Hello,

Thank you for your inquiry. From what we gather from the question, you were asking about the risk of acquiring HIV from fingering and receiving oral sex with a condom. From the information given, this scenario is determined to be Negligible Risk. There are no evidence or no documented cases of transmission. However, there is a theoretical possibility(For E.g.: Fingering, receiving oral sex because they do involve the exchange of body fluids)

In order to contract HIV the following conditions must be met: There must be HIV present in a bodily fluid. The five bodily fluids that carry the HIV virus include: blood, semen (including pre-ejaculate), vaginal fluids, breast milk, and rectal secretions. The bodily fluid containing HIV must have direct access to the bloodstream. This can be through cuts, tears, rips, mucous membranes, open sores, or needles. Transmission occurs through a risky activity in which the first two conditions are met. For example: condom less sex, sharing needles, unsafe tattoos or piercings, vertical transmission–from mother to child (in utero, during delivery, breastfeeding)

Usually someone will get a strong flu like illness, 2-6 weeks after infection. On the basis of your symptoms it is not feasible to conclude that it is due to HIV. Because HIV symptoms mirror other viral infections or can be due or explained by other things.

Recommendation: There are no evidence or no documented cases of transmission refer to Physician for more personalized answers.

Regards, AIDS Vancouver Helpline/Online, (Vardah)

Hello,

Thank you for your inquiry. From what we gather from the question, you were asking about acquiring HIV through getting a cut on the face from shaving. From the information given, this scenario is determined to be Negligible Risk (There are no evidence or no documented cases of transmission).

The scenario mentioned above does not meet the three components of the transmission equation. The transmission equation requires HIV being present in bodily fluids that are exchanged with direct access to the bloodstream when a high risk activity occurs (1). In this scenario it is important to consider whether the trimmer is shared with other people or not. If you are the sole user of the trimmer then there would be no risk as there would be no exchange of bodily fluid. In this scenario there could be an exchange of bodily fluids if this is a shared item and there is direct access to the bloodstream through the cut. There was no high risk activity in this scenario. High risk activities include: unprotected sex, sharing needles, unsafe tattoos or piercings, or vertical transmission–from mother to child (in utero, during delivery, breastfeeding) (1). It is important to consider if there was bodily fluid transferred from the trimmer to you as HIV can quickly become inactive in the environment (2). HIV does not survive long outside the human body such as on surfaces (2). HIV outside of the body or drying HIV causes a rapid (within several hours) 1-2 log (90%-99%) reduction in HIV concentration (2).

Recommendation: There are no evidence or no documented cases of transmission refer to physician for more personalized answers.

Regards,

AIDS Vancouver Helpline/Online, Danielle

Hello,

Thank you for your inquiry. From what we gather from the question, you were asking about the risk of acquisition of HIV by fingering .From the information given, this scenario is determined to be Negligible Risk ( All of the practices assigned to this risk level present a potential for HIV transmission because they do involve the exchange of body fluids) However, there has never been a confirmed report.

In order to contract HIV the following conditions must be met: There must be HIV present in a bodily fluid. The five bodily fluids that carry the HIV virus include: blood, semen (including pre-ejaculate), vaginal fluids, breast milk, and rectal secretions. The bodily fluid containing HIV must have direct access to the bloodstream. This can be through cuts, tears, rips, mucous membranes, open sores, or needles. Transmission occurs through a risky activity in which the first two conditions are met. For example: condom less sex, sharing needles, unsafe tattoos or piercings, vertical transmission–from mother to child (in utero, during delivery, breastfeeding). This scenario does not satisfy the transmission equation because there is no direct access to the bloodstream through large cuts or sores and there is no involvement of a high risk activity.

Recommendation: There are no evidence or no documented cases of transmission refer to physician for more personalized answers.

Regards,

AIDS Vancouver Helpline/Online, (Vardah)

Hi there,

Thank you for your inquiry. From what we gather from the question, you were asking about the risk of HIV transmission for the following scenarios:

1.) Get root canal on upper back tooth (next to the wisdom tooth). Dentist comments that the gums have taken a beating and to not eat on that side for a while. When a tissue is pressed against the tooth, a little blood stain is there. Later that evening, kissed someone with unknown status. No deep kissing, but not completely closed mouth either. The regular type kissing where the mouth opens a little bit.

