splinter/needle stick?

[tsu65]

Hi
i was with my friend yesterday who was handing me 2 metre wooden fence pallings. we both were not wearing gloves and got lots of cuts and splinters. i got a splinter that went deep into my fingers causing bleeding. my question is if my friends blood was on the wooden splinters that pierced my skin what is the risk? i know hiv cant be transmitted from environmental surfaces because it gets damaged quickly, but it was only a matter of seconds from him passing me the pallings and the wood piercing my palm. my friend sleeps around alot and probably doesnt use protection. Thanks for your advise.

[anniebc]

No, you weren't at risk.

Please read our welcome thread and follow the lessons on how HIV is and is not transmitted.


You do not need to test over this incident.

Jan

[tsu65]

Thanks
would it make a difference if the splinter stayed under my skin and i didnt pull it out for a few days?

[tsu65]

also anne
i read some of your posts where you said that the virus dies within a "few minutes" when outside the body. it was about 10 seconds when my frienf passed me the wooden posts.

[Ann]

tsu,

There is absolutely NO WAY you'd become infected with hiv through wood splinters. NO WAY. Hiv is NOT transmitted from objects in the environment. If hiv were that easily transmitted, everyone in the world would have it by now.

Here's all you need to know in order to remain hiv negative:

You need to be using condoms for anal or vaginal intercourse, every time, no exceptions until such time as you are in a securely monogamous relationship where you have both tested for ALL sexually transmitted infections together. To agree to have unprotected intercourse is to consent to the possibility of being infected with an STI. Sex without a condom lasts only a matter of minutes, but hiv is forever.

Have a look through all three condom and lube links in my signature line so you can use condoms with confidence.

Anyone who is sexually active should be having a full sexual health care check-up, including but not limited to hiv testing, at least once a year and more often if unprotected intercourse occurs.

If you aren't already having regular, routine check-ups, now is the time to start. As long as you make sure condoms are being used for intercourse, you can fully expect your routine hiv tests to return with negative results. Don't forget to always get checked for all the other sexually transmitted infections as well, because they are MUCH easier to transmit than hiv.

Use condoms for anal or vaginal intercourse, correctly and consistently, and you will avoid hiv infection. It really is that simple!

Ann

[tsu65]

Thanks Ann
i would appreciate your input on another quick question.
 
I shook hands with a person who had a large gash near his thumb, i didnt realise it at first until he whinced with pain when i shook his hand.
Without thinking I rubbed my eye just a few seconds later with the same hand. i understand that the eye can be a portal for hiv but does your previous advise still stand, that is, hiv cant be transmitted from environmental surfaces and the hand is an environmental surface, even though the blood may have been exposed to air for only a few seconds?  also the amount of blood would have been insignificant to pose any risk. for transmission to happen the way i propose you needs lot of blood sprayed directly into the eye, not just a little blood on your hand. am i right?

[anniebc]

Did you read my post to you?..I suggested you read the lesson here on how HIV is and ais not transmitted, , doesn't look like you paid much attention to that little bit of info.

As Ann has already explained HIV does not survive outside the body, it had to get into the blood stream in order to infect, so when we talk about blood contact we are talking about large amounts of blood...not dried blood or little specks of blood, but lots of blood that actually enter the body and into the blood stream.

You were never at risk for HIV..so please read the lessons and educate yourself.

Jan

[tsu65]

thanks, i did read your post. but my second possible exposure was different to the first. it involved blood in my eye. i found something on another website which was reassuring - "The virus is very fragile and requires a perfect environment to stay viable (which is inside the body) as soon as it is outside the body (whether it be in blood or some other bodily fluid) it is immediately compromised as the changes in temperature, moisture, pH level, and light levels damage the proteins that allow it to bond to cells to the point of no return. And this happens immediately, so even though the virus itself is still intact for a few minutes before it dries up its capacity to infect is nil because the proteins that allow it to infect are destroyed".
what do you think. would a few seconds be enough time to deactivate the virus before it reached my eye via my finger? by the way, the temperature when this happenned was 21.9. thanks

[Ann]

tsu,

How many times do you have to be told that you were in no way at risk for hiv infections in the situations you're worried about?

If you read the Welcome Thread before posting like you're supposed to, you will have read the following posting guideline:

Anyone who continues to post excessively, questioning a conclusive negative result or no-risk situation, will be subject to a four week Time Out (a temporary ban from the Forums). If you continue to post excessively after one Time Out, you may be given a second Time Out which will last eight weeks. There is no third Time Out - it is a permanent ban. The purpose of a Time Out is to encourage you to seek the face-to-face help we cannot provide on this forum.

Please consider yourself warned!

Ann

[tsu65]

Hi
i have always thought that intact skin is skin that was not bleeding. However, lots of hiv sites include acne as non intact skin. Does it mean that if you have acne on your face or a popped pimple that comes into contact with blood it is a route for hiv?

[Ann]

tsu,

Only in theory, not in the real world.

I'm giving you that time out you've been warned about. Do not attempt to create a new account to get around your time out because if you do, you will be permanently banned.

Ann