HIV thru bleeding mouth

[veryshy]

Hi Experts,

    Here is a query that is troubling me .

I had a minor cut in my hand that was bleeding dropwise .
And I did handshakes with one of my factory workers .
Just after the hand shake I discovered that the fellow was also having a bleeding hand !

He is probably an HIV positive person,
I think it is rude to ask him directly .

I am worried till now if it is  a case of hiv transmission .
I have read modes of transmission and every where they mention direct blood contact is
one of them .

Experts, could you please comment on this ?

Thanks a lot in advance !


   

[Andy Velez]

HIV is a fragile virus which is not easily transmitted. It needs a welcoming environment.

Your incident is totally in the realm of what ifs. What IF the other man is HIV+. And what if your wound or whatever it was and his wound or whatever it was SOMEHOW bled into each other.

If such common occasions were a genuine risk for transmission we would have known so long before today. I have never known of transmission to occur in such a manner. Or through fight wounds or sports accidents and other similar happenings.

Please read our lesson on Transmission. You will find a link to it in the Welcome thread which is at the top of this section. It covers all the basics you need to know and follow to protect your health.

You are worrying needlessly.

And yes, it would be beyond rude to ask someone his HIV status.

This time out you have no cause for concern and certainly not for testing.

Cheers,

[veryshy]

Thanks, Andy for those assuring words !

   But, in a  polite discussion with that worker, I came to know that he is positive which he admitted .

Now, this is no longer a question of what-ifs , blood contact HAS taken place !
Surely I am worried .

 Also, I went through the lessons carefully, it mentions casual contact including handshakes is not a mode of tramsmission, but what if direct blood contact in the process has taken place....?

 Experts , if you could  please elaborate on this aspect of casual contact when DIRECT blood contact has taken place...

Many many thanks once again !

[Andy Velez]

Stop and think for a minute. Was blood pouring out of an open wound in his hand into a fresh, open bleeding wound in your hand?

I kinda think not because you'd be more concerned about your wounds than you would abou shaking hands.

Your mind maybe telling you otherwise but you were not at risk in that situation. A relatively fresh wound is not an unusual circumstance in daily life. And HIV simply doesn't get transmitted that way.

The risk you are talking about is strictly theoretical. If you are unwise enough to surf the net I can pretty much promise you that you will find disinformation to feed your fears. That still won't change the realities of HIV science and I say you were not at risk. Period. End of story.

[veryshy]

Hi all,

    Just today I had a bleeding mouth . While having lunch, a person served me a sweet . Instantly I took the sweet and put it in my mouth . I noticed that the person serving, had also a bleeding hand ,drops of blood
mixing with the sweets .

So far so good, then the person got to speak with me . He told his hiv positive status matter-of-factly .

   I was coming back, then this this thing strikes me....
What if the blood from his hand to sweet to my bleeding mouth ( which took barely seconds ) facilitate the transmission of HIV !

    I thoroughly read all the lessons here, and nowhere I find a similar situation .
All the time since,I m thinking if that way I can be infected,
my mouth was bleeding, I had kept the sweet inside my mouth for some time before chewing .

Please help....
Thanks a lot....

[Andy Velez]

What if, what if, what if.....

The reason you didn't find anything like that in the lesson is because HIV is not transmitted through such everyday kinds of situations. It looks and feels unique to you but it isn't. HIV is a fragile virus which requires a particular kind of friendly environment. We'd have known decades before today if it could be transmitted in such a manner.

AND your saliva contains elements which neutralize HIV in the unlikely event of it getting into your mouth in such a far-fetched manner.

This is a non-risk situation. There's no cause for concern nor for testing on your part. Really.

[Ann]

shy,

I've merged your new thread into your original thread - where you should post all your additional thoughts or questions. It helps us to help you when you keep all your additional thoughts or questions in one thread.

If you need help finding your thread when you come here, click on the "Show own posts" link under your name in the left-hand column of any forum page.

Please also read through the Welcome Thread so you can familiarize yourself with our Forum Posting Guidelines. Thank you for your cooperation.

I totally agree with Andy. You didn't have a risk.

Ann

[veryshy]

Thanks for the assuring words !
but I need more clarity on this,the media says
direct blood contact is one reason of transmission of hiv,
and here in the forum, it is a no-risk situation....

i am particularly scared, because food had hiv blood which
got in my BLEEDING mouth,i can say it is as good as direct blood contact...

Please help...

Thanks,

[RapidRod]

You can not get infected off of food or environmental surfaces. 

[Andy Velez]

You have received all the information for "clarity" that you need.

You're just listening to the fear and scary thoughts your mind is coming up with. Of course they have absolutely no basis in HIV science, but that seems to be irrelevant to you at this moment.

We've told you the accurate truth based in HIV science. What you do or don't do with that is up to you.

You were absolutely not at risk for HIV in this incident.

[Ann]

veryshy,

Successful hiv transmission normally occurs INSIDE the human body, as in unprotected anal or vaginal intercourse. Hiv is a very fragile virus that quickly becomes damaged when it is outside the body and when it is damaged, it CANNOT infect.

The ONLY type of blood to blood contact that MIGHT be a danger is if you were to (for instance) help a heavily bleeding person at the scene of an accident and you cut yourself deeply while helping and got some of their blood directly into your fresh, deep cut. Otherwise, blood in the environment is simply not an hiv danger.

Blood that might find its way into food would in NO WAY be an hiv danger. Not one person has EVER been infected this way and you will not be the first.

Ann