This scenario is determined to be Negligible Risk (There are no evidence or no documented cases of transmission). In this case, there appears to be no direct exchange of blood from your partner to yourself. Because you described there to be no deep kissing, we determine this to be of negligible risk.

2.) Receive oral sex (male receiving oral from female). Later that night, notice small reddish stain on underwear (which was near the oral sex) about the size of a small paperclip, but can't tell if it's blood or lipstick/makeup.

3.) Receive oral sex. Don't notice blood, but the oral sex is very deep and done passionately.

Both of these scenarios are determined to be of Negligible Risk: (There are no evidence or no documented cases of transmission. However, there is a theoretical possibility). Even with the possible presence of blood in your partners mouth, each of these scenarios pose the same amount of risk of HIV transmission to you, which is again, negligible. Being the recipient of unprotected oral sex is considered a negligible risk activity, while, performing unprotected oral sex is considered to be a Low Risk activity (Evidence of transmission occurs through these activities when certain conditions are met)

4.) Have two big canker sores inside mouth under the tongue. Deep kiss with someone with lots of tongue involved. Usually canker sores may be consider negligible risk, but what if they are two bigger ones?

This scenario is determined to be a Negligible Risk( There are no evidence or no documented cases of transmission. However, there is a theoretical possibility). Canker sores may be a source of transmission, due to the possibility of blood exchange with direct access to the blood stream during deep kissing. Saliva alone is not considered to be a method of transmission, and if there was no blood exchange, then the activity is of negligible risk. Larger canker sores may increase the risk of blood being present in the mouth, but do not greatly increase the risk of HIV acquisition in this scenario.

Recommendation: There are no evidence or no documented cases of transmission refer to Physician for more personalized answers.

All the best,

AIDS Vancouver Helpline/Online, Cody & Chelsea

Hello,

Thank you for your inquiry. From what we gather from the question, you were asking about your risk of HIV acquisition given the following scenarios:

1. Assume she is HIV+ and she had cut on her hand and give me a handjob, am i at risk of getting HIV?

We assume that in this scenario, your partner only has superficial wounds and no significant amount of blood is present. In this case, this scenario is determined to be No Risk (transmission of HIV is not possible with the given scenario. No exchange of bodily fluids). HIV transmission occurs when there is a substantial amount of HIV positive fluid that has direct access to the bloodstream.

1. If she lick and suck my nipple, am i at risk of getting HIV? Not sure whether she is bleeding or have soar in her mouth.

In this scenario, there is No Risk (transmission of HIV is not possible with the given scenario. No exchange of bodily fluids). Casual contact, in your case, licking nipples, is not among the methods HIV can be acquired.

1. I have quite a few pimple (not sure bleeding or not) behind my back, and she rub her boobs on my back. What if she lactate some of breast milk and might have direct contact with my blood?

In this scenario, there is Negligible Risk (There are no evidence or no documented cases of transmission. However, there is a theoretical possibility); however, very unlikely. Breast milk can be a method of HIV transmission as it is a bodily fluid, and bleeding sores (pimples) can offer a direct access to the bloodstream. Yet, this scenario appears to lack certain conditions that would be opportune for HIV transmission. These conditions would include both the presence of a substantially large open sore and an adequate amount of breast milk in close interaction.

Recommendation: There are no evidence or no documented cases of transmission refer to Physician for more personalized answers.

All the best, AIDS Vancouver Helpline/Online, Cody & Chelsea

Hi there,

Thank you for your inquiry. From what we gather from your question you were asking about the risk of HIV transmission to your family members through casual contact with your dried bodily fluids, or otherwise indirect contact with inanimate objects that you have touched, such as money or door handles.

Be advised that your family is at No Risk (transmission of HIV is not possible in the given scenario) of acquiring HIV through social and casual contact with you or any other individual. Acts such as social kissing, hugging, shaking hands, sharing toilette, and sharing dishes are all avenues in which HIV is not transmitted. This means, in your case, sharing water bottles, touching toilet handles, and even the hand to hand contact you have had with your sister (or any other individuals) all remain as No Risk events.

Official HIV transmission guidelines indicate that the top 3 avenues for transmission are:

• Mother to Child

• Unprotected Sex

• Sharing of Needles

Please consider our HIV Transmission Equation for any further questions regarding the nature of HIV transmission, as it offers an insightful and clear portrayal of circumstances which may lead to HIV acquisition.

