Can You Get HIV From A Kiss? Is It A Death Sentence?

Here’s what you need to know about the virus now, and what it’s like to live with it in your 20s.

- Adora Wong

HOW DOES SOMEONE GET HIV?

HIV is transmitted through the exchange of certain bodily fluids such as blood, semen, vaginal fluid, anal fluid and breast milk.

“These fluids must come into direct contact with a mucous membrane or damaged tissue or be directly injected into the bloodstream for transmission to occur,” says Dr Chester Lan of Dr. Tan & Partners @ Holland V.

Mucous membranes are found inside the rectum, vagina, penis and mouth, so HIV can be spread through vaginal sex, anal sex, breastfeeding, and contaminated injection needles with HIV blood.

It can also be spread through oral sex, but Dr Lan points out the odds of this happening are “extremely low” unless there are other factors involved.

“The risk increases when there are open sores on the mucous membranes, bleeding gums, oral contact with menstrual blood, and the presence of other sexually transmitted diseases (STDS),” he says.

There's no risk of getting HIV from regular social contact including holding hands and hugging, because the mentioned bodily fluids aren’t exchanged during these activities. HIV also can't be spread via saliva, sweat or urine, so the sharing of toilets and even food poses no risk. Closed-mouth kissing is also generally safe, except in the rare case that a person with HIV has blood in their mouth and the person receiving the kiss has a bleeding wound in the mouth (such as cuts, open sores and bleeding gums).

​CAN YOU TELL BY LOOKING?

It won't be easy. “Four out of five people exposed to HIV suffer from acute retroviral syndrome after one to four weeks,” says Dr Lan. “The symptoms can be quite similar to that of a bad cold.” They include fever, rash, headache, body aches, joint pains, ulcers, nausea, diarrhoea, lethargy, swollen lymph nodes and loss of appetite.