Can I get HIV from kissing on the cheek, or open-mouth or deep kissing (“swapping saliva”)?
HIV is not casually transmitted, so kissing on the cheek is very safe. Even if the other person has the virus, your unbroken skin is a good barrier. No one has become infected from such ordinary social contact as dry kisses, hugs, and handshakes. Open-mouth kissing is considered a very low-risk activity for the transmission of HIV because the amount of HIV in saliva is very small and relatively inactive. However, prolonged open-mouth kissing could damage the mouth or lips and allow HIV to pass from an infected person to a partner and then enter the body through cuts or sores in the mouth. Because of this possible risk, the CDC recommends against open-mouth kissing with an infected partner.
