Question:

Hi. Never been to this web-site...hopefully it will help.
My wife and I have our in-laws baby-sit our new baby during the week when we are both at work. Living with them is my wife's brother who is HIV positive. He is a good guy, going to school, etc. The other day he was holding him (my baby) and wiped some spittle from his lips with his finger. It freaked me out. I'm fairly well educated and know that to transmit the disease there has to be an exchange of bodily fluid. Over the weekend my son slightly cut himself with his nails in his sleep. I'm thinking open cut...even though it's tiny...what could happen...it's starting to way on my imagination. Am I being totally paranoid?
Thanks for any information you can provide.

Answer provided by:

Donna Sweet, M.D.
Professor of Internal Medicine
University of Kansas School of Medicine - Wichita

The ways in which HIV can be transmitted have been clearly identified by the Center for Disease Control and narrowed to specific body fluids that are concerns for transmission. HIV is spread by sexual contact with an infected person, by sharing needles and/or syringes (primarily for drug injection) with someone who is infected, or, less commonly (and now very rarely in countries where blood is screened for HIV antibodies), through transfusions of infected blood or blood clotting factors. Babies born to HIV-infected women may become infected before or during birth or through breast-feeding after birth.

HIV is not transmitted by casual contact in the home. Kissing, hugging and sharing of eating utensils and other normal household objects is not a risk for transmission. A tiny cut such as you have described does not place your son at risk, the body has an excellent defense system and seals such a cut rapidly and an open cut must come in contact with infected blood to cause any exposure at all.

There has been a rare occurrence of transmission in a household setting but such transmission was as a result of direct contact with infected blood. Precautions for transmission through blood such as the sharing of razors and toothbrushes should be avoided. As in any setting, gloves should be worn during contact with blood or other body fluids that could possibly contain visible blood, such as urine, feces, or vomit.
I hope this quiets your fears.

Your child can safely enjoy being with his Uncle and you can rest assured he is not placing your child at risk from contracting this disease by holding, wiping spittle or providing for his daily needs in any way.

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