It is important that any one person takes initiative in knowing their HIV status. Regular HIV testing can provide all individuals with the opportunity to protect themselves and others from HIV transmission through adequate prevention methods such as ARV (Antiretroviral Drug Treatment), PrEP, PEP, condom use & clean needle use, etc. HIV Stigma continues to be one of the driving forces behind HIV transmission worldwide. Here is some additional information regarding this subject that you may find useful in your daily life: Let's Stop HIV Together

Recommendation:There are no evidence or no documented cases of transmission refer to Physician for more personalized answers.

All the best,

AIDS Vancouver Helpline/Online, Cody

Hello,

Thank you for your inquiry. From what we gather from the question, you were asking about the risk of acquiring HIV from receiving oral sex. From the information given, this scenario is determined to be Negligible Risk . All of the practices assigned to this risk level present a potential for HIV transmission because they do involve the exchange of body fluids. However, there are no evidence or no documented cases of transmission.

In order to contract HIV the following conditions must be met: There must be HIV present in a bodily fluid. The five bodily fluids that carry the HIV virus include: blood, semen (including pre-ejaculate), vaginal fluids, breast milk, and rectal secretions. The bodily fluid containing HIV must have direct access to the bloodstream. This can be through cuts, tears, rips, mucous membranes, open sores, or needles. Transmission occurs through a risky activity in which the first two conditions are met. For example: condom less sex, sharing needles, unsafe tattoos or piercings, vertical transmission–from mother to child (in utero, during delivery, breastfeeding). The above scenario does not meet the three components of the transmission equation because there was no direct access of the fluid to the bloodstream and no high risk activity was involved.

HIV symptoms mirror other viral infections (flu etc..) or can be due or explained by other things, testing is really the only way to know. The symptoms that you are experiencing could be explained due to other infections or causes.

Recommendation: There are no evidence or no documented cases of transmission refer to Physician for more personalized answers.

Regards,

AIDS Vancouver Helpline/Online, Vardah.

Hi there,

Thank you for your inquiry. From what we gather from the question, you were asking about the risk of HIV transmission in the event of non-insertive mutual masturbation.

From our understanding, the distance between you and the second individual did not allow an opportunity for transmission of fluids to occur between the two of you. However, in the event that the head of your penis had come into contact with the individuals seminal fluid, there is an extremely unlikely chance of HIV transmission. Theoretically, if seminal fluid from the other individual had directly been exposed to the head of your penis, this would warrant a Negligible Risk: (There are no evidence or no documented cases of transmission). This would again, be an extremely unlikely event for HIV transmission to occur.

Recommendation: There are no evidence or no documented cases of transmission refer to Physician for more personalized answers.

All the best,

AIDS Vancouver Helpline/Online, Cody

Hello,

Thank you for your inquiry. From what we gather from the question, you were asking about acquiring HIV through taking blood into mouth and anilingus. From the information given, this scenario is determined to be Low Risk (Evidence of transmission occurs through these activities when certain conditions are met). .

The scenario mentioned above does meet the three components of the transmission equation. The transmission equation requires bodily fluid that is HIV positive come into contact with bodily fluid of an individual that is HIV negative by having direct access to the bloodstream through a high risk activity.

Bodily fluids that contain HIV: blood, semen (including pre-ejaculate), vaginal fluids, breast milk, and rectal secretions (1).

Direct access to the bloodstream can be through cuts, tears, rips, mucous membranes, open sores, or needles (1).

High risk activities include: unprotected sex, sharing needles, unsafe tattoos or piercings, vertical transmission–from mother to child (in utero, during delivery, breastfeeding) (1).

The scenario of taking blood into the mouth satisfies the transmission equation because of the exchange of bodily fluids from the bleeding gums could transmit the bodily fluid containing HIV to the individual who is HIV negative. The bleeding gums could have direct access to the bloodstream through cuts in the mouth of the other individual. It was noted by the individual that they discovered their own gums to have blood which can provide possible evidence of bodily fluid exchange.

The scenario of anilingus is considered to be a Negligible Risk (There are no evidence or no documented cases of transmission). There is a chance of the exchange of bodily fluids through this scenario, but there has never been a confirmed report acquiring HIV through this act. In the scenario of anilingus there may be blood or rectal secretions exchanged through a cut, tear, rip, or mucous membranes. In the case of no barrier/protection the exchange of bodily fluids would be more likely to occur and thus have an opportunity for HIV transmission to occur. (2).

Recommendation: Refer to Physician for HIV test.

