Thank you for contacting AIDS Vancouver. It sounds like you feel a bit concerned that kissing the two commercial sex workers might have put you at risk of acquiring HIV. I hope the following information clears things up for you.

I'll just cut to the chase: When we talk about "poor oral health" being a potential problem, we mean oral health problems that include gums that are actively bleeding or serious cuts, sores or infections in the mouth (the kind that would require medical attention). If you couldn't taste or notice any blood when you kissed the sex workers, there wouldn't have been enough blood to make this anything more than a negligible risk activity. And it doesn't sound like there was any obvious entry point in your mouth for the virus to gain access to your bloodstream, which would make this in all likelihood a no risk activity.

I hope this has cleared things up for you. If you have further questions about the risk level of other activities, you can check out our Risk Assessment Chart.

Yours in health,

Matt, Helpline Volunteer

AIDS Vancouver Online Helpline
helpline.aidsvancouver.org
Private & Confidential

Hello,

Thank you for contacting AIDS Vancouver. I can see how experiencing nausea and stomach discomfort after this encounter must be concerning as well as unpleasant. I will give you information about transmission and the risk of acquiring HIV associated with the activities you described to help you to determine whether you want to obtain an HIV test.

Kissing is a no risk activity. A little bleeding from flossing would not increase your risk, only a lot of blood (such as severe gum disease) would increase your risk. Receiving a handjob is also a no risk activity.

You fingering your partner would be of negligible risk which means that while transmission is theoretically possible there has never been a reported case. Receiving oral sex would also be of negligible risk to yourself.

Protected vaginal sex is a low risk activity. Low risk means that there have been a few reports of infection, usually under certain identifiable conditions. For protected sex this may include improper condom usage for example.

So your highest risk level is low. Whether you want to get tested is up to you, though we do recommend regular testing for all sexually active individuals. In terms of other STIs this website is a great resource you can use to determine the possibility of acquiring other infections.

I am sorry to hear that you have been feeling unwell, if your symptoms continue it may be a good idea to visit your doctor. Symptoms are not necessarily indicative of your HIV status, many viral illnesses can cause similar symptoms, and many people with HIV have no symptoms. As well, HIV related symptoms typically take at least two weeks since the exposure to develop. The only way to know your status for sure is to get tested.

I hope that this information has clarified your risk level, and the relationship between your symptoms and the possibility of infection.

Best wishes,

Alex

AIDS Vancouver Online Helpline
helpline.aidsvancouver.org
Private & Confidential

Hello,

Thank you for contacting AIDS Vancouver. I can see how this situation could be concerning for you, I will go over the risks of transmission based on the activities you described to hopefully reassure you.

First I just wanted to point out that on treatment, many people living with HIV can have very low viral loads. At undetectable levels the risk of transmission is very low.

The risk of acquiring HIV, even from someone not on treatment, from fingering is negligible which means that while transmission is theoretically possible there has never been a reported case. Nipple sucking does not pose a risk of transmission.

Your risk of acquiring HIV from using the same hand for fingering your partner and putting on a condom is no more than negligible. Once you removed your hand from your partner the virus was exposed to the environment. Exposure causes the virus to start breaking down and it becomes unable to transmit. Fluids on your hand would have been exposed to the environment.

Your weakness and tiredness the next day are unlikely to be related as many people experience no symptoms after acquiring HIV and in those that do, symptoms typically take at least two weeks to develop.

I hope this information has helped to show that your overall risk level is negligible so hopefully this can help to put your mind at ease.

Best wishes,

Alex

AIDS Vancouver Online Helpline
helpline.aidsvancouver.org
Private & Confidential

Hello and thanks for contacting Aids Vancouver with your question.

It sounds like you have some questions concerning the likelihood of acquiring HIV.

