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Free risk assessment

Bloodborne Exposure: HIV, Hep B, or Hep C Risk?

A non-sexual bloodborne exposure (a needlestick, a shared razor or toothbrush, a tattoo or piercing with unsterile equipment, a bite, a blood splash to the eyes or mouth) can transmit HIV, hepatitis B, or hepatitis C, and each one has a different response. This weighs your exposure across all three at once: HIV, where PEP must start within 72 hours; hepatitis B, where a vaccine and a post-exposure shot exist; and hepatitis C, which has no PEP and is handled by testing and monitoring. It is a guide, not a diagnosis. For the detailed HIV PEP decision, including sexual exposures, use our PEP tool at /do-i-need-pep.

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Americans living with HIV
1.2M
~13% don't know their status
New diagnoses (2022)
~39,000
CDC estimate
Effective on ART
U=U
Undetectable = Untransmittable
Life expectancy on ART
Near-normal
when diagnosed and treated early

How it works

How this assessment works

  • Grounded in public-health guidance

    The questions, and how heavily each answer counts, follow the risk factors and symptoms the CDC and WHO describe for HIV.

  • A risk guide, not a diagnosis

    Your answers produce a risk level, how concerned to be, and flag anything that needs urgent care. Only a lab test can confirm or rule out an infection.

  • Private by design

    It runs in your browser. We never ask for your name, email, or anything that identifies you.

About HIV/AIDS

What is HIV/AIDS?

Some exposures have nothing to do with sex. A needle you didn't mean to catch, a razor or toothbrush shared in a shared bathroom, a tattoo or piercing done somewhere that reused its equipment, a bite that broke the skin, a splash of someone else's blood into your eye or mouth: any of these can, in the right circumstances, pass a bloodborne virus. Three matter here, and they behave differently, which is the whole reason to look at them together rather than one at a time.

HIV is the one with a clock: post-exposure prophylaxis (PEP) can stop it from taking hold, but it has to start within 72 hours, and the detailed timing decision lives in our PEP tool. Hepatitis B is the most infectious of the three through blood, but it is also the one you can already be protected from: if you completed the vaccine series you are largely covered, and if you are not, there is a post-exposure shot. Hepatitis C is the odd one out: no vaccine, no PEP, so the answer there is to test and monitor, with a cure available if it is found. This check weighs your specific exposure across all three; it is a guide, not a diagnosis.

Many infections are silent. A low result here doesn't rule hiv out: if you've had a new partner or any concern, testing is the only way to be sure.

Screening guidance

Who should get tested for HIV/AIDS?

Because HIV/AIDS is often silent, the CDC recommends routine screening for the groups most likely to have it, not just people with symptoms.

  1. 1

    You had a recent high-risk exposure

    A needlestick or a real blood exposure from a source who is (or might be) HIV positive or has hepatitis is a reason to act now, not later. HIV PEP is a 72-hour window and hepatitis B has a post-exposure option, so go to urgent care or an ER the same day and use our PEP tool for the HIV timing.

  2. 2

    You share, or have shared, injection equipment

    Sharing needles or other injection equipment is the single biggest bloodborne route for hepatitis C and a major one for HIV and hepatitis B. Test now, and test regularly if the exposure is ongoing.

  3. 3

    You got a tattoo or piercing somewhere unregulated

    Reused or improperly sterilised tattoo and piercing equipment can carry hepatitis B and hepatitis C. If you are unsure the shop's practices were clean, a baseline test and a follow-up test after the window are worth it.

  4. 4

    You are not sure of your hepatitis B vaccination status

    Hepatitis B is the one bloodborne virus here you can be immune to. If you don't know whether you completed the vaccine series, testing can confirm both your immunity and whether you carry an infection.

Timing

When a HIV/AIDS test is reliable

The three viruses clear their windows at different speeds, so testing is staged. HIV shows up earliest, roughly 10 to 45 days depending on the test (an RNA test is fastest, a 4th-generation antigen/antibody test a bit later). Hepatitis B surface antigen becomes detectable around 3 to 6 weeks. Hepatitis C is the slowest by antibody, about 8 to 11 weeks, though an HCV RNA test can turn positive from roughly 1 to 2 weeks. A common approach is a baseline test soon after exposure to establish your starting point, then follow-up testing across these windows.
None of this replaces same-day care for a genuine high-risk exposure. If you may need HIV PEP or hepatitis B post-exposure prophylaxis, that decision comes first and does not wait for a test result.

