Aa
Aa
A
A
A
Close
Avatar universal

Toddler HIV Exposure from Another Child's Sippy Cup?

Is there a risk of HIV exposure from a 16 month-old child accidentally drinking from an unknown child's sippy cup that may have contained breast milk? I know that most HIV-positive women in the US do NOT give their breast milk to their babies/children; however some still choose to do so or do so because they are unaware of their status. The sippy cup looked similar to the one my child uses and my child grabbed it and took a sip before I realized what had happened. I then took it away and placed it back where she found it. I do not know the child or mother (happened in a busy public setting). My immediate concern was cold/flu germs and didn't think of HIV until later on. Most of the questions on this forum discuss incidences of adult consumption of breast milk, which is typically regarded as a no-risk situation due to adult immune system function and saliva enzymes. What about a toddler? Also if HIV does not survive well outside of the body, why don't women in developing countries express their milk into cups/bottles before feeding instead of nursing their babies directly on the breast?
3 Responses
Sort by: Helpful Oldest Newest
20620809 tn?1504362969
As stated, this is not a risk for HIV. Children do not get HIV from sippy cup sharing.
Helpful - 0
2 Comments
Thank you for commenting...my issue was more about the hazard potential of another woman's breast milk (if she was HIV Positive) inside of the sippy cup rather than the sharing of the cup itself. But it seems that the HIV in the breast milk would no longer be infectious once it was expressed from the woman's body and put into the cup?
You are repeating the same question over and over. It was answered over and over. Reread the advice and move on.
Avatar universal
The toddler's situation is the same as an adults - dead virus in a cup can't infect the child.
Helpful - 0
2 Comments
So is breast milk only a danger to babies/children when feeding/nursing directly from an HIV positive woman's breast?
Yes. It's just drinking dead virus otherwise.
Avatar universal
Your situation involves personal contact with an object in air  (cup, fluids etc. ). You will be happy to learn that you had no risk, because you can't get hiv from personal contact except unprotected penetrating vaginal or anal with a penis, neither of which you did and you didn't share hollow needles to inject with which is the only other way to acquire hiv - there are ONLY 3 ways to get hiv. Note that 2 of them require a penis and the third requires a hollow injecting shared needle - there are no OTHER ways to get hiv. Analysis of large numbers of infected people over the 40 years of hiv history has proven that people don't get hiv in the way you are worried is a risk.
Hiv is a fragile virus in air or saliva and is effectively instantly dead in either air or saliva so the WORST that could happen is dead virus rubbed you, and obviously anything which is dead cannot live again so you are good. Blood and cuts would not be relevant in your situation since the hiv has become effectively dead, so you don't have to worry about them to be sure that you are safe.
There is no reason for a person to test when they are safe. The advice took into consideration that the other person might be positive, so move on and enjoy life instead of thinking about this non-event. hiv prevention is straightforward since there are only 3 ways you can become infected, so next time you wonder if you had a risk, ask yourself this QUESTION. "Did I do any of the 3?" Then after you say "No, I didn't" you will know that it's time to move on back to your happy life.
No one got hiv from what you did during 40 years of hiv history and no one will get it in the next 40 years of your life either.  You can do what you did any time and be safe from hiv.
The other person's status is irrelevant when you have no exposure to live virus. hiv isn't like Covid - % wise, very few people have hiv because it's harder to get infected.
Helpful - 0
Have an Answer?

You are reading content posted in the HIV Prevention Community

Top HIV Answerers
366749 tn?1544695265
Karachi, Pakistan
370181 tn?1595629445
Arlington, WA
Learn About Top Answerers
Didn't find the answer you were looking for?
Ask a question
Popular Resources
Condoms are the most effective way to prevent HIV and STDs.
PrEP is used by people with high risk to prevent HIV infection.
Can I get HIV from surfaces, like toilet seats?
Can you get HIV from casual contact, like hugging?
Frequency of HIV testing depends on your risk.
Post-exposure prophylaxis (PEP) may help prevent HIV infection.