POZ Community Forums
HIV Prevention and Testing => Do I Have HIV? => Topic started by: bman86 on June 12, 2013, 05:28:09 pm
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I hurt my back when i was really drunk and a homeless man helped me and we went for food and drink until i could get help. I bought him food and i shared his drink, this is all vaguely what happened as i was really drunk. Later that night i was told he was hiv poz, all the sites on the net contradict each other and some say if he had a cut or something and we shared a drink i could get the virus. there was no sex as im not gay and no needles. im in the uk and the main national site says you can only transmit it through sex and needles which is what i thought. All the conflicting information on the net is making me lose it a little. At worst if i somehow got blood in my mouth, what would happen? Please help with some advice , thank you
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Hi Bman , the only risk for HIV is unprotected anal and vaginal sex or sharing drug injection equipment . You cannot get HIV from drinking or shaking hands even if you did have cuts , its just not a risk . You have absolutely nothing to fear about the situation you found yourself in .
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hi jeff thanks a lot i was just worried as the internet is a world of contradictions, i feel better knowing i dont have to worry about it now, thanks
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Thanks Bman ... you had zero risk so you can forget this incident . I will give you the same advice that's good for all of us , just in case you need a reminder about health checkups ...
Here's what you need to know in order to avoid hiv infection:
You need to be using condoms for anal or vaginal intercourse, every time, no exceptions until such time as you are in a securely monogamous relationship where you have both tested for ALL sexually transmitted infections together.
To agree to have unprotected intercourse is to consent to the possibility of being infected with an STI. Sex without a condom lasts only a matter of minutes, but hiv is forever.
Have a look through the condom and lube links in my signature line so you can use condoms with confidence.
Anyone who is sexually active should be having a full sexual health care check-up, including but not limited to hiv testing, at least once a year and more often if unprotected intercourse occurs.
If you aren't already having regular, routine check-ups, now is the time to start. As long as you make sure condoms are being used for intercourse, you can fully expect your routine hiv tests to return with negative results.
Don't forget to always get checked for all the other sexually transmitted infections as well, because they are MUCH easier to transmit than hiv. Some of the other STIs can be present with no obvious symptoms, so the only way to know for sure is to test.
Use condoms for anal or vaginal intercourse, correctly and consistently, and you will avoid hiv infection. It really is that simple!
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thank you for the great info. I've just been confused and scared about all the info on the net, but i trust you guys and your advice . I really appreciate it. My last question would be would u advise a test , if even a single drop of blood got in my mouth ,would this be a risk? All this bleeding gums stuff that i have read sounds scary . I didnt have any sexual contact or needles or kissing i was just so drunk that who knows maybe there was a little blood from him to me via drinks we shared.. thanks in advance
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Nope , you didn't have a risk by any stretch of the imagination . There are proteins and enzymes in your saliva that render HIV unable to infect . That and the fact you would be the only person on planet earth to get HIV from drinking after someone makes it a forgone conclusion that you did not have a risk .