Your HIV/AIDS testing window

After a possible exposure, a HIV/AIDS test becomes reliable around 10 to 45 days (RNA / 4th-gen antibody).

Exposure Day 0 Earliest reliable Day 10 Conclusive Day 45

Before day 10 a test can miss it · from day 10 it's reliable · re-test after day 45 if you tested early.

Free tool · not a clinic

When can I test? Exposure-window calculator

Testing too soon can miss an infection. Enter the date of possible exposure to see the earliest a test can reliably detect each STI.

Full HIV/AIDS testing guide: cost, treatment & where to test

Stats & rates

HIV/AIDS in the United States

Gay, bisexual, and other men who have sex with men account for 67% of new HIV diagnoses. Black/African American individuals are disproportionately affected, 38% of new diagnoses while representing 13% of the population. With modern ART, people diagnosed with HIV and started on treatment early can expect near-normal lifespans.

39k
New HIV diagnoses (US) (2022)
1.2M
People living with HIV in the US

Medically Reviewed · Updated

Reviewed by Mark Riegel, MD · Sexual Health Physician · Chief Medical Reviewer

Physician focused on sexual health, STI testing, treatment and prevention, and EasySTD's chief medical reviewer. Owns the condition guides and is the clinical backstop for any page without a more specific specialist. Our editorial guidelines →

8 Sources

Data & references

Good to Know

HIV FAQs

What people ask most before testing for hiv.

Which infections can a bloodborne exposure pass, and how do the risks compare?

HIV, hepatitis B, and hepatitis C are the three bloodborne viruses of concern after a blood exposure. They are not equally infectious. After a needlestick from a known positive source, hepatitis B carries the highest per-exposure risk (very roughly up to about 1 in 3 if you are unvaccinated and the source is highly infectious), hepatitis C is in the middle (very roughly around 1 in 50), and HIV is the lowest of the three (very roughly around 1 in 300). Vaccination status, how deep the injury was, and how much blood was involved all change the real number.

How is this different from your PEP tool?

Our /do-i-need-pep tool answers one question: do you need HIV PEP, for either a sexual or a needle exposure, and how fast. This tool is broader on the exposure side and narrower on nothing: it covers the non-sexual bloodborne routes people forget (a shared razor or toothbrush, an unsterile tattoo or piercing, a human bite, a blood splash) and it splits your risk across all three bloodborne viruses at once, because hep B and hep C need their own response that PEP does not cover. If HIV PEP looks relevant here, we send you to the PEP tool for the timing decision rather than repeat it.

Does hepatitis C have PEP like HIV does?

No. There is no post-exposure prophylaxis and no vaccine for hepatitis C. After a possible exposure the correct response is to test and monitor: a baseline test, then follow-up HCV RNA and antibody testing over the following weeks. The reassuring part is that if an infection is confirmed, hepatitis C is now curable for most people with a short course of direct-acting antiviral tablets, so catching it is what matters.

I am fully vaccinated against hepatitis B. Am I still at risk?

If you completed the hepatitis B vaccine series and responded to it, you are very well protected and hepatitis B is generally not a concern after an exposure. That is why this tool scores hepatitis B down to essentially zero once you confirm you are fully vaccinated. HIV and hepatitis C are not vaccine-preventable, so they still need to be considered regardless of your hep B status.

The blood only touched intact skin. Do I need to worry?

Blood on intact, unbroken skin is essentially not a transmission route for HIV, hepatitis B, or hepatitis C. Risk comes from blood reaching your bloodstream or a mucous membrane: a needlestick or cut, a splash into the eyes, nose, or mouth, or contact with broken or damaged skin (a fresh wound, dermatitis, an open sore). If the contact was intact skin only, wash the area and your practical risk is very low.

Have a different question? Browse the full STD & STI FAQ library, every question we answer, in one place.

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