Still Afraid... What Do I Do? - TheBody.com's Bulletin Boards

I don't want to pre-empt Shane but he is right, there is more than more one possible mode of transmission in the "deep kissing" case. Here's an excerpt I pulled from the JAMA site:

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Although the exact route of transmission in this report cannot be determined, the most likely possibility is that the woman became infected through mucous membrane exposure to the man’s saliva that was contaminated by blood from his bleeding gums or exudate from undetected oral lesions. Such exposure may have occurred during "deep kissing"; the woman’s inflamed gingival mucosa, as indicated by her dental and medical records, might have been a contributing factor. Exposure to saliva uncontami-nated with blood is considered to be a rare mode of HIV transmission for at least five reasons: 1) saliva inhibits HIV-1 infectivity (4); 2) HIV is infrequently isolated from saliva (5); 3) none of the approximately 500,000 cases of AIDS reported to CDC have been attributed to exposure to saliva; 4) levels of HIV are low in the saliva of HIV-infected persons, even in the presence of periodontal disease (6); and 5) transmission of HIV in association with kissing has not been documented in studies of nonsexual household contacts of HIV-infected persons (7). However, rare bite-related instances of HIV transmission from exposure to saliva contaminated with HIV-infected blood have been reported (8,9).

Other exposures of the woman to the man’s blood or semen cannot be excluded. Although occasional instances of oral sex did not reportedly involve the exchange of semen or blood between the persons in this report, these routes of transmission cannot definitively be excluded. Sexual exposure through vaginal intercourse is a plausible mechanism of transmission for the case described in this report; however, other studies of couples in which one partner is HIV-infected and the other is not indicate that HIV transmission is rare when heterosexual couples use condoms consistently during vaginal intercourse (10). If a condom is not used correctly, it may slip off or break, thereby reducing its effectiveness as a barrier to HIV. However, for this case, both partners could not recall any instances of condom slippage or breakage during the time infection was likely to have occurred. In addition, although the shared use of a toothbrush or razor are theoretically plausible routes of transmission, the woman recalled that each event occurred only once, and she could not specify whether either event occurred during the period when transmission most likely occurred.

The findings of this investigation underscore the multiple routes by which exposure to infectious body fluids can occur among sexually intimate persons. Uninfected persons considering intimate relationships with persons known to be infected with HIV should be educated about the rare possibility of HIV transmission through mucous membrane exposures. Persons choosing to have sex with HIV-infected persons or persons with unknown HIV serostatus should correctly use latex condoms (for men) during each act of intercourse and should avoid any other exposure to potentially infectious body fluids, including blood, semen, or any other body fluid visibly contaminated with blood.
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There are other diseases easily transmitted through a kiss like mono. Rarer would be hepatitis and syphilis. I'll have to say that if kissing in any form transmitted HIV, we would have more cases of infected people reaching quite possibly in the millions.

Forgive yourself. Educate to empower yourself.

Cheers!
PVS

PS..if your anxiety is getting to you, 900 mg of St. John's Wort might help. =)

Post Extras: Remind Me!