How HIV Spreads: Myths and Facts

Q: I've heard you can get HIV from swimming in pools or sharing a towel. Is that true?

A: There is no evidence that HIV can be spread through swimming in pools or sharing towels. There is also no evidence that you can get HIV from:

• Kissing
• Sharing food utensils
• Sharing bedding
• Toilet seats
• Telephones
• Mosquito or other insect bites.

Casual contact in the home, workplace, or public spaces poses no risk of HIV transmission.

HIV infection can be passed from person to person in any of the following ways:

• Unprotected sexual intercourse (heterosexual or homosexual anal, vaginal or oral sex) with an infected person
• A contaminated transfusion (extremely rare in the United States since 1985, when blood products started being tested for HIV)
• Needle sharing when using illicit drugs (if one user is infected)
• Occupational exposure (needle stick with infected blood)
• Artificial insemination with infected semen
• Organ transplant taken from an HIV-infected donor
• Pregnant women can pass the virus to their babies before or during birth or through breastfeeding.

How to decrease your chances of getting infected

Right now, there is no vaccine for HIV, although several are being tested. You can decrease your chances of getting HIV by avoiding high-risk behaviors. To decrease the risk of HIV infection:

• Have sex with only one partner who is also committed to having sex with only you. Consider getting tested together for HIV prior to becoming sexually active.
• Use condoms with each act of sexual intercourse.
• Never share needles. This applies if you use intravenous drugs, inject steroids, or use other injectable medications.
• If you are a health care worker, strictly follow universal precautions (the established infection-control procedures to avoid contact with bodily fluids).
• If you are a woman thinking about becoming pregnant, consider getting tested for HIV beforehand. Pregnant women who are HIV-positive need special prenatal care and medications to decrease the chances of passing the virus to their babies.
• If you believe you may have been exposed to HIV (through sexual contact or through exposure to blood, such as through a needle containing infected blood), medications may help prevent HIV infection before it takes hold in the body. These drugs should be taken as soon as possible but not more than 72 hours (3 days) after exposure. If you think you may have been exposed, call your doctor or go directly for urgent care immediately.

Also on This Topic:

• HIV Infection Worries: What's the Best Test?
• HIV and AIDS: From Flu-Like Symptoms to Life-Threatening Infections
• Fighting the Virus: Treatment Options for HIV and AIDS
• Life Expectancy after HIV Infection: Getting Better All the Time