Getting HIV From Needle Use: Less Common Ways ?

What are some of the less common ways of getting HIV from needle use?

It's possible to get HIV by sharing needles for injecting medicines that have been prescribed by your doctor for medical purposes (like insulin to treat diabetes) or from reused tattoo or piercing needles, ink, or other equipment.

What we know about less common ways that you can get HIV from needle use:

The risk for getting or transmitting HIV is very high if an HIV-negative person shares needles with someone who has HIV. + It's also possible to get HIV from tattooing or body piercing if the equipment used for these procedures has someone else's blood in it or if the ink is shared. The risk of getting HIV from tattooing or body piercing is higher when the person doing the procedure is unlicensed, because of the potential for unsanitary practices such as sharing needles or ink. There are no known cases in the United States of anyone getting HIV this way.

About 1 out of every 10 HIV diagnoses in the United States is from injection drug use. The average chance that an HIV-negative person will get HIV from a needle stick when the needle is known to contain HIV-infected blood is 24 out of 10,000 exposures.

What you can do

If you inject prescription drugs for medical purposes, be sure to use new, sterile needles each time you inject. Never share your needles with anyone. If you get a tattoo or a body piercing, be sure that the person doing the procedure is properly licensed and that they use only new sterile needles, ink, and other supplies.

Additional Resources

Which behaviors put you at greatest risk of getting or transmitting HIV?

Tattoos and body piercings and HIV

Learn about the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention's HIV prevention campaigns:

Act Against AIDS: Encouraging all Americans to learn more about HIV/AIDS.