[Question #1929] Special req dr Ed hook (HIV blood or secretions food and drinks ,tooth exposed )

89 months ago

Dear Edward hook I need you more than anything because you have all the information available.i am Confused

My worry is about HIV from eating or drinking blood or secretions (semen ,Vaginal fluid ) . food &drinks or if it's just pure blood and secretions (restraunt or home ) no sexual activity involved

Your information on medhelp says “There is no document case of person drinking HIV blood regardless of the amount that has led to HIV since HIV first started whether directly or indirectly. “

If one drank them in a glass . I won't do such a thing but if was exposed to them it won't be a risk as you say so please answer accordingly and assume I'm drinking HIV blood or fluid .

Q1) you have said “medhelp irrespective of blood drank no one has been infected and gums condition do not matter am I correct ? And do you have the same opinion on semen and vaginal fluid

Q2) my only worry is if gum conditions don't matter do tooth conditions matter ?

Q3) I have had root canal which caused me to loose Half of my tooth and have a crown capped on that tooth which can sometimes fall of . I fear when my crown falls and my tooth is exposed and if I HIV drank blood or secretions on from a glass in unlikely event if someone were to do anything like that would I get infected ?

Q4) is my broken tooth which has root canal an access to blood stream I would like you to think I drank blood or fluids so that I get the confidence that nothing can happen and it's not mixed with any liquid . Since you have clearly stated that no one has been infected while drinking HIV blood in history .

Q5) do teeth conditions matter I also worry if I get tooth extracted my wound will be exposed and if drink something I will worry .

Q6) can HIV blood or bodily fluids go through teeth if they are broken , or had a root canal like me , are they even an access to blood stream . ?

I want to talk to you mr hook only since you are the only Doctor who has debunked this internet myth I don't have OCD .

Dr hunter(award winning doctor ) said no sex and drugs one can be HIV free but I need information so I would request 2 posts from you and dr hunter

Thanks

H. Hunter Handsfield, MD

89 months ago

Apolgies for the delayed reply and the uncertainties we discussed before now (deleted). And welcome to the forum. Dr. Hook and I take questions without regard to requests for one of us or the other. Having worked closely together for three decades, our expertise and advice are almost never significantly different, even if our styles of course reflect our own approaches. You can be sure he would agree with my comments to follow.

Directly to your questions:

1) In general, we don't like to speculate about outcomes of outlandish events unlikely to ever occur. It is difficult to imagine a scenario of drinking a glassful of blood, for example; or having exposure to a similar amount of genital fluids. But if you truly had a glassful of either, from a person infected with HIV and not on effective antiviral treatment, I imagine the risk of catching HIV would be very high, maybe even exceeding a 50% chance. But of course that's very different than the previous comments you quote from MedHelp and elsewhere, that oral exposure to blood or genital fluids -- as experienced in the real world of sex and other interactions with potentially infected people -- carries little or no risk for HIV infection. It remains true that there have been few (if any) reported, proved cases of anyone catching HIV in this way. Even in babies being nursed by infected mothers, swallowing a few ounces of HIV infected milk every day, only 15% become infected after nursing for 6 months -- so the risk must be exceedingly small after exposure to the amounts that go along with oral sex or accidental oral exposures.

2) In theory, oral inflammation (gum disease, cuts in the mouth, etc) might elevate whatever miniscule risk exisits. But these are very common conditions, and yet still no reported cases of oral exposure resulting in infection. So the real world effect of gum inflammation must be very small.

3-5) I don't see that losing the crown off the top of a repaired tooth would increase any risk if exposed to HIV. I doubt this provides access to your blood stream; and even if it did, I wouldn't worry about it, for the same reasons as (2) above. However, in event you have a dental extraction, I would recommend not performing oral sex on a potentially infected partner for a few days, until the wound heals.

6) Probably there would be no bloodstream access. Anyway, this is a very unlikely scenario, don't you think?

I don't know what "internet myth" you are speaking about. As implied above, whatever it is, you can be sure Dr. Hook and I agree about it. But if you'd like to briefly cite that myth and your concerns about it, I would be happy to discuss it. As to whether or not you have OCD, I'm not sure why you bring it up. However, I will observe that concerns like the ones you describe here are most common in people with OCD.

Let me know if anything isn't clear.

HHH, MD

---

89 months ago

Dear mr hunter pleasure is all mine no apologies please I insist. You have shown you are not just a professional but a humble human being as well. My apologies for going over the limit but it was important to thank you first . When I mentioned OCD I have a lack of understanding and worry for family which I would like you to clear . Doctors often mis judge when a person does not have an understanding to OCD . But you and mr hook are an authentic source

Q1) I have never questioned what I have been eating and what drink or medicine I was drinking . If I have understood your answer correctly HIV has never been transferred from food or drinks even if contaminated in adults ?

