Question
Can I get HIV from deep kissing?
16 December 2010. Related: All topics, HIV transmission.
Hi,
Is it possible to catch HIV from deep kissing (biting lips, gum desease)? I ask this question because there is contradictory information on internet. The CDC site states that there has been one case in 1997 where a woman got infected from her husband through deep kissing. Other sites like MEDHELP or FORUMS.POZ.COM say there is NO risk from deep kissing regardles of any biting or blood.
I am worried and l dont know if I should test after an exposure like this? Thanks.
Answer
Thank you for your question.
I contacted CDC about why they put this information on their website and they responded by stating:
We do not have data on the proportion of people who have been infected through French kissing alone, but we stress that this is likely to be none. The risk is theoretical and remote.
If your only exposure was deep kissing then you do not need to test for HIV. You cannot get HIV this way.
Hi,
The issue of HIV transmission via kissing really confuses me and I believe there could be a possibility transmission is possible.
I was kissed by a guy who I know has had unprotected sex with someone. When he kissed me I had a very bad ulcer or sore on the roof of my mouth. It was a kiss on the lips but he tried to get his tongue ‘in’ a couple of times.
Two weeks later, I began to get a bad headache, nausea and aching shoulders, sharp pain in my wrists, elbow, knees and hips. I could not feel any swollen lymph nodes but their was a lot of pain on my neck, groin and I could feel puffiness under one of my armpits, but could not feel any hard lumps. If lymph nodes are swollen, would I feel hard lumps?
A week and a half has now passed with these symptoms – I’ve never had this group of symptoms before and wonder if actually I have somehow been so unlucky to have been infected this way.
I have had no oral or penetrative sex of any kind.
Curious to hear your thoughts on this.
Many thanks.
This page lists all meds – with links to further information.
http://i-base.info/guides/category/arvs
pls what are the medicine for treating hiv? is any medicine for treating Hiv?
I’m sorry, unfortunately we don’t have the resources to answer more questions about transmission and testing. This information service is about HIV treatment for people who are HIV positive.
Most questions about transmission and testing have been answered here:
http://i-base.info/qa/factsheets/hiv-transmission-and-testing
Hi CGA – no, we didn’t hear. I don’t think there are likely to be any difference in risk comaring regular kissing compared to depp kissing (why shoud the French have all the fun). When infection are transmitted in saliva – and many are – these become so common in the general population that most people are not aware of them, and even if they are it doesn’t change their behaviour. Kissing – deep or otherwise – carries effectively no risk of HIV.
Would just like to know–if it doesn’t infringe any confidentiality–whether this gentleman who had posted regarding HIV contraction via kissing had ever gotten back to you. I’m faced with the same exact situation and am just waiting for a few more weeks to elapse until getting tested. Until then (though I know it’s not such a healthy thing to do) I’m scrounging around the internet hoping to not find any true holes in the practically watertight claim that the the chances of HIV transmission via kissing, dry or French, is close to, if not, zero. But Lo and behold… I hole.
Hi Duke
If you have only ever kissed and never had any other sexual contact – no oral, vaginal or anal sex – or no chance of contact with sexual fluids or blood in other ways – shared drug equipment, transfusions or tattoos – and there is no chance you were infected at birth, then please send be a personal email. (simon.collins@i-base.org.uk).
What sounds more likely is that you were worried and tested after the time when you kissed, but probably became HIV positive earlier when having sex that you thought was safe and hadn’t realised you had caught HIV.
Saliva inactivates HIV in a positive person so the only possibility would be if you have blood to blood contact – and while possible – most people do not deep kiss with open cuts and sores.
Potentially though if both you and your partner had open cuts and rubbed these togehter, perhaps and infection might take place – althoguh even this would be difficult becasue blood generall flow out of the blody and not back into it. For example, there was a reported case from a streetfight where blood to blood contact was reported as leading to HIV transmission.
Your case is so rare as to be formally documented by your doctor or another researcher, who can look into all the background reasons for why you think this might have occured.
Hi, I would like to respond to this topic after reading about deep kissing and HIV after experiencing such an encounter which made me to go test and found out that I am HIV positive just by deep kissing with a positive person. I would just like to warn people not to take deep kissing for granted because I am positive through deep kissing. It is not misleading but quite infact a rare situation because people don’t even believe you when you tell them how you contracted the virus, so be aware I learnt the hard way and am on ARV treatment as I post this comment.
No, there’s no evidence that you can get HIV through a kiss.
Can I get HIV through kiss?