Please help me..I lost it !!

[horrifiedandscared]

Hello

Yesterday I went to a lab to get some blood tests done...I was watching the nurse as she took the vacutainer needle from the drawer (unwrapped) then attached it to the test tube and drew my blood....I was pretty nervous andscared since the needle was unwrapped but only capped but out of stupidity I didnt mention a thing...now, I am cmpletely freaked out. What if the needle has been used before. What if by mistake thehurse used a used needle..what id the needle was containing hiv infected blood..

please assess my risk....I am completely freaked out over this !!

[Andy Velez]

I can't help wondering if you will believe me when I tell you that I don't see any HIV risk in relation to this incident.

Your fears are all in the realm of "what ifs," which is a dangerous place for your mind to wander in.

This is your mind busily coming up with stuff to scare you with. Call the clinic if you want to and ask to speak to an appropriate person about their procedures.

I don't know what your history is in relation to HIV nor to medical matters in general so I can't know if this kind of fear is typical of your experience.

What I do know is that any lab which is in the business of testing takes certain precautions as a standard practice. Nothing you hae described suggests to me that your what ifs are justified.

[horrifiedandscared]

Thanks for your reply andy.

I have another question...recently I went out with a girl which I know nothing about and at the end of the date, we kissed. It was not a long kiss and not even much tongue involved. The only tongue involvment was when she licked my lower lip a bit. I should add that I have a history of bad gums that sometimes bleed on their own. I read somewhere that the mounth (tongue and lips) are mucous membranes and that the cells that get infected with HIV are found in these places so that got me abit worried.

Am I at any risk of HIV infection?

Thanks again

[Andy Velez]

No, you were not at risk during that kissing episode. Please read the lesson about transmission on this site. You can find the link to it in the first thread in this section.

HIV is going to be with us for a longtime to come and you need to become better informed about the basics for your health and for your peace of mind.

There's no need for further concern about your kissing episode.

Cheers,

[horrifiedandscared]

but isnt the mouth a mucous membrane? and if it is, why is kissing still not a risk if blood was involved ?

[Andy Velez]

Your saliva acts as a protector. It has a subtance which neutralizes HIV, IF the person you were with was actually HIV+ and bleeding into your mouth.

You can come up with all the what ifs you want to. Transmission just doesn't happen that way.

[horrifiedandscared]

my lips were dry when she licked them so I dont think that my saliva could have deactivated the virus if it was present...how much saliva is needed to deactivated the virus?

[RapidRod]

Kissing is not a vector for the transmission of HIV.

[Andy Velez]

You do seem to have lost it and I am not willing to indulge you any further in your unwarranted fears which have absolutely no basis in HIV science.

I decline the task of further attempting to convince you that you are worrying needlessly.

 

[horrifiedandscared]

I thought this forum was about asking questions and getting answers for them. Excuse me if I am not an expert in HIV like u guys atnd I came here to ask...yes, I maybe worrying needlessly but until I know why HIV cannot be transmitted in this manner I will keep on worrying especialy that there has been a case of HIV transmission via kissing . But anyway, I wont bother you guys with my worries coz u seem to be very short tempered !!

Anyways, thanks for your help

[RapidRod]

For one, it never happened. You didn't have your blood drawn with a used needle. Now if you believe the kissing story, you sure have a lot of problems ahead of you in life.

[ScienceGuy25]

I thought this forum was about asking questions and getting answers for them. Excuse me if I am not an expert in HIV like u guys atnd I came here to ask...yes, I maybe worrying needlessly but until I know why HIV cannot be transmitted in this manner I will keep on worrying especialy that there has been a case of HIV transmission via kissing . But anyway, I wont bother you guys with my worries coz u seem to be very short tempered !!

Anyways, thanks for your help

Horrified

The reason people may be getting a little short tempered with you is that it doesn't seem that you're taking the time to learn the lessons and educate yourself on HIV transmission, rather you seem content on irrationally trying to determine how you will get infected from kissing.

You need to slow down and start thinking like a rational person.  EVEN IF (and thats a big IF) there was a confirmed case of someone getting the virus from kissing what do you think the chances really are of that happening.  In this world of 6.5 billion people, how many kisses do you think happen each day? We're talking about more than trillions of kisses since HIV started infecting the human race and maybe, according to you, one person became infected from kissing......Think about it........If this doesn't make sense to you and you cant grasp the issue in a rational, logical matter than you need to realize your problem is not HIV related but ANXIETY related.

Irrational fears causing anxiety are a common medical condition and can be treated if you seek appropriate help.