Ways of getting HIV

Someone can get HIVHIVA virus (human immunodeficiency virus) that affects the natural immune system. When someone…Read more through body fluids of people who already have HIV. HIV can be transmitted through:

• semenSemenThick white fluid that comes out of a man's penis when he ejaculates.…Read more;
• vaginal fluidVaginal fluidNatural fluid in the vagina. The vaginal fluid increases when a woman is…Read more;
• bloodBloodRed fluid that has important functions in the body, for example: carrying oxygen…Read more;
• breast-milkBreast-milkMilk from a woman's breast. Women can feed their baby with breast-milk.Read more.

Infected semen, vaginal fluid and blood from the menstrual period can enter your body via the mucous membraneMucous membraneA very thin layer of skin (membrane) on which there is a thick…Read more of the anusAnusOpening between the buttocks where faeces leave the body.Read more, glansGlansRound tip of the penis. The glans is the most sensitive part of…Read more of the penisPenisMale sexual organ. The penis is used for sex (ejaculation) or to urinate.Read more, vaginaVaginaPart of the inner sexual organs of a woman. The vagina connects the…Read more and mouth.

Infected blood can reach your blood directly by sharing used injectionInjectionWhen you have an injection, fluid (for example medicine or a liquid drug)…Read more material or through blood transfusionBlood transfusionTreatment in which you receive blood from someone else. The blood is given…Read more. Transmission through blood transfusion almost never happens in Europe, because the blood is tested for HIV.

Lastly, HIV can be transmitted through breast-milk when breast-feedingBreast-feedingA woman can breast-feed her baby with milk from her own breast, rather…Read more.

HIV cannot be transmitted through salivaSalivaFluid produced in your mouth.Read more.

Someone can get HIV through sexSexAll acts that can sexually arouse you. Sex is more than sexual intercourse.…Read more and through other ways of transmission.

Transmission through sexSexThe biological fact of being a woman (girl) or a man (boy). Sometimes,…Read more

• Through vaginal sexVaginal sexSex with penetration of the vagina.Read more or anal sexAnal sexSexual contact with penetration of the anus.Read more without a condom with someone who has HIV.
• There is only a very small riskRiskPossibility that something unpleasant may happen, for example a disease.Read more of getting HIV through oral sexOral sexStimulating someone else's sexual organs with your mouth or tongue. Oral sex for…Read more (if semen or blood from a person with HIV gets into your mouth and you have broken skin there).

With the right treatment, an HIV-positiveHIV-positiveYou are HIV-positive when you are infected with the HIV-virus. An HIV-positive person…Read more person is unable to transmit HIV when having sex without a condomCondomCovering of thin rubber that a man wears over his erect penis. A…Read more.

Transmission in other ways

• From mother to child during pregnancyPregnancyThe time when a woman is expecting a baby. The pregnancy begins when…Read more or deliveryDeliveryThe process of giving birth to a baby.Read more or when breast-feeding. With the right treatmentTreatmentCare and/or follow-up by a professionally trained person. Treatment can be given with…Read more, women with HIV can have healthy children.
• By sharing used injection material with someone with HIV.
• Through blood transfusion. This almost never happens in Europe, because the blood is tested for HIV.

No transmission through social contact

You cannot get HIV through social contact. For instance: by sharing a glass or plate with someone, by touching someone or by kissing or giving someone a French kissFrench kissA kiss given with an open mouth. The partners' tongues touch and move…Read more.

It is not possible to know if someone has HIV by looking at him/her.