Hi, and thanks for your question

Well, the short answer is that your friend is absolutely right! HIV is not transmitted this way. It is not present in saliva, which is why we don’t see HIV passed through things like kissing. In addition, the virus does not survive outside the body for more than a second or two. So even if there was blood in her saliva, there isn’t really a risk for it to have entered your body in the encounter which you had described. Finally, we don’t even know if this person had HIV or not herself! If your sexual partner is HIV negative, then there is no risk to yourself of getting HIV from that person. 

In terms of this encounter, I would not be concerned. However, in general we always do recommend regular testing for sexually transmitted infections (STIs) between every 6-12 months for all sexually active individuals. A routine test would include screening for HIV, syphilis, chlamydia, and gonorrhea. These infections often do not have any symptoms at all, so it’s good to just get checked out once in a while.

Have a look at our Clinic Finder to help locate a clinic in your area.

You also might want to check out our STIs at a Glance and Know Your Chances charts for a basic overview of different STIs and how they are passed.

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