How are doctors so sure HIV cannot be transmitted by spit/saliva?!
Question: We can easily check body fluids for the amount of HIV present. Viral Load tests.
The only body fluids with enough HIV to transmit are blood, semen, vaginal fluids, and breast milk.
Saliva contains so few viruses (if any at all) that there is no where near enough to cause infection.
Not to mention the issue of that saliva getting inside another person's blood stream (fairly difficult unless there are major disruptions in the oral mucosa (skin on the inside of the mouth). We know that it takes a certain concentration of HIV to cause infection and so saliva simply cannot.
We also know that within saliva is an enzyme that seems to have HIV inhibitory effects.
If there were visible blood present in the saliva/spit then infection is possible, but still not likely --- it still would have to get inside another person's blood stream. If swallowed, stomach acid would take care of HIV instantly. To infect the other person it would have to avoid the inhibitory enzymes in saliva (and relative to other viruses, HIV is a weakling), and find an open cut, blister (eg recent major dental work, current STI lesion in the mouth,etc.,) And then find the appropriate cells to infect before it dies.
Pretty tough task.
So, that is why saliva/spit can't transmit HIV. If it could, we would have a LOT more people infected who have no risk factors (ie young children of HIV- parents, nuns, healthcare workers, personal support workers, ...) and that doesn't pan out either --- sort of the same reason we can tell HIV cannot be passed by mosquitoe: we would see a different pattern of infected people.
Hope this helps
Answers: We can easily check body fluids for the amount of HIV present. Viral Load tests.
The only body fluids with enough HIV to transmit are blood, semen, vaginal fluids, and breast milk.
Saliva contains so few viruses (if any at all) that there is no where near enough to cause infection.
Not to mention the issue of that saliva getting inside another person's blood stream (fairly difficult unless there are major disruptions in the oral mucosa (skin on the inside of the mouth). We know that it takes a certain concentration of HIV to cause infection and so saliva simply cannot.
We also know that within saliva is an enzyme that seems to have HIV inhibitory effects.
If there were visible blood present in the saliva/spit then infection is possible, but still not likely --- it still would have to get inside another person's blood stream. If swallowed, stomach acid would take care of HIV instantly. To infect the other person it would have to avoid the inhibitory enzymes in saliva (and relative to other viruses, HIV is a weakling), and find an open cut, blister (eg recent major dental work, current STI lesion in the mouth,etc.,) And then find the appropriate cells to infect before it dies.
Pretty tough task.
So, that is why saliva/spit can't transmit HIV. If it could, we would have a LOT more people infected who have no risk factors (ie young children of HIV- parents, nuns, healthcare workers, personal support workers, ...) and that doesn't pan out either --- sort of the same reason we can tell HIV cannot be passed by mosquitoe: we would see a different pattern of infected people.
Hope this helps
The amount of saliva one would need to cotract HIV is a lot, so unless you swallow a glass of someone's saliva, i am pretty sure that you won't get HIV, since you antibodies will probably kill what little HIV got into your system.
For proper care, it's helpful for a dentist to know that you're living with HIV because there are conditions that they will want to pay extra attention to. Finding a dentist who you trust, who's supportive and who can help you make informed treatment decisions is desirable.
If you don't already have a dentist who you trust and feel comfortable with, consider a referral from your doctor, a friend or an AIDS service organization. However, before you ultimately choose one and decide to disclose your status, you may want to talk to him or her yourself. Find out how experienced they are, get a feel for the overall atmosphere of the office, and discuss what information will be included in your file and what impact, if any, it may have on your insurance.
But I strongly disagree because alot of people have Bacteria and what if somebody bites their tongue and it bleeds and you spit someone swalles...suggest maybe this type of blood isn't so bad maybe it will come out of the bad bleeding areas but I'm not to sure
Good luck with finding your answer I'm looking forward to read peoples answers. Great Question