1) When it comes to the action of Cunnilingus, this particular activity does involve the exchange of body fluids and is distinguished as a Low Risk activity. This is due to the fact that there have been a few reports of infection attributed to these activities, which are under certain identifiable conditions. It is important to note, that a healthy mouth is generally considered a "hostile environment" for HIV, because an enzyme in the saliva has been shown to damage HIV.

2) The sexual act of fingering is distinguished as a Negligible Risk as while there is an exchange of body fluids, there has never been a confirmed report of someone acquiring HIV through this activity. Furthermore, for there to be a risk of HIV Transmission there needs to be a body fluid, a sexual activity such as unprotected anal or vaginal intercourse and a direct access for the virus to enter the bloodstream. Fingering does not satisfy the HIV Transmission equation.

3) Receiving Oral Sex is distinguished as a Negligible Risk as there has never been a confirmed report of one acquiring HIV in this manner even though this activity does involve the exchange of body fluids. Furthermore, a hand-job would be seen as a No Risk activity as there is no access for the virus to enter the bloodstream. For a cut to put one at risk of acquiring HIV, the cut needs to be deep enough that you would have to seek medical help immediately. A small cut on one's finger will not put them at risk of acquiring HIV.

4) As long as you have a "healthy" mouth there is no need to pursue HIV testing. However, there is nothing wrong with doing routine testing so you are constantly updated on your current HIV status.

5) If you do decide to pursue HIV testing in the future there best test you can probably take is going to be the 4th Generation Test as it looks for both the antibodies and P24 protein antigens. This is commonly referred to as the "combination" or "DUO" test. Furthermore, the results you receive you if you take the test immediately are a good indicator of your HIV status. However, official HIV testing guidelines still recommend re-testing at 12 weeks for completely conclusive results.

Below I have attached an HIV Transmissions Equation chart, which goes into further detail on the necessary factors that are required for there to be a risk of HIV transmission.

For more information on HIV you can visit HIV and AIDS Basics.

Regards,

Chris, Volunteer

AIDS Vancouver Online Helpline
helpline.aidsvancouver.org
Private & Confidential

Hello and thanks for contacting AIDS Vancouver with your question.

It sounds like you've been doing some reading online and you're pretty worried about your risk of HIV from a sexual encounter you had. In order for HIV to pass from one person to another, we need to understand something known as the HIV Transmission Equation (below):

As you'll see, something from all 3 of the above columns must be present in order for HIV transmission to occur. You'll note that penis-to-vagina rubbing is not one of the activities listed in the "Activity" column, as this is an activity that is considered negligible risk. What this means is that, while it's possible to think hard about how HIV transmission MIGHT possibly occur (i.e. from vaginal fluid touching a cut on the penis) - there's never been a confirmed case of HIV transmitting from one person to another from this activity.

Let's also talk about the "open cuts and sores" listed under the "Direct Access to Enter the Bloodstream" column. When we talk about open cuts and sores that can put one at risk of acquiring HIV, we are generally talking about actively bleeding fresh cuts that are large enough to require medical attention (i.e. stitches). It doesn't sound like the cuts that you are describing would fall into this category. If you're looking for more information on how HIV can and cannot be transmitted, a great website to check out is AVERT: HIV Myths.

Was there anything else that occurred besides penis-to-vagina rubbing? If so, you might want to assess your risk based on the activities performed by taking a look at the Risk Assessment Chart on our website.

In terms of your question regarding the pineal gland, it's important to know that the pineal gland is located within the brain. Your question regarding the pineal gland is not relevant to the situation you describe. Hopefully that clarifies things!

All the best,

Erin

AIDS Vancouver Online Helpline Volunteer

AIDS Vancouver Online Helpline
helpline.aidsvancouver.org
Private & Confidential

Hi there and thank you for contacting the AIDS Vancouver Helpline. My name is Colin and I'm happy to help you today.

I understand you have questions about the risk associated with coming into contact with fluids on your penis after injuring it in your zipper (ouch!). I hope the information I can give you will be useful today.

