SEXUAL HEALTH: Can I Get HIV From Sharing A Bath?

<p>One reader asks our sexual health expert Jose Perez De La Cruz, whether he is at risk from getting HIV from sharing a bath.</p> <p><img src="http://www.thegayuk.com/communities/8/004/009/928/388/images/4623817439.jpg" width="461" height="307" alt="CREDIT: © rdrgraphe | FILE PHOTO" title="CREDIT: © rdrgraphe | FILE PHOTO"/></p> <p></p><p>Dear TGUK,</p><p>I recently stayed around someone's house in the morning I had a bath before I left. I didn't know at the time (nor did he), but the lad has since told me that he's been tested HIV positive and it was likely that he caught it before our meet up.</p><p></p><p>The hook up we had was pretty safe. We used condoms and I've heard that you can't get HIV from blowjobs, so I'm assuming I'm okay. </p><p></p><p>I'm worried about the bath. can I catch HIV or any other infection from using the same bathtub as someone else?</p><p></p><p>I was in there for a good 30 minutes. Plenty of time for an infection to get in me.</p><p>Pls Help.</p><p></p><p>Tom</p><p></p><p></p><p>Hi Tom,</p><p></p><p>Relax. There is absolutely no chance you can catch HIV from a bath. HIV is a very fragile virus and would be dead within seconds even in normal air so such an environment would probably make this even quicker. </p><p></p><p>To catch HIV requires exposure to blood, semen, vaginal fluid, prostatic fluid (pre-cum) or contaminated breast milk. Even without allowing for the aforementioned fragility of the virus if one of these fluids, by some unlikely chance, had made its way into the bath water it would be so diluted that it would be unable to infect you. </p><p></p><p>The same applies to most other infections, bath water is not a very good medium for the growth of sexually transmitted pathogens.</p><p> </p><p>There is a very small risk you can catch HIV from blow jobs, the risk being slightly higher if you are giving the blow job and the person ejaculates in your mouth.</p><p> </p><p>As standard advice only, if you have any concerns about any sexual contact you have had I would recommend you attend your nearest sexual health clinic for a sexual health screen.</p><p></p><p>Have you got a sexual health query? Try our online sexual health clinic: <a href="http://www.sex.thegayuk.com/">http://www.sex.thegayuk.com</a> </p><p></p><p></p><p>INFORMATION PROVIDED FOR BY JOSE PEREZ DE LA CRUZ</p><p>THIS PAGE SHOULD NOT TAKE THE PLACE OF A VISIT TO YOUR GP, A&E OR A SEXUAL HEALTH CLINIC. INFORMATION PRINTED HERE IS FOR EXAMPLE ONLY. IF CONCERNED FOR YOUR HEALTH MAKE AN APPOINTMENT AS SOON AS POSSIBLE.</p><p> </p><p> </p>