1. Can HIV be transmitted through body to body contact with cuts and wounds present? For example, if an infected person A has broken blisters (with fluids), cuts, or sores on the body (like on the feet), and the other person B has cuts/wounds on the hands. If B touches A’s feet, are there risks of infection? What if there is a small amount of fresh blood present (on either person’s body)?

2. Can HIV be transmitted through touching blood? By this I mean blood to skin contact. For example, if an infected person A’s fingers get cut, and some blood drops onto person B’s skin. Are there risks? What if B has cuts/wounds?

3. Can HIV be transmitted by kissing the body of an infected person? What about kissing the wounds/cuts?

Thank you.

3. If I get cut by pieces of glass (like a broken mobile phone, if that makes senses) immediately after an infected person left his fresh infected blood on the pieces, are there risks?

Some questions can be accurately managed based on the title the user selects for his or her question, before reading much else. That's true here. Household contacts of people with HIV never become infected if there is no sex or needle sharing among them -- or so rarely that there are no reported cases of it happening, even after years of sharing toilets, towels, kitchens, eating utensils, etc. Are you or a family member infected? If not, and if nobody in the household is at high risk, of course there is nothing to worry about. My replies below assume you know that you or someone in the household has HIV.

1. Common sense applies and standard rules of hygiene should be followed. The person with the skin lesion should keep it covered, and others in potential close contact should wash hands (or use alcohol gel) afterword, e.g. with helping the injured person with a band-aid. However, contact of such small amounts of infected blood or fluids on skin is entirely risk free; so no big worry if there is a lapse in hygiene, for example.

2. No, HIV is not transmitted simply ty touching blood with intact skin. Even healing wounds, pimples, bleeding minor injuries, etc carry little if any risk.

3a. HIV is not transmitted by oral/mouth contact with skin, anywhere on the body. On basic hygienic principles, it's probably best to not kiss obvious wounds. but here too there would be little or no risk if it happened.

3b. Nobody in the world has ever been known to be HIV infected from such an event.

All in all, no risk and nothing to worry about. Even if someone in the family has HIV, you can be confident nobody else will be infected, assuming no sexual or blood sharing (like using the same needles).

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

HHH, MD

I am a young male, and I visit sex workers several times a year. I get tested once a year. My worry is my parents’ health. I sometimes live with my parents. I have a few follow-up questions.

1. Yesterday I shaved using a razor, and I put my razor on my desk. Today I found out that my mom cleaned up my desk and put my razor in the bathroom. I used tissue to cover the razor yesterday. I also washed my razor after shaving. I don’t want to talk about HIV with my parents. If my mother gets cut by my razor, are there any risks? I see you mentioned that HIV becomes non-infectious almost immediately after exposure to the environment. So can I safely assume that 2 hours after shaving, my razor (washed and covered by tissue) is completely safe?

2. Do you have any other suggestions?

I just asked my mother. She said she doesn’t remember being cut by my razor. At least, I think that means there are no very significant cuts. I don’t want to discuss HIV with my parents. I just want to make sure that my parents are safe.

My only other suggestion is that you educate yourself; believe the reasoned, science based reassurance I have given you; stay safe in your sexual life; and don't worry about transmitting HIV or other STIs to your household members. There is no risk for that. (Please carefully re-ready my replies above.)