Right away I can tell you that this was a negligible risk encounter. For there to be a successful transmission of HIV, there must first be HIV present. Next there must be an exchange of bodily fluids with direct access to the bloodstream. Additionally, and important in your exposure, once HIV comes into contact with the air it is immediately rendered non-transmissible. What this means is that while it may not necessarily die, the HIV can no longer be passed on from person to person. Finally, with regards to the zipper injury on your penis, our rule of thumb for cuts and scrapes is that if it is not bleeding heavily and requiring immediate medical attention (stitches, etc) then it is not significant enough to allow HIV in. Given that it sounds like these conditions weren't met during your exposure, it can be categorized as extremely low, negligible risk.

We here at AIDS Vancouver are all volunteers. While we have extensive training in HIV/AIDS, we are not medical professionals and I can't give you definitive advice on your risk for other STIs, including Hepatitis C. That said, for more information about your risk for Hepatitis and other STIs as well, I'd recommend checking out AVERT's website. You can also check out the Smart Sex Resource for the best ways to have safe, fun sex and stay knowledgeable about your risk.

I hope I managed to answer your question today and give you some good resources to find out some more information. Feel free to post again if you'd like any more help or clarification.

All the best,

Colin

Thank you for contacting AIDS Vancouver. It sounds like you have some concerns that non-penetrative genital contact may have put you at risk of acquiring HIV. I hope the following information helps you understand your situation a bit better.

The risk of acquiring HIV depends upon the presence of a bodily fluid known to transmit the virus (blood, semen, pre-semen, rectal secretions, vaginal fluids, or breast milk) + an activity + the chance that the activity gives the HIV in the bodily fluid direct access to your bloodstream.

One thing to understand is that HIV is a relatively weak virus, and it quickly stops being transmissible after it's exposed to an open air environment. In addition, the entry points on the penis that could give HIV direct access to your bloodstream are the urethra (the hole you pee from) and the foreskin. So, given the activity you described, it would be very unlikely for vaginal fluid to come into contact with these entry points without first being exposed to air.

For these reasons, the activity you described before putting on a condom carries NEGLIGIBLE RISK, which means that it's theoretically possible for someone to acquire HIV this way, but there has never been a confirmed report of HIV being transmitted this way.

That said, protected vagianl sex, which it sounds like you also engaged in afterward, carries a LOW RISK, which means that there have been a few reported cases of HIV transmitted this way, usually under under certain identifiable conditions that may or may not apply in your case (for example, the presence of an STI or the condom breaking).

While neither of these activities in themselves do not require an HIV test, we do encourage all sexually active individuals to get regularly tested for HIV and other STIs as a way of promoting sexual health.

I hope this has helped you understand your situation a bit better. If you have questions about the risk level of other kinds of activity, you can check out our Risk Assessment Chart.

Yours in health,

Matt, Helpline Volunteer
AIDS Vancouver Helpline/Online
helpline.aidsvancouver.org
Private & Confidential

Thank you for contacting AIDS Vancouver. It sounds like you're worried that using an old razor may have put you at risk for acquiring HIV. I hope the following information will reassure you that the activity you described does not pose any significant risk of acquiring HIV. Here's why:

To acquire HIV, there needs to be an activity + a bodily fluid capable of transmitting HIV (blood, semen, pre-semen, rectal secretions, vaginal fluids or breast milk) + the ability of the HIV virus in that bodily fluid to get direct access to your bloodstream.

Sharing a razor is an activity that carries NEGLIGIBLE RISK, which means that there's a theoretical possibility that someone could acquire HIV this way, but that there are no confirmed reports that anyone has ever acquired HIV this way before.

Part of what accounts for this risk level is that HIV is a relatively weak virus that quickly stops being transmissible after it's been exposed to air.

In addition, the type of superficial cut caused by a razor is not something that would be likely to give HIV direct access to your bloodstream. While your razor broke some layers of skin, the unbroken layers of skin beneath it would serve as a physical barrier to keep HIV out of your bloodstream. Furthermore, as you bled, the flow of blood would tend to carry HIV away from your bloodstream, not into it.

