How can hiv not be transmitted

From living in the same house as someone who is HIV positive. From a sewing needle if you stab your finger. From blood on a bus seat that went through your underwear. Cleaning nail clippers.

Getting sexual fluid on skin. Getting sexual fluid on a cut that has already healed over. A cut has to be open to be a risk of HIV.

Health Conditions Discover Plan Connect. Share on Pinterest. Treatment as prevention. CDC backing could help lessen stigma. Written by Whitney Akers — Updated on April 24, The medicine is then no longer effective and the virus starts to reproduce to the same extent as before. If two or more antiretroviral medicines are taken together, the rate at which resistance develops can be reduced substantially.

Effective antiretroviral therapy also prevents the transmission of HIV. When a person living with HIV is taking effective antiretroviral therapy and has a suppressed viral load HIV can no longer be transmitted through sex. Commonly used HIV tests detect the antibodies produced by the immune system in response to HIV, as they are much easier and cheaper to detect than the virus itself. Antibodies are produced by the immune system in response to an infection.

For most people, it takes a month for these antibodies to develop. Antibodies can be found in blood or oral fluid. Generally, it is recommended that you wait three months after possible exposure before being tested for HIV.

Although HIV antibody tests are very sensitive, there is a window period of up to two months, depending on the specific test being used, which is the period between infection with HIV and the appearance of detectable antibodies to the virus. In the case of the most sensitive anti-HIV tests currently recommended, the window period is about three weeks. This period may be longer if less-sensitive tests are used.

During the window period, people infected with HIV have no antibodies in their blood that can be detected by an HIV test. However, the person may already have high levels of HIV in their body fluids, such as blood, semen, vaginal fluids and breast milk. Knowing your HIV status has two vital benefits. Firstly, if you are HIV-infected, you can start treatment promptly, thereby potentially prolonging your life for many years see question Secondly, if you know you are infected, you can take all the necessary precautions to prevent the spread of HIV to others see question There are many places where you can be tested for HIV: in the offices of a private doctor, a local health department, hospitals, family planning clinics and sites specifically set up for HIV testing.

Always try to find testing at a place where counselling is provided about HIV. However you should go and see your health-care provider in the event of a positive test result for confirmation and seeking appropriate treatment. All people taking an HIV test must give informed consent prior to being tested. The results of the test must be kept absolutely confidential.

Confidential HIV test: the medical professionals handling the HIV test keep the result of the test confidential within the medical records. Results cannot be shared with another individual unless written permission is provided by the person tested. Instead, a code or number is assigned to the test, which allows the individual being tested to receive the results of the test.

No records are kept that would link the person to the test. Shared confidentiality is encouraged and refers to confidentiality that is shared with others, who might include family members, loved ones, caregivers and trusted friends. However, care should be taken when revealing the results as it can lead to discrimination in health-care and professional and social settings.

Shared confidentiality is therefore at the discretion of the person who will be tested. Thanks to new treatments, people living with HIV can now live long, healthy lives. It is very important to make sure you have a doctor who knows how to treat HIV. A health-care professional or trained HIV counsellor can provide counselling and help you to find an appropriate doctor.

A negative test result means that no HIV antibodies were found in your blood at the time of testing. If you are negative, make sure you stay that way: learn the facts about HIV transmission and avoid engaging in unsafe behaviour. However, there is still a possibility of being infected, since it can take up to three months for your immune system to produce enough antibodies to show infection in a blood test.

It is advisable to be retested at a later date and to take appropriate precautions in the meantime. During the window period, a person is highly infectious, and should therefore take measures to prevent any possible transmission.

HIV is not spread by mosquitoes or other biting insects. Even if the virus enters a mosquito or another sucking or biting insect, it cannot reproduce in the insect. HIV is not transmitted by day-to-day contact in social settings, schools or the workplace.

Anyone who has condom-less sex, shares injecting equipment or has a transfusion with contaminated blood can become infected with HIV. Infants can be infected with HIV from their mothers during pregnancy, during labour or after delivery through breastfeeding.

You cannot tell if someone has HIV by just looking at them. A person infected with HIV may look healthy and feel good, but they can still pass the virus to you. Yes, you can have more than one sexually transmitted infection at the same time. Each infection requires its own treatment. You cannot become immune to sexually transmitted infections.

You can catch the same infection over and over again. Many men and women do not see or feel any early symptoms when they first become infected with a sexually transmitted infection; however, they can still infect their sexual partner.

If the antiretroviral therapy is effective and the virus is fully suppressed, you cannot transmit HIV to others. For this reason, monitoring of the suppression of the viral load is recommended as part of ongoing care for people living with HIV.

As in the general population, older people living with HIV or people living with HIV with heart or lung problems may be at a higher risk of becoming infected with the virus and of suffering more serious symptoms.

Lessons in rolling out innovations or adapting service delivery to minimize the impact on people living with HIV will be shared and replicated as they become available. Until more is known, people living with HIV—especially those with advanced or poorly controlled HIV disease—should be cautious and pay attention to the prevention measures and recommendations. People living with HIV should protect themselves and others from the virus that causes COVID in the same way that all people are advised to reduce exposure:.

UNAIDS recognizes, however, that in many countries, owing to weaker health-care systems, informal settlements, overcrowded cities and public transportation and a lack of clean water and sanitation, the current approaches to self-protection, social distancing and containment may not be viable.

This includes both antiretroviral therapy and other regular medicines, such as tuberculosis treatment, contraceptives and other ongoing treatment for noncommunicable diseases and mental health. Although this has not yet been widely implemented in all countries, UNAIDS calls on all countries to provide such multimonth dispensing.

Know how to contact your clinic by telephone in the event that you need advice. Insects do not become infected and their saliva does not contain the virus.

Blood-sucking insects, such as mosquitoes, do not inject blood into the next person they bite. HIV is not spread by touching common objects such as toilet seats or faucet handles. Current as of: September 23, Author: Healthwise Staff. Medical Review: E.

This information does not replace the advice of a doctor. Healthwise, Incorporated disclaims any warranty or liability for your use of this information.