Q2Can I be confident having dinner with my wife at restraunt without any fear of drinking or eating food regardless of gum and tooth conditions .

Mr Ed hook talks about saliva and gastrointestinal tract in the stomach and said nothing to worry about and gum conditions don't matter .hence I was only worried about can anything go through teeth of they are broken an access to blood stream

Q3) but is your answer HIV has never been transmitted this way in adults and no risk no worry ever forget about it and end this here ? No HIV test needed ?

New question “massage “ which you are masterful at is if I'm being massaged by HIV positive person at parlour . If my masseuse have bleeding fingers and have a hard massage what is the risk

Q4)will my skin protect me even if he nicks or cuts me with his bleeding hand or bruise . What needs to happen to penetrate the skin barrier of my scalp and face ?

Q5) if my skin protects me do pimples and some rash on my skin matter ? And if he pops my pimple from this we'll bleeding hand will it go into my blood stream from my pimple or rash . OR It doesn't matter and it's same as skin protection ?

Q6) if he uses creams and oils mixed with HIV blood or secretions from his hand would that matter can HIV survive on creams or lubricant or they will become in active

Q7) anyone infected by HIV by getting a massage regardless of skin condition or pimples one may have. ?

Over all how am I at risk when getting massaged on scalp , face skin by HIV positive person and do pimples or rash provide acesss to blood stream ? And can I get massaged in peace or should I let it go ?

H. Hunter Handsfield, MD

89 months ago

Q1) Yes, you correctly understand

Q2) Yes: no risk, no worry

Q3) No such transmissions are known

Q4-7) HIV is not known to have ever been transmitted by massage, regardless of pimples, other skin conditions, or because of contaminated massage creams or oils. You are at no risk from getting massaged, even by HIV infected persons. Just let it go.

---

89 months ago

Thank you for the clarification my worry about food and drinks is over thanks to you . I even read your question on environmental risk “q 1932”in which you have given your own personal example of eating dinner with HIV Friends .

My main question is to understand the” biological reason “. Why massage is risk free if you can provide that information I will have my answer . You have said it's a no risk that is wonderful but what I wanted to know “why is a no risk issue “

Therefore I have some general questions

Q) if I use sticker or tweezer to remove blackheads from the nose which are barely visible to the eye . If sticker if contaminated or tweezer is contaminated can it penetrate the skin on my nose and cause HIV or will the skin protect ? any one infected by removing blackheads from their skin ? And how does the skin barrier gets breached to cause HIV

Q2an explanation would really help on this sorry for repeating this but skins condition or getting your pimple poped by HIV infected hands which are bleeding or contaminated oil will not go through my pimples which have been popped if I understand correctly .in short pimple popping from infected bleeding hands or having contaminated fluids Poured On poped pimple & rashes =intact skin and nothing can enter blood stream ? It's all classified as intact skin and it just doesn't matter ? Can you explain ?

Q3) when you say HIV is deactivated in the environment that means hair oil if contaiminated even in liquid form . Air exposure would deactivate the virus ? Even though it never dries off and after leaving the human body it cannot survive in oil . Does air penetrate liquids if in a open bottle or poured on ones hand and would Deactivate it ? Or is HIV leaving the human body is enough to damage HIV as mr hook says

My main question as I said is to understand the biological reason how skin protects and why doesn't contact with HIV infected hands even though he maybe bleeding from infected HIV person lead to infection when being massaged what contact from human skin to skin has led to infection . “What cuts have led to infection from human to human by hands “ and has fightIng and playing sports collision ever lead to HIV ?

Mr hunter if you don't have the time to explain biological reasons right now I'll understand and if anything isn't clear may I come back to you next week or request to talk to you again only on this matter otherwise please provide valuable detailed information here thank you and god bless .

H. Hunter Handsfield, MD

89 months ago

These continue to be nonsensical questions. I have given you my general understanding of why there is low risk in all these and similar situations: not enough surviving virus having access to susceptiible cells. Beyond that, I can only guess at further biological reasons. But since there has NEVER been a single case of HIV transmitted by such kinds of exposure, there is obviously no risk and the biological reasons don't matter.

That's all I'll have to say about it. An no, you may not ask anything further about this. I will have nothing more to say either in this thread, which is now closed, or in a future one. The forum does not permit repeated questions on the same topic or exposure. Future new questions about this kind of exposure and your fears about HIV 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.

Best wishes and stay safe.

---