Aids how can you get it

HIV can be transmitted from a mother to her baby during pregnancy, birth, or breastfeeding. However, it is less common because of advances in HIV prevention and treatment. You are at high risk for getting HIV if you share needles, syringes, or other drug injection equipment for example, cookers with someone who has HIV. Never share needles or other equipment to inject drugs, hormones, steroids, or silicone. There is little to no risk of getting HIV from the activities below.

For transmission to occur, something very unusual would have to happen. Skip directly to site content Skip directly to page options Skip directly to A-Z link. Section Navigation. Because symptoms can be mild at first, people with HIV might not know they're infected. They can spread HIV to others without knowing it. The best way to protect yourself from HIV is to not have sex vaginal, oral, or anal and not share needles.

Understanding how HIV spreads can help you make safer choices about sex. Talk to your doctor if you have any questions about HIV and if you want to get tested.

Getting stuck with an HIV-contaminated needle or other sharp object. This is a risk mainly for health care workers. The risk is very low. HIV is spread only in extremely rare cases by: Having oral sex. The risk is extremely small these days because of rigorous testing of the U. Being bitten by a person with HIV. Each of the very small number of documented cases has involved severe trauma with extensive tissue damage and the presence of blood.

There is no risk of transmission if the skin is not broken. Contact between broken skin, wounds, or mucous membranes and HIV-infected blood or blood-contaminated body fluids. Deep, open-mouth kissing if both partners have sores or bleeding gums and blood from the HIV-positive partner gets into the bloodstream of the HIV-negative partner.

HIV is not spread through saliva. Eating food that has been pre-chewed by a person with HIV. The only known cases are among infants. There are other ways to prevent getting or transmitting HIV through injection drug use and sexual activity. Was this page helpful?