Can HIV or hepatitis spread through hand-to-face contact?

Question

Hello doctor,

I wanted to know how the infection spread. How can a person get HIV or hepatitis from their eye, mouth, nose, or mucous membranes? If I have little blood, urine, semen, or saliva on my hands and these bodily fluids are from a person suffering from some infection like HIV or hepatitis, can I get these from surfaces that this person touched? Even though my hands appear to be clean, I cannot even see them. If I then use my hands to contact anything or someone else, can I infect them? Could I contract the infection if I touched my eye, nose, or mouth with infected hands? Please explain to me in detail.

Thank you.

Answer 1

Hello,

Welcome to icliniq.com.

I have read the query, and I can understand your concern.

HIV (Human immunodeficiency virus) and hepatitis can infect a person by blood or sexual activity through the vagina or anus. HIV cannot be spread by contact, saliva, or skin-to-skin contact with contaminated sperm. Only shared IV (intravenous) drug needles or sexual activity can transfer it, the same as hepatitis C. None of them are spread through skin contact, bodily fluids, or touch. Both can be spread by sexual contact, blood transfusions from infected donors, or IV drug usage needles. No, you cannot infect yourself with your contaminated hands. The viruses are weak and will not survive on your hands or skin to spread through simple contamination.

Even if your hands are contaminated, you cannot spread an infection by touching someone. To transfer an infection like HIV or HCV (Hepatitis C), you must have a sexual encounter with that person when you have the virus in your blood.

I hope this will help you.

Thank you.