[Question #11147] Drinks/Canker

16 months ago

Good day to you,

Im a family man. Never did my family wrong. All I have done is share cocktails with people. Never thought anything of it until I had family talk about “germs and diseases transferred through the mouth with sores”.

Get right into it.

1 small canker sore under my tongue (where tongue and mouth connect)

1 bite sore inside my mouth, under my bottom lip (from eating and it caused a sore like injury)

In the bars, we try each other cocktails (from one glass). We share with people we know and people we don’t know, if interested. Never thought anything of it. Until recently.

The night of the sores, shared 5 cocktails with people, taking one sip of each. I’ve done this plenty of times and I’m sure I’ve done it before with canker sores and without. But specifically speaking about my sores in my mouth that night.

So I gotta know doctor, am I putting myself in risk for HIV and STDs?

1) canker sores and bites inside mouth, being considered “open wounds”, give access to transition of HIV if the other person passes something in the drink like saliva and/or blood?

2) I went down the rabbit hole and found that drinking alcohol can lower saliva production. If so, does that increase possible transfer of HIV?

3) Am I completely losing my mind here and have been completely wrong about it all where I need to be tested?

I appreciate your time. As I said, never thought twice about this but hearing them speak like that (may it be misinformation or not) made me think twice and cause of concern of what I may be bringing back to my family. Please educate me on this.

H. Hunter Handsfield, MD

16 months ago

Welcome to the forum. Thank you for your confidence in our services.

You've misunderstood information you found. It's true that STDs in general can be transmitted through sores on the skin, in the mouth, etc. However, that doesn't mean that any and all contact with other people's sores is a risk. It refers only to sexual contact in the presence of sores, ulcers, skin lesions, etc. The sort of thing you describe is entirely risk free. Nobody ever gets HIV or other STDs by non-intimate contact of the sorts you describe. For example, other than spouses and sex partners, the household members of persons with HIV or other STDs never become infected even after years of sharing toilets, showers, kitchens, eating utensils, etc.

Those comments pretty well cover your questions, but to be explicit:

1) No risk at all. HIV and other STDs are not spread by saliva anyway. Even sexual contact with saliva like oral sex is very low risk, and sexual (open mouth) kissing is zero risk or close to it).

2) A rabbit hole indeed! Alcohol intake does not increase risk of STD/HIV transmission. Drunken sex is no more risky than sex without alcohol (except for altering judgment about when and with whom to have sex, use condoms, etc).

3) For sure you don't need testing for anything.

Final advice: the internet is not your friend -- or the friend of anyone who is anxious and searching about the causes of that anxiety. If you feel compelled to keep searching, try to limit yourself to professionally run or moderated sites, like this one; and especially avoid those by and for people with the problem they are searching about (like Reddit, for example). Anyone can write anything they want and giant amounts of seemingly wise information is wrong, either intentionally or naively.

I hope these comments are helpful. Let me know if anything isn't clear.

HHH, MD

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16 months ago

Thank you Dr for your quick response! Very impressive.

That is what I assumed as well that’s why I never thought of Canker sores as a gateway to diseases.

How could you help me explain to family/friends, if this convo about canker sores and being able to get HIV and so on from sharing drinks.

I didn’t know how to respond because I never thought about it that way when sharing drinks with people. Not gonna lie, it worries me a lot.

Do I say unless it’s sexual, it’s nothing?

16 months ago

I meant, “worried” not “worries me a lot.

H. Hunter Handsfield, MD

16 months ago

I'm not sure why you feel a need for more detail. Probably most of your friend and family members know that people don't get HIV or STDs other than by sexual contact, or so rarely the chance can be ignored. Why do you feel a need to be responsible to explain the reasons or the biology of it all? Seems to me it is sufficient to say that it has been known for decades that people not at sexual risk (or risk through blood sharing, like injection drug users who share their equipment with other persons) simply do not show up in doctors' office or clinics with STDs or HIV and that non-intimate contact isn't a risk, period. Those who want or ask you for more information than this can do their own online searching or library reading. ---

16 months ago

My apologies Dr.

Hope It didn’t seem like I was questioning your answer. I just never felt like that before and wanted to make sure I understood everything once and for all and no question myself about this. They made me feel uncomfortable about this whole thing and wanted to know how to direct them properly.

I appreciate your time Dr. I truly do.

H. Hunter Handsfield, MD

16 months ago

Nothing to apologize for; I didn't interpret your reply as challenging my answers. If it was your family members who started all this by questioning cocktails and canker sores as potential HIV/STD risks, why not just tell them you did a bit of research and that you learned the facts. Or maybe just share this discussion with them.

That completes the two follow-up exchanges included with each question and so ends this thread. I'm glad it has been helpful; thnks for the thanks.

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