Hi

To have HIV passed to you when having sex you need a fluid that has HIV in it, for example vaginal fluid, blood, semen and rectal fluid, this fluid then needs a way into your body.

You’re correct in that for HIV to enter through the penis you would need to have the penis exposed to HIV infected fluid like vaginal fluid or rectal fluid. If the penis is not exposed to this fluid like in your example of genital rubbing with no sharing of body fluids and no penetration, HIV would not pass.

HIV does not survive for long when it leaves the body. It’s difficult to say for how long it will survive as it really depends on things like how much fluid there is, outside temperature etc.

Its sounds like you had genital to genital contact with no sharing of body fluids. We do not see HIV passing when having sex this way.

It can be common for someone to still be worried about HIV passing even when there is no chance it can pass. If you find you’re still concerned about HIV and what happened have a look at our worry page for some additional information.

Let us know if this does not answer your question or if you have any other questions or concerns.

Health Nurse