Q and A

Question

If a HIV negative man comes inside a HIV positive woman what are the risks to the man?

16 January 2018. Related: All topics, HIV transmission, Pregnancy.

What is the risk if a negative man having sex with a positive woman uses a condom but then when the man is about to come he takes off the condom and he comes inside of the woman? Will the man be infected?

Answer

Answer: Charlotte Walker

Thank you for your question.

Any risk is not related to whether or not you cum, but to other factors. These include how long the contact lasts (in this case maybe just a few seconds) so the risk will be very low.

If your partner is taking HIV treatment and has an undetectable viral load, then the risk will be zero, even if you don;t use condoms at all.

The biggest risk of transmission relates to viral load. When this is undetectable the risk becomes zero then transmission doesn’t occur.

Are you asking this question so your partner can become pregnant? If yes, the it is easy to  still conceive naturally, but better if your partner is on treatment.

This question was updated in January 2018 from an original answer posted in December 2010. i-Base no longer answers individual questions about HIV transmission and risk but please see: Question 1, 5, 6 and 9 at this link).

61 comments

  1. mathew •

    I have a girlfriend she’s been positive for 5 years. She’s not on treatment. I slept with her and she fall pregnant, later she had a miscarriage, that’s when she told me she was positive. Am I at risk?

  2. Lisa Thorley •

    Hi Mawuli,

    If the women doesn’t have an undetectable viral load, then yes. Please see Q1 here for more info:

    http://i-base.info/qa/what-are-the-most-asked-questions

  3. Mawuli •

    Can a man get HIV from a woman who is HIV positive?

  4. Lisa Thorley •

    Hi Lucky,

    There’s no reason why you should be discouraged about your girlfriends status. This is because in reality the risk of transmission is close to zero. Also, it may be worth thinking about how she would feel if she knew you felt this about her. For a loved one to be, ‘discouraged’ could be difficult for the person who is positive to come to terms with. After all there is enough stigma associated with HIV.

    At i-base we always provide information about key HIV studies. When they come out they will be published on our site.

    Its good though that you’re interested .

  5. Lucky •

    I have a HIV positive girlfriend and I love her very much. However, sometimes I’m discouraged by her status. Most of the time we use condoms, but on few occasions I see myself penetrating her without a condom and that worries me because every time I get sick I only think of those occasions were I did not use condom.

    However, after reading the PARTNER study it gives me hope and I would highly appreciate it if you could inform me of other studies in the future.

  6. Lisa Thorley •

    Hi Praveen,

    For how HIV is transmitted, please see Q 1 here:

    http://i-base.info/qa/what-are-the-most-asked-questions

    You will though be fine.

  7. Praveen •

    Is it safe to give a woman cunnilingus when they are positive?

  8. Lisa Thorley •

    Hi Mustapha,

    If you’re using condoms correctly then you can’t contract HIV. For more about HIV transmission please see Q1 here:

    http://i-base.info/qa/what-are-the-most-asked-questions

  9. Mustapha •

    I’m having sex with a woman who is positive, we always use condoms, what will happen to me?

  10. Lisa Thorley •

    Hi Njabulo,

    If a positive person is on treatment and their viral load is undetectable, the risk of transmission is close to zero. Please see the results of the PARTNER study for more info:

    http://i-base.info/qa-on-the-partner-study/

    Therefore, if you chose to, you can have sex without using condoms.