POZ Community Forums
HIV Prevention and Testing => Do I Have HIV? => Topic started by: Rfoster1143 on November 14, 2013, 06:58:50 pm
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I was at park in sf a few weeks back. Homeless people use this area to sleep at night and numerous people inhabit the park during the day. I had been at a bar drinking with some friends and when I was walking home I took my shoes off. My problem is that something in the grass stabbed me on the heal of the foot. It felt like a sharp pain. I had my shoes off because they were killing my feet. When I kept walking my heal was hurting with pain. I looked at my heal and I noticed a small red dot where a possible needle poke could have happened. I instantly got worried that I could have been poked by a used needle.
Following that incident about 12 days after I got a sore throat, pain and weakness in my limbs. I also noticed my neck lymph nodes were slightly swollen. In addition, I got pain in my armpits and groin. Around 2 days after that I noticed a rash on my lower neck and chest. Now I'm starting to freak out. Then two or three days there after I get these shooting pains down my legs. From my hips to my knees. Hurt to sit down. Almost felt like my legs were paralyzed. Ever since I have been freaked out and worried I've got hiv. I read the symptoms of ars and they match mine spot on. I'm worried to death.
What are the odds I got hov from a used needle in my foot?
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You never had an exposure what you have are, "what ifs."
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I have read that HIV can survive in a needle for over a week. Something stabbed my foot for sure. There was homeless people sleeping in the area when I walked through. What are the odds from an HIV needle stick? In addition, what's my excuse for the ars symptoms. I have never had symptoms like that. I've been sick just like everyone else. However, this was the first time I have sore throat, rash on neck and chest and severe leg pains.
Do I need testing?
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We are not responsible for incorrect information you read there is a lot out there.
No you don't need an HIV test.
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Just curious why this isn't even the slightest risk?
Say it was in fact a used needle. Which it felt like and there was a small bleeding dot on my foot. I know hiv doesn't survive long outside the host. But what if it had blood on the needle and it was recent blood. Like I said the odds are there due to the drug use in the park.
Also, why did I experience every single ars symptom? I even had night sweats and diarrhea, stuff neck, sore throat, sore glands in neck, arm pits, groin, pains in legs especially the posterior thigh muscles. Raised rash on cheat. All came around the two week mark. With the presence of all these symptoms wouldn't it point to the possibility of a potential hiv exposure?
I don't understand why there was NO risk when the potential was there.
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You never injected anything into your body.
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Just curious why this isn't even the slightest risk?
Say in fact it was a used needle. Say that, a few hours or a day or so back, a person with HIV had injected himself with IV drugs using that needle. And let's say that, in that process, s/he pulled the needle back, thus bringing particles of infectious HIV into the hollow bore.
As you know, a hollow bore needle is a temporarily hospitable environment for HIV to remain viable. The needle protects the viral particles (namely the very important glycoprotein shell) from the aerobic environment that destroys aforementioned shell.
However, a hollow bore needle is not a magical thing.
While active viral particles have been found in needles filled with laboratory-grade HIV and even highly infectious blood-filled needles in 'the wild" up to several days past their placement, such an infection has never (and I daresay will likely never) occur outside a controlled environment.
For one, you would know had you injected yourself with material from that needle. There is a huge difference between poking yourself with a needle and injecting yourself with material inside that needle. It would hurt. A lot. You would not continue your stroll, and only notice a red mark at the end of the day, albeit with a sore foot.
You would have bled, and even had you bled, the chance of infection would be earth-shatteringly low - to the point where you would make recorded history. Outside of a healthcare situation or an IV drug needle sharing situation where the needles go IMMEDIATELY and DIRECTLY from one person to the other, there is simply no science that supports a possibility of infection.
HIV is difficult enough to transmit in the most ideal of circumstances. God/dess knows the decades have shown plenty of urban mythology regarding discarded needles and HIV. But none of them had ever been borne out. Viable HIV particles of HIV actually surviving in that needle (assuming they were there to begin with) and then finding one of the relatively few immune cells to which they can attach? I imagine we will have an easier time figuring out transwarp teleportation, from a scientific point of view. HIV is simply too fragile, and transmission is simply too difficult.
It's up to you whether you want to believe you might be the first person in recorded history to be infected through a discarded needle. But the science of HIV disagrees.