I hope this has answered your question. If you have questions about the risk level of other kinds of activities, please feel free to review our Risk Assessment Chart.

Yours in health,

Matt, Helpline Volunteer
AIDS Vancouver Helpline/Online
helpline.aidsvancouver.org
Private & Confidential

Thank you for contacting AIDS Vancouver. I can tell you're in a lot of distress about the possibility of acquiring HIV from the sexual encounters you had in Vietnam. And it sounds like you have some unpleasant physical symptoms that you worry might be related to HIV or another STI.

While I cannot speak to other STIs (you can find more information about them here) I hope the following information about HIV will help you understand your situation a bit better.

With that out of the way, let's talk about HIV and symptoms. The basic thing to understand is that symptoms are a very unreliable indicator of HIV status. On one hand, some people who acquire never notice any initial symptoms. On the other hand, the symptoms some people experience when they acquire HIV are similar to symptoms of other viral infections such as the flu. The only reliable way to diagnose HIV is through an HIV test taken by a trained healthcare professional.

Whether you need an HIV test or not relates to risk level of the activities you engaged in. The activities you describe fall into three different risk categories:

• No Risk: This means that the activity has never been shown to transmit HIV and there is no scientific or medical basis to think there is even a theoretical risk of transmission. The activities you described that are no risk are French kissing and receiving a handjob.

• Negligible Risk: This means there's a theoretical possibility of acquiring HIV this way, but there are no confirmed reports that anyone has acquired HIV by engaging in this activity. The negligible risk activities you described were receiving oral sex (this is true regardless of whether you ejaculated) and fingering.

• Low Risk: This means there have been a few confirmed reports of HIV attributed to this activity, generally under certain identifiable conditions. The one low-risk activity you described engaging in is protected vaginal sex. That said, this risk level includes conditions that may or may not apply in your case such as the condom breaking and the presence of other STIs.

HIV testing is not required after activities at any of these risk levels. Still, as a way of promoting sexual health, we encourage all sexually active individuals to get tested regularly for STIs including HIV.

I hope this has helped you understand the risks associated with the various activities you engaged in. If you have questions about the risk level of other kinds of activities, you can look at our Risk Assessment Chart.

Yours in health,

Matt, Helpline Volunteer
AIDS Vancouver Helpline/Online
helpline.aidsvancouver.org
Private & Confidential

Hi there and thank you for reaching out to AIDS Vancouver with your questions! We're happy to help.

1) Here's the thing about symptoms. There are no specific symptoms of HIV. In fact, certain individuals may never develop symptoms, and for those who do, most symptoms will go away after a few days, or at most, a couple of weeks. They also vary significantly from person to person, which is why the only way to diagnose HIV is to get tested. Because HIV symptoms mirror so many other viral infections or can be explained by other things, we do not go by symptoms here at AIDS Vancouver.

2) Receiving oral sex is considered to be a negligible risk scenario, meaning that while it is theoretically possible to acquire HIV in this scenario, there has never been a confirmed report. Protected intercourse is considered a low risk scenario. This means that there have been a few reports of infection attributed to this activity, but usually under certain identifiable conditions (e.g. the condom breaking).

3) 4th Generation Tests are very accurate tests. Most HIV specialists around the world consider the 4th Generation test conclusive at 6 weeks post exposure. However, according to Canadian guidelines, all tests are considered conclusive 3 months post exposure. Therefore, if you are looking for conclusive results, according to Canadian guidelines, you would need to re-test at 3 months.

4) Here at AIDS Vancouver, we are volunteers and NOT health practitioners. The only way to know for sure is to get tested. However, if you had a negative result after 5 weeks with the 4th Generation, this is a pretty good indication of your results. However, I would recommend re-testing at 3 months to get a conclusive result.

I hope I have answered your questions, and feel free to contact us with any other concerns.