Regards,

AIDS Vancouver Helpline/Online, Danielle

Hello and thank you for contacting the helpline.

We understand that you would like to know your risk of acquiring HIV after engaging in mutual masturbation, fingering, and receiving oral sex from a partner of unknown status. Receiving oral sex and fingering are both assessed as a Negligible Risk for HIV transmission. This means that in theory transmission is possible because there could be an exchange of body fluids, however, there has never been a documented case of someone acquiring HIV in this way.

You don't mention what type of wound you are referring to, but if it was healed and not related to an STI (hepes, syphillis), then it would not increase your risk. HIV is not transmitted through Saliva.

Swelling of the earlobes and lips are not known to be symptoms of early HIV infection.

The 4th Generation ag/ab combo test you had today has a sensitivity of about 99.9%. Fourth-generation HIV tests can detect HIV infection in 50% of people by 18 days after infection; 95% of people by 34 days after infection; and 99% of people by one and a half months after infection. (1) Testing at 15 days puts you within the window period. If you are still concerned about acquiring HIV from this encounter despite the negligible risk, it would be best to test after six weeks post-encounter.

It is not possible that you were infected in 2016 and have been slowly developing antibodies since then, but are still testing as non reactive.

Recommendation: There are no evidence or no documented cases of transmission refer to Physician for more personalized answers.

Regards, AIDS Vancouver Helpline Volunteer, Dyson

Hi there,

Thank you for your inquiry. From what we gather from the question you were asking about the conclusiveness of your negative HIV 4th Generation test results at approximately 10 weeks post exposure, and 42 days after PEP completion.

Most HIV specialists consider this HIV testing method conclusive at 6 weeks post exposure. However, official HIV testing guidelines recommend re-testing at 12 weeks post exposure for completely conclusive results. This testing method has an extremely high accuracy rate, and although you are recommended to seek re-testing at 12 weeks post exposure, you have also received a number of tests prior to your last in conjunction with the effective use of PEP.

In your case, it is safe to say that the combination of these results are very encouraging, and in fact, you should consider yourself HIV negative.

Recommendation: Refer to a physician for other health related questions.

All the best,

AIDS Vancouver Helpline/Online, Cody

Hi there,

Thank you for your inquiry. From what we gather from your question, you were asking about the possibility of HIV transmission through contact between HIV positive blood, and your mouth.

With the information given, we assume that you are addressing fresh blood that has touched your mouth. With this in mind, we consider this exposure to be of Negligible Risk: (There are no evidence or no documented cases of transmission). In this case there is a very small yet technically possible opportunity for HIV transmission given multiple conditions are met such as:

• the presence of a fresh/open wound on/within your mouth
• immediate contact between HIV positive blood and fresh/open wound

Contact with blood which has been on an environmental surface (especially with the mouth) provides No Risk of HIV transmission (transmission of HIV is not possible in the given scenario). The human mouth proves to be a tough environment for HIV to survive in, as components in saliva inhibit the ability for HIV to enter new cells (1). Further, HIV does not survive long outside of the body, and has a rapid reduction in concentration on environmental surfaces (2).

Recommendation: There are no evidence or no documented cases of transmission refer to Physician for more personalized answers.

All the best,

AIDS Vancouver Online/Helpline, Cody

Hello,

Thank you for your inquiry. From what we gather from the question, you were asking about the risk of acquiring HIV at a salon from a shared, potentially uncleaned, comedome extractor that may have caused you to bleed. From the information given, this scenario is determined to be Negligible Risk (There are no evidence or no documented cases of transmission).

The only way the scenario mentioned above could meet the three components of the Transmission Equation is if the comedome extractor was used on a person with HIV who bled profusely onto the tool, and then it was immediately used on you without cleaning, ultimately causing you to bleed to provide direct access to your bloodstream. Since this is probably not the case, transmission of HIV is highly unlikely in your scenario. In the future, to ease your worries, ask the salon about their disinfection processes for the tools that they use that may come into contact with blood.

Recommendation: There are no evidence or no documented cases of transmission. Refer to Physician for more personalized answers.

Regards,

AIDS Vancouver Helpline/Online, Marie

Hello,

Thank you for your inquiry. From what we gather from the question, you were asking about the possibility of your daughter acquiring HIV through a cut on her finger from a razor blade of unknown origin. From the information given, this scenario is determined to be Negligible Risk (There are no evidence or no documented cases of transmission).

