[Question #1784] Hiv pep ? Urgent

90 months ago

Dear dr...i am a bisexual male i recently today kissed another male..whose of unkown hiv status....no other activity except kissing...his tooth hitvhis lip while kissing and i saw his lip later n there was a small bruise ...which had no blood at that time...but what if there was blood a while back when i kissed him....would that be risky? Do i need pep in case the cut had some blood ?

H. Hunter Handsfield, MD

90 months ago

First, we do not answer questions quickly because they are called "urgent". This is not a site for direct medical care. Second, this is your 5th or 6th question, all of which have asked about zero risk HIV exposureds. As you have been told before, kissing, hand-genital contact, and oral sex are zero risk. No ethical doctor would advise PEP after an event like this.

Please note the forum does not permit repeated questions on the same topic or exposure. This will have to be your last one; future new questions about such low risk exposures will be deleted without reply and without refund of the posting fee. This policy is based on compassion, not criticism, and is designed to reduce temptations to keep paying for questions with obvious answers; because experience shows that continued answers tend to prolong users' anxieties; and because such questions have little educational value for other users, one of the forum's main purposes. I trust you will understand.

HHH, MD

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90 months ago

Thanks a lot dr, i really appreciate your patience. However just wanted to underatand if you could please tellme as far as know blood is a carrier of hiv. So since he may have been bleeding a bitas itvwas a fresh small wound on his lips n i kissed without realising..dosent blood transmit the virus ? Request you to plz pardon my ignorance in this regard. Thanks again Dr. Handsfield.

H. Hunter Handsfield, MD

90 months ago

Mouth exposure to HIV infected blood or body fluids is almost never a risk.

Here is all you need to know to avoid HIV your entire life: Use condoms for non-monogamous vaginal or anal sex, and do not share drug injection equipment with other people. That's all. No other activities will ever put you at risk. Therefore, there will never be a need to ask about other kinds of exposures. OK? Got it?

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90 months ago

Yes thanks dr..but ' almost never ' still means thatvthere is a low risk ? If yes how much? Can i take pep to avoid even that little risk ?

H. Hunter Handsfield, MD

90 months ago

I didn't say that. My reply was "kissing, hand-genital contact, and oral sex are zero risk". That's especially true for kissing. You should not have PEP. You don't even need HIV testing.

That completes the two follow-up comment and replies incoluded with each question, and so ends this thread. In conclusion, I recommend professional counseling to help you come to understand why you are so abnormally fearful of HIV despite the repeated, reasoned, science based reassurance you have had. My guess is you have some unresolved psychological conflcts about your sexuality.

Please note the warning statement above. This is your last question about such things on this forum. There will be no second warning. Good bye and good luck.

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