Regards,

Sierra, Helpline Volunteer

AIDS Vancouver Helpline/Online
helpline.aidsvancouver.org
Private & Confidential

Hello and thanks for contacting Aids Vancouver with your question. I understand that you would like to know your risk of HIV transmission after having possibly transferred some blood from your gloves to your eyelashes.

When assessing the risk of HIV transmission, we can refer to the HIV Transmission Equation below:

Getting a drop of blood in and around your eyes would be considered a Negligible Risk which means that "in theory" we can make a case for it, but there has never been a reported case of HIV transmission.

I want to reiterate that in your situation there are a lot of "maybes". You MAY have brushed your eyes, and blood MAY have gotten onto your eyelashes.

We also know that HIV needs a human host to survive. Once HIV is outside of the body and exposed to oxygen (on your gloves), it dies and can no longer transmit.

I hope this information has provided you with some peace of mind.

If you are still concerned about the risks associated with your work, I would encourage you to talk with your supervisor and learn more about the policies and procedures for such incidents in your workplace.

Thanks for contacting Aids Vancouver.

Hilary

AIDS Vancouver Online Helpline
helpline.aidsvancouver.org
Private & Confidential

Hi there, thanks for contacting the AIDS Vancouver helpline with your HIV related questions/concerns. We're happy to help!

Congratulations on your negative test result! Since it was after 3 months from the exposure, your negative result is conclusive!

No, HIV must have established an infection in your body in order to be transmitted to others. If you tested negative, that means you didn't get an HIV infection, so you therefore cannot give HIV to others either. Just to note, sharing razors is only a Negligible risk which means that although you could technically make a case for it, there hasn't been a single reported case of HIV being transmitted this way (essentially no risk).

I hope this helped!

Sincerely,

Christina

AIDS Vancouver Helpline/Online
helpline.aidsvancouver.org
Private & Confidential

Hello and thanks for contacting AIDS Vancouver with your question.

It sounds like you have some concerns about the likelihood of acquiring HIV from your most recent encounter.

From what you have told me, you engaged in vaginal sex with a condom, but you also changed your condom twice just to make sure it was on properly. Continuing on, your partner performed oral sex on you and before this particular encounter you pursued an HIV test, which generated a negative result. First off, it's great that you used a condom during your most recent sexual encounter. Condoms are a great tool that greatly reduces the likelihood of one acquiring either HIV or STIs. With this taken into account, the sexual act of having vaginal sex with a condom is distinguished as a Low Risk activity. This is due to the exchange of body fluids, and there have been a few reports of infection attributed to these activities, but are usually under certain identifiable conditions. On the other hand, receiving oral sex is distinguished as a Negligible Risk as while there is an exchange of body fluids, there has never been a confirmed report of one acquiring HIV in this manner. It is important to note, that when it comes to HIV transmission, there needs to be a body fluid, an activity such as unprotected anal or vaginal intercourse and a direct access for the virus to enter the bloodstream.

Below I have attached an HIV Transmission Equation chart, which goes into further detail on the necessary factors that are required for there to be a risk of HIV transmission.

Here at AIDS Vancouver we do encourage routine testing as it is a great way to keep up to date on your current HIV status. If you do decide to pursue HIV testing, official HIV testing guidelines still recommend re-testing at 12 weeks for completely conclusive results. This guideline applies to all HIV tests.

For more information on HIV you can visit Smart Sex Resource .

Regards,

Chris, Volunteer

AIDS Vancouver Online Helpline
helpline.aidsvancouver.org
Private & Confidential

Hello and thanks for contacting AIDS Vancouver with your question.

It sounds like you have some concerns about the likelihood of acquiring HIV from the described scenario.

From what you have told me, you have recently had a sexual encounter with another male, which led to various sexual activities such as oral sex and more. Generally for there to be a risk of HIV transmission there needs to be a body fluid, an activity such as unprotected anal or vaginal intercourse and a direct access for the virus to enter the bloodstream. With this taken into account, the sexual act of receiving oral sex is distinguished as a Negligible Risk as while there is an exchange of body fluids, there has never been a confirmed report of one acquiring HIV in this manner.

