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Can HIV be transmitted through drinking water from a contaminated cup?
Dear experts,
Hope you are all staying safe. I have a question regarding the transmission of HIV. I understand that HIV cannot be transmitted through daily activities. There is still something that I hope I can have your explanation for this matter.
I went to a cafe with one of my female friends last night. After we sat down and browsed the menu for few minutes, I went to order the food and grabbed two cups of water near the cashier (since it is basically self-service and that's where they put the water). I went back to our seat and I drank some of the water, then I saw some redness around the rim of the cup. I first thought they were some blood left by the previous customer, but my friend said these the color of lipstick and it is hard to wash off completely. I showed the cup to the waitress, she said it might be because the dishwasher could not be able to clean the rim of the cup thoroughly but they did disinfect all the cups with high temperature.
My question is, even if the redness I saw was blood from an HIV+ person, and I had some small cuts I did not notice on my lips (I went back I did notice some really tiny cuts on my lips, it might be because my lips were really dry before I drank the water), do I have any risk of getting HIV from this encounter? Thank you very much. I really appreciate your answer.
Hope you are all staying safe. I have a question regarding the transmission of HIV. I understand that HIV cannot be transmitted through daily activities. There is still something that I hope I can have your explanation for this matter.
I went to a cafe with one of my female friends last night. After we sat down and browsed the menu for few minutes, I went to order the food and grabbed two cups of water near the cashier (since it is basically self-service and that's where they put the water). I went back to our seat and I drank some of the water, then I saw some redness around the rim of the cup. I first thought they were some blood left by the previous customer, but my friend said these the color of lipstick and it is hard to wash off completely. I showed the cup to the waitress, she said it might be because the dishwasher could not be able to clean the rim of the cup thoroughly but they did disinfect all the cups with high temperature.
My question is, even if the redness I saw was blood from an HIV+ person, and I had some small cuts I did not notice on my lips (I went back I did notice some really tiny cuts on my lips, it might be because my lips were really dry before I drank the water), do I have any risk of getting HIV from this encounter? Thank you very much. I really appreciate your answer.
While I understand your concern as it is a common one, it is not the way anyone will get HIV. HIV is transmitted in very specific ways. The only way adults get HIV is to have unprotected vaginal or anal sex or share IV drug needles. Air and saliva inactivate the virus. So, what you are speaking of would never be a risk for HIV.
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