The scenario mentioned above could theoretically meet the three components of the Transmission Equation if the razor blade was very recently used and there was blood containing HIV on the razor. It is important to note that this scenario is very unlikely because any blood that was on the razor blade would have been exposed to oxygen long enough to inactivate any HIV virus present (1).

A study conducted in Montreal, Canada followed children who visited the hospital after a needle stick injury (from an abandoned needle) (2). Many of the children received Hepatitis B antibodies and/or vaccinations and some of them received HIV treatment as a precautionary measure. Among all of the children, who either received precautionary measures or did not, no transmission of blood-borne viruses occurred, confirming that the risk of transmission in these events is very low. Please note that HIV is inactivated very quickly when exposed to oxygen, but other blood-borne viruses, such as hepatitis, are able to survive slightly longer in the environment.

Recommendation: There are no evidence or no documented cases of transmission. Refer to a physician for more personalized answers and to inquire about Hepatitis B antibodies/vaccination.

Regards,

AIDS Vancouver Helpline/Online, Marie

Hello,

Thank you for your inquiry. From what we gather from the question, you were asking about the risk of acquiring HIV from fingering (inserting finger in anus). From the information given, this scenario is determined to be Negligible Risk There are no evidence or no documented cases of transmission. However, there is a theoretical possibility.

In order to contract HIV the following conditions must be met: There must be HIV present in a bodily fluid. The five bodily fluids that carry the HIV virus include: blood, semen (including pre-ejaculate), vaginal fluids, breast milk, and rectal secretions. The bodily fluid containing HIV must have direct access to the bloodstream. This can be through cuts, tears, rips, mucous membranes, open sores, or needles. Transmission occurs through a risky activity in which the first two conditions are met. For example: condom less sex, sharing needles, unsafe tattoos or piercings, vertical transmission–from mother to child (in utero, during delivery, breastfeeding).

The above scenario possess a negligible risk as there was an exchange of fluids. For you to acquire HIV the rectal secretions must have direct access to the bloodstream either through mucous membranes or visibly bleeding open cuts/sores. In your case however, there essentially was no active bleeding (from a superficial cut) and therefore no direct access to the blood stream was achieved.

Recommendation: There are no evidence or no documented cases of transmission refer to Physician for more personalized answers.

Regards,

AIDS Vancouver Helpline/Online, (Vardah)

Hello,

Thank you for your inquiry. From what we gather from the question, you were asking about biting another person possibly taking blood into the mouth and an unprotected hand job. From the information given, this scenario is determined to be Negligible Risk (There are no evidence or no documented cases of transmission).

HIV transmission can occur when the bodily fluid of an individual who is HIV positive has direct access to the bloodstream an of individual who is HIV negative through a high risk activity.

In this scenario, transmission is negligible as you are unaware if you bit hard enough to draw blood. The main concern for transmission would be taking blood into the mouth. It would require an aggressive bite in order to draw blood from the individual. An unprotected hand job would be considered no risk as transmission of bodily fluid is not possible in the scenario you described.

Recommendation: There are no evidence or no documented cases of transmission refer to Physician for more personalized answers.

Regards,

AIDS Vancouver Helpline/Online, Danielle

Hi there,

Thank you for your inquiry. From what we gather from the question, you were asking about the possibility of HIV transmission through a wound from your hairdresser.

From the information given, this scenario is determined to be Negligible Risk: (There are no evidence or no documented cases of transmission). HIV becomes very fragile when outside of the body or on environmental surfaces. The virus does not survive long outside of the human body, and once exposed to open air, it undergoes a rapid reduction in HIV concentration (1).

For this reason, if the hairdresser had cut themselves and were living with HIV, the virus would have little opportunity to enter your bloodstream unless the open and bleeding cut had direct contact with an open and bleeding cut of your own.

Recommendation: There are no evidence or no documented cases of transmission refer to Physician for more personalized answers.

All the best,

AIDS Vancouver Helpline/Online, Cody

Hello,

Thank you for your inquiry. From what we gather from the question, you were asking about rubbing the penis onto the anus, fingering, and non-mutual masturbation. From the information given, this scenario is determined to be Negligible Risk (There are no evidence or no documented cases of transmission).

HIV transmission requires bodily fluid that contains HIV having direct access to the bloodstream through a high risk activity.