On the other hand, the sexual act of giving oral sex on either a man or a woman is distinguished as a Low Risk as there is an exchange of body fluids and there have been a few reports of infection related to this activity. It is important to note that acquiring HIV in this manner is usually under certain identifiable conditions. For one to be at risk by giving oral sex there needs to be either open cuts or sores. A person who is at the highest risk of acquiring HIV while giving oral is one who simply does not have a "healthy" mouth. The presence of two little abrasions on your palate would not heighten your risk in anyway whatsoever.

In regard to the activity of rubbing vigorously and potentially having penis' touching would be a No Risk activity. This is primarily due to there being no activity that would essentially lead to a direct access for the virus to enter the bloodstream. Furthermore, the addition of your partner ejaculating on your chest would pose No Risk to you acquiring HIV. These practices have never lead to HIV infection.

While it is understanding to be concerned that there may be a risk when some semen may have gotten in contact with your urethra, it is important to remember that the HIV virus itself is very fragile. Once HIV is exposed to air it is damaged to the point where it is no longer transmissible. It is because of this fragility that one is not able to acquire HIV from inanimate objects or body fluids that have been exposed to air. Thus, you would be at No Risk.

Below I have attached a copy of an HIV Transmission Equation chart, which goes into further detail on the necessary factors that are required for there to be a risk of HIV transmission.

For more information on HIV you can visit What is HIV? .

Regards,

Chris, Volunteer

AIDS Vancouver Online Helpline
helpline.aidsvancouver.org
Private & Confidential

Hi there and thank you for reaching out to AIDS Vancouver with your questions! We're happy to help.

It sounds like you're concerned about the likelihood of acquiring HIV through scenarios such as oral sex, vaginal sex, and kissing. I will address each of these scenarios individually:

1) Receiving oral sex is considered to be a Negligible Risk activity, meaning that while it is theoretically possible to acquire HIV in this scenario, there has never been a confirmed report.

2) Protected vaginal sex is considered to be a Low Risk activity, meaning that there have been a few reports of infection attributed to this activity, but usually under certain identifiable conditions (i.e. the condom breaking).

3) Kissing (with no blood present at the time of the kiss) is considered to be a No Risk activity.

I also wanted to briefly address your symptoms. There are no specific symptoms of HIV. In fact, certain individuals may never develop symptoms, and for those who do, most symptoms will go away after a few days, or at most, a couple of weeks. This is why the only way to diagnose HIV is to get tested. Because HIV symptoms mirror so many other viral infections or can be explained by other things, we do not go by symptoms here at AIDS Vancouver.

If your symptoms are still causing you distress, then it would be a good idea to partner once again with a health care professional in order to determine their cause.

I hope I have answered your questions, and feel free to contact us with any further concerns.

Regards,

Sierra, Helpline Volunteer

AIDS Vancouver Online Helpline
helpline.aidsvancouver.org
Private & Confidential

Hello and thanks for contacting AIDS Vancouver with your question.

It seems you are concerned about contracting HIV from engaging in an oral sex activity. Here is some information.

With regards to kissing at Aids Vancouver we regard that as a No Risk activity. This means that to our knowledge this activity has never been demonstrated to lead to HIV infection. You can also read about this from the CATIE website. The main factor related to this is that when HIV is exposed to saliva it is not transmittable.

Receiving oral sex is regarded as a Negligible Risk activity. This means that although the activity involves body fluids, there has never been a confirmed case of HIV transmission through this activity. We do not determine the HIV status of an individual using symptoms. The only way one can be sure of their HIV status is by being tested. At Aids Vancouver we encourage people to use HIV testing as a regular health maintenance routine. HIV testing is readily available. In Canada you can use the CATIE website to locate an HIV testing site close to you and if you are outside Canada you can use the Aids map e-atlas to locate a testing site. getting tested will also put your mind at rest.

