Kissing after I bit my lip

[medhelp112233]

Hello Dr. EWH / HHH,

I posted questions on this board last summer when I was all stressed out about the encounter that I had. Testing cleared things out and after that I haven't had sex with anyone until now being affraid to go through a similar experience that I did last summer.

Now I met someone and we went out on few dates and yesterday we deep-kissed for about 30 seconds to a minute but about 20 minutes before that I accidently bit my lower lip while chewing something. I came home and checked the bite - it was small but indeed the skin was broken and the area was red. It wasn't bleeding when I checked it (about 30-40 minutes after we kissed) but I'm affraid when we kissed it might have been. What if she is hiv positive - would that incident put me at risk? I started worrying about it. Do I have anything to worry about? She works in an industry with a lot of gay people and she mentioned to me that she knows a couple people at work who are hiv positive. That raised a flag for me and I'm worried about this incident now. What if she had a little cut that was bleeding in her mouth??? Theoretically I understand if her blood would get into my open sore that would put me at risk but practically is it possible to get it though kissing?

Thank you very much
Dave

[Edward W Hook, MD]

This is a "what if" question in which you are tryng to convince yourself that you are at risk - you are not.  The FACT is that no one ever has gotten HIV through kissing.  No One!  Ever!  This sort of theoretical. fantastical quesation does you no good.  Your WILL NOT be the first person to get HIV by kissing.   Believe the data.  End of discussion.  EWH

[medhelp112233]

Dr. EWH,

Could you please address my last question in this thread - I remember reading that one of the reasons that intercourse with and infected person has high hiv transmission rate is because of the friction during the intercourse the virus is sort of rubbed into the tissue through mucus membranes or micro tears in the skin. Therefore I was just thinking - I remember rubbing my sore on the lip with my tongue for a while shortly after the kiss trying to feel with my tongue how bad of a cut I had in the area where I accidently bit myself. What if there was some infected blood present on my tongue - would the fact that I rubbed it against the sore increase the risk of transmission?

Please answer my last question in this thread Dr. EWH.

Thank you very much for your help.

[Edward W Hook, MD]

there are fewer than 1 million American who have HIV in a nation with a population of nearly 350 million  (1 infection per 350 Americans = 0.3%).   Most infections are present among men who have sex with men or IV drug users.  Among heterosexual men and women, overall there are fewer than 1 infection per thousand Americans.  

This will end this thread.  EWH

[medhelp112233]

Dr. EWH,

Is it really true that less than 1 in a thousand Americans is infected with hiv? I remember reading something long time ago that said that one in every 92 Americans is infected - that's about 10 times more than the statistics that you mentioned. It would mean that about 3 million Americans would be infected with hiv and if it's 1 out of a thousand it would be around 300, 000.

Thank you very much!

[medhelp112233]

Dr. EWH,

Thank you so much for your answers! I understand that I do have a fear of hiv that is out of proportion - thank you very much for pointing this out to me - your opinion matters a lot to me and I will try to address my phobia.

Thank you very much once again.

[Edward W Hook, MD]

I'll first answer your question and then have a comment.  The answer is very easy.  HIV is not transmitted by kissing, deep or otherwise and the presence of mouth sores, bleeding lips, gum disease, etc do not change this.  No one has ever gotten HIV by kissing of any sort.  You do not need to worry about this and certainly do not need testing.

My comment however is to suggest that you take time to reflect on whether your fear of HIV is rationale and consider how it might impact your life.  Please remember, HIV is a very rare infection, infecting less than 1 in a thousand Americans and only a minority of persons who have characteristics which place them among higher risk groups, i.e.  men who have sex with other men, drug users, etc.  Knowing someone who has HIV does not put a person at risk, nor does working in an industry with "a lot of gay people."  I worry that your fears are really out of proportion with reality and that they may have a negative impact with interactions with others.  Please consider this.  EWH