The sexual acts of rubbing the penis onto the anus without insertion as well as fingering both are considered to be Negligible Risk activities. These activities pose a potential for HIV transmission because they both involve the exchange of bodily fluids. There has not been a confirmed report of HIV acquisition through these specific activities.

Non-mutual masturbation or hand jobs are considered to be No Risk. When a bodily fluid does not have direct access to the bloodstream it creates time for the HIV to become inactive. Pre-cum travelling onto a person's hand then being transferred onto the penis creates a barrier for HIV. There needs to be a significant amount of pre-cum in order for enough bodily fluid containing HIV to be transmitted to yourself.

Recommendation: There are no evidence or no documented cases of transmission refer to Physician for more personalized answers.

Regards,

AIDS Vancouver Helpline/Online, Danielle

Hi there,

Thank you for your inquiry. From what we gather from the question, you were asking about your risk of HIV acquisition given a "quick lick" and hand relief from a partner who has had two recent (negative) HIV screenings.

Assuming this exposure involved no further oral activity beyond a lick to the head of the penis, your risk of HIV acquisition is considered to be Negligible (There are no evidence or no documented cases of transmission). Receiving oral sex is considered to be an act of Negligible Risk, and does not warrant HIV screening.

Without proper knowledge of your partners history and details of their screening, it is nearly impossible for us to confirm their status. It appears as though your partner had ensured you that they have a negative HIV status. From our understanding, your partner may have been issued a "Rapid" or "Point-of-Care" test, which is either a blood or oral swab that looks for HIV antibodies (1). With this exam, up to 95% of infections are detectible within 4-6 weeks, with most people developing HIV antibodies between 21-25 days (1).

Recommendation: There are no evidence or no documented cases of transmission, please refer to a Physician for more personalized answers.

All the best,

AIDS Vancouver Online/Helpline, Cody

Hello,

Thank you for your inquiry. From what we gather from the question, you were asking about the risk of acquiring HIV from fingering a woman while she is on her period. From the information given, this scenario is determined to be Negligible Risk (There are no evidence or no documented cases of transmission).

The scenario mentioned above does not meet the three components of the transmission equation(1). Now, we can break this information down further using the questions you provided to understand why the scenario does not meet the three components of the transmission equation, and is therefore considered a Negligible Risk.

1. Thin skin peeling above the cuticles that is not bleeding can be considered a superficial cut or wound. This means that the wound is a surface level skin wound and, therefore, is not deep enough to provide direct access for HIV to enter your bloodstream. Direct access to enter the bloodstream is one of the the 3 components of the transmission equation(1) that must be met for HIV transmission to occur. This means that the non-bleeding cuts around your cuticles simply do not provide direct access for HIV to enter your bloodstream.

2. Using a barrier, such as the latex glove that your described, is an effective method to reduce your risk of acquiring HIV in this scenario. The information we have about barriers typically involves the efficacy of a condom as a barrier. For example, we know that HIV incidence is reduced by 80% with the use of condoms during all acts of penetrative vaginal sex. Condoms do not reduce the transmission of HIV to zero. However, consistent condom usage is one of the primary methods to protect against HIV transmission. In your scenario, using a latex glove as a barrier in penetrative fingering reduces your risk of acquiring HIV. Remember the information from number 1 as well, that there was no access for HIV to enter your bloodstream through any superficial cuts on your hand.

3. Kissing, hugging and touching are activities that offer No Risk of HIV transmission. You described using a latex glove during these activities as well as while fingering a woman. As discussed above, the latex glove acts as a barrier during the act of fingering, and there was no direct access for HIV to enter your bloodstream.

4. You are correct that oil-based lubricants such as Vaseline or baby oil can degrade latex(2). We know that such oil-based lubricants can degrade latex condoms and increase the risk of condom breakage. However, in the scenario you have described, you did not use Vaseline as a lubricant on the latex glove during fingering, you used it as a hand lotion after washing your hands 30 minutes before engaging in any sexual activity. The scenario you described still does not satisfy the 3 components of the transmission equation(1) and is still considered Negligible Risk. The latex glove would still be effective in reducing the risk of HIV transmission. Even if the Vaseline had weakened the latex, the glove you finally used did not break, and most importantly there was no direct access for HIV to enter your bloodstream through your hands.

Recommendation: The scenario your provided is considered Negligible Risk. This means that there is no evidence or no documented cases of transmission. If you still have concerns, please refer to Physician for more personalised answers.

Regards, AIDS Vancouver Helpline/Online, Hilary