Thanks for contacting AIDS Vancouver.

In health

Lawrence

AIDS Vancouver Online Helpline
helpline.aidsvancouver.org
Private & Confidential

Thank you for reaching out to AIDS Vancouver. It sounds like you're worried about the risk of acquiring HIV after visiting a massage parlour. I hope the following information helps you understand your situation a bit better.

Most of the activities you mentioned are NO RISK activities. This includes:

• Kissing the woman and sucking her tongue
• Sucking the woman's nipple
• Having the woman rub your penis

When you stuck your finger inside the woman's vagina you engaged in an activity that has NEGLIGIBLE RISK, which means there's theoretically a risk of acquiring HIV from this activity but there has never been a confirmed report of HIV spreading this way.

In order to acquire HIV there needs to be an activity + the exchange of a bodily fluid capable of transmitting HIV (blood, semen, pre-semen, vaginal fluids, rectal secretions and breast milk) + a way for HIV in that bodily fluid to get direct access to your bloodstream.

Please note that saliva is NOT a bodily fluid known to transmit HIV. That is why kissing and sucking her tongue were NO RISK activities. And when she touched your penis there was no exchange of bodily fluids, which is why that carries no risk of acquiring HIV.

When you fingered the woman, your finger did come in contact with her vaginal fluids. But your finger is very unlikely to have had the kind of entry point necessary to provide direct access to your bloodstream (for example, a cut that was deep enough to require stitches). We cannot completely rule it out (which is why there is a negligible risk), but as I said above, there are no confirmed reports of HIV transmission due to fingering.

I hope this has helped you understand your situation a bit better. If you have further questions about the risk level of other kinds of activities, you can always check out our Risk Assessment Chart.

Yours in health,

Matt, Volunteer AIDS Vancouver Online Helpline
helpline.aidsvancouver.org

Hi there and thank you for reaching out to AIDS Vancouver with your question! We're happy to help.

Receiving oral sex is actually considered a negligible risk: while it is theoretically possible to acquire HIV in this scenario, there has never been a confirmed report.

Here in Canada, all tests are considered conclusive 3 months after your original exposure. Therefore, in order to obtain a conclusive result, you must re-test again at 12 weeks (3 months). However, the 4th Generation "Duo" test is a very accurate and reliable test, and many HIV specialists consider this test conclusive at 6 weeks. That being said, since AIDS Vancouver adheres to official Canadian guidelines, the test is still considered conclusive at 3 months.

I also wanted to briefly address your symptoms. There are no specific symptoms of HIV. In fact, certain individuals may never develop symptoms, and for those who do, most symptoms will go away after a few days, or at most, a couple of weeks. This is why the only way to diagnose HIV is to get tested. Because HIV symptoms mirror so many other viral infections or can be explained by other things, we do not go by symptoms here at AIDS Vancouver.

I hope I have answered your questions, and feel free to contact us with any further concerns.

Regards,

Sierra, Helpline Volunteer

AIDS Vancouver Online Helpline
helpline.aidsvancouver.org
Private & Confidential

Thank you for reaching out to AIDS Vancouver. It sounds like you're worried about the risk of acquiring HIV after getting someone else's blood on an open wound. I hope the following information will help you understand your situation a bit better.

I'm going to answer this question in two ways. The first way is practical.

On a practical level, what you described is not the way that people acquire HIV. In countries like Canada and the U.S. where mother-to-child transmission is not a large factor, the overwhelming majority of HIV cases occur due to high risk activities: unprotected anal or vaginal sex, or the shared use of IV drug equipment. In terms of documented cases of HIV transmission from a situation like the one you related, the only remotely similar situation I'm aware of occurred in the context of a knife fight, where there was deep wounds and lots of blood.

