Your age, sex, race, ethnic group, religion, income, or sexual orientation does not matter – anyone can get infected with HIV.
You can get HIV in these ways:
• By having sex without using a condom with someone who has HIV.
• By sharing needles, syringes, or other equipment or works (spoons, cotton, bottle caps) that have already been used by someone who has HIV to shoot drugs, steroids, or even vitamins or medicine.
• Women with HIV can pass the virus to their babies during pregnancy, delivery, or breastfeeding.
• Healthcare workers can get HIV if they get stuck with needles that have
blood or body fluids with HIV. This can happen by accident
at work.
You cannot get HIV from:
• casual contact – being near someone who has HIV or by shaking hands, touching, or hugging someone with HIV
• someone with HIV sneezing or coughing near you or on you
• someone’s tears, saliva, or sweat
• sharing drinking glasses, plates, forks, knives, or spoons
• using public bathrooms and drinking fountains
• mosquito bites or other bug bites
• swimming pools or hot tubs
• pets
