2018 You were clearly told that you had zero risk on your thread, but your post pretends otherwise.
That is what I meant by hijacking because you are posting your own disreality.
That is what I meant by hijacking because you are posting your own disreality.
AnxiousNoMore I was asking a question about something you had said in your post to me. Its not a science fiction theory, just a simple question. If HIV is "instantly inactivated" as you say, then why is it detected and carried in saliva at small amounts?
WorriedSick2018 Thank you for sharing that post with me and kindness in trying to ease the anxiety.
Reread about "effectively dead".
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