But bodily fluids were exchanged and we cannot rule out the theoretical possibility of HIV transmission in the scenario you described. So the scenario you described would be considered NEGLIGIBLE RISK.

To understand this a bit more precisely, let's look at it from a medical/scientific angle.

In order to acquire HIV, there needs to be three things: an activity + bodily fluids capable of transmitting HIV (blood, semen, pre-semen, rectal secretions, vaginal fluids or breast milk) + a way for HIV in those bodily fluids to get direct access to your bloodstream.

The key here is direct access. Unless the cut on your finger was severe enough to require stitches, it would be unlikely that such a wound would function as the kind of entry point necessary to acquire HIV.

For one thing, the fact that you were bleeding would tend to move HIV away from your bloodstream rather than toward it. Additionally, the layers of skin beneath the ones you cut would function as a physical barrier to stop HIV from being able to enter your bloodstream.

Part of why HIV needs direct access to your bloodstream is that it's a relatively weak virus that quickly stops being transmissible after exposure to an open air environment. And besides exposure to the air, your body itself has some mechanisms to fight HIV prior to getting into your bloodstream. (If you want to read more about these mechanisms, there is more detailed information available at the "From Exposure to Infection" page at CATIE.ca.)

Also, while I cannot put numbers to this, in general the risk of acquiring HIV is related to the amount of bodily fluid exchanged and the size (surface area) of the entry point. So two drops of blood on a very small, relatively shallow wound is a meaningfully different exposure than the type of exposure during a knife fight like I mentioned above.

All of this makes acquiring HIV this way exceedingly unlikely, although not something we can rule out on a theoretical level.

That said, it is not in any way advisable to expose your open wounds to the blood of another person. HIV is not the only illness that can be transmitted through an exchange of bodily fluids, and other illnesses might be more easily transmissible.

I hope this has answered your question and helped you understand your situation a bit better.

Yours in health,

Matt, Helpline Volunteer
AIDS Vancouver Online Helpline
helpline.aidsvancouver.org

Hi there and thanks for reaching out to the AIDS Vancouver Helpline. My name is Colin and I'm happy to answer your question today.

I understand you're concerned about the likelihood of some symptoms you've been experiencing being related to some unprotected oral sex you received roughly 5 weeks ago. I hope the information I can provide will be helpful for you.

First of all, what you have read is correct. Receiving oral sex is actually lower risk than "low risk" and is considered "negligible risk" meaning that while it is possible to make a theoretical case for transmission via this method, it is never known to have happened. Even hypothetically, transmission via receiving oral sex would be under identified conditions such as the known presence of a high viral load of HIV, open sores or wounds on your penis and in your partner's mouth, etc. Since it's unlikely that these were the conditions during your exposure, you can consider your risk to be vanishingly small.

When we talk about symptoms, while it is true that some people who have recently acquired HIV experience a period of flu-like symptoms during their seroconversion, these symptoms are not universal, nor are they specific to HIV or used in the diagnosis of HIV. The only way to be sure of your status is to take an appropriate test at the right time.

You mention at the beginning of your post that you had a negative HIV test roughly 5 weeks post-exposure. While this may be a good indicator of your status, depending on the type of test you took, it is most likely not considered conclusive, meaning that the test isn't at its most accurate. Each type of HIV test will have its own [Window Period] during which it will be most effective at detecting HIV. Depending on the type of test you take, you may start to see good results a few days after infection in tests looking for antigens, but more common are antibody tests which take time to reach full sensitivity. As a rule of thumb, most tests will give you a good indicator your status in the 4-6 week range, and all commonly-administered tests are considered conclusive at or after 3 months (12 weeks; 84 days). As I mentioned, these are general frameworks and individual tests will vary. If you are in Canada or the USA, you can check out ASO411 or the CDC's Get Tested website to find the best resources and more information in your area.

I hope the information I've been able to provide has been helpful to you today. Feel free to post again if you'd like any more information or clarification.

All the best,

Colin

AIDS Vancouver Helpline