You would be far more likely to get Hepatitis from such an encounter. THAT is one strong, hardy and virulent pathogen.
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So what do I do about the symptoms I experienced? No one has ever been infected from a needle stick outside the health care setting?
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So what do I do about the symptoms I experienced? No one has ever been infected from a needle stick outside the health care setting?
Your symptoms are not specific to HIV , so go to the doctor and find out why you are sick . There isn't any more to your question to be addressed , JK answered your question thoroughly .
If you cant accept the assessment go test at 6 weeks past any possible exposure and again at 3 months to confirm the results . Expect a negative result because you could not have been infected in the manner you are concerned with .
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Thanks, I sure hope your right. I hope my test comes back negative too.
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Hopefully the symptoms were attributed to anxiety over the incident and not really an actual hiv infection.
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You didn't have a risk so I am confident that if this is your only concern you will test negative if you decide to test .
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This would have been the only risk in addition to making out with an unknown female at the bar I was at. I do have a receding gum on the backside of one of my lower front teeth. Sometime it often gets irritated and bleeds a small amount. Could this have been a possible mode of transmission? I read deep kissing wasn't a risk. However, would the fact that my tooth root is exposed about a quarter inch and irritated have any change to this. My gums do bleed some when I brush them. I don't know the oral health of the girl I was kissing.
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No , kissing isn't a risk for HIV ... ever . Use condoms for anal and vaginal sex and you will avoid HIV .
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Even with the exposed tooth root and my gum being irritated. If the girl had bleeding in her mouth couldn't that potentially create the risk of exposure. After all it is a front tooth. It would have come into contact the quickest with the kiss. We kissed deeply maybe 8 or 10 times. Couldn't remember I was drinking beer.
Would alcohol kill the virus? Like beer?
Just trying to figure out why I experienced the symptoms around the two week mark. I know you say the symptoms weren't specific to hiv. However, everything I read about ars explains similar flu like symptoms. My illness didn't put me in bed sick. Just a really red swollen throat, cheat rash a few days later and sharp leg pains a few days after that. Would ars appear to manifest in that manner?
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You did not have a risk of infection, no matter how many "what ifs" you choose to create. Just because you believe you have had ARS symptoms, does not make it true, as you did not have a risk. This is why we do not comment about symptoms, as they cannot determine your status. Only testing will confirm your status.
If you are concerned about any symptoms you are experiencing, you should consult with your doctor.
Joe
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I agree with Joe . We are not missing something here . We read your concerns carefully and are certain you did not have a risk for HIV . Go see your doc , HIV is not your problem .
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Thank you Jeff and joe. I was just worried.
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Doubts and fears are not facts. As you have been told repeatedly, you did not have a risk.
Now I am going to caution you that we aren't going to continue an endless round of what ifs about your no risk situation. If you continue to return about this same situation you are going to find yourself getting a 28 days time out from the site.
HIV is not a problem for you. Get on with your life.
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Thanks again guys. I plan on getting tested due to the presence of symptoms. Just to put my mind at ease. As I said. I hope everything comes out negative.
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Called the dr. And went to the lab for testing this afternoon. He said it would take a few days for results. I explained my situation to the dr. he seemed as though there was a minimal risk due to the fact that my gum health wasn't the best. Ie: the exposed root and he said I had other inflammation. Told me that gingivitis causes constant bleeding which could have transmitted the virus. (Thanks for making me panic doc).
Also, told me my symptoms could have been associated with ars since they did happen during the window period. I wish I would have know about pep. I will report back the results when I find out. Until then I will be stressing and sweating it out. :(
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I'm sorry your doctor is worrying you needlessly , expect a negative result .
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Longest night of life last night. Had a hell of a time sleeping. To make matters worse my gum line was bleeding this morning where the root was exposed. Pressed on it with a q-tip and there was bleeding. Still praying everything comes back negative.
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See your dentist for your gum disease, you do not have an HIV concern.
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I will only post the test results after this question.
Why is hiv not a risk even with bleeding gums and gum disease? There was a seroconduct couple who passed the virus through kissing wasn't there. Man passed the virus to female partner through kissing.
Just curious why we don't consider kissing as more of a risk. Why is it NO risk if bleeding is involved and a route to the blood stream is there. I would think it was plausible if the partner wasn't on meds and they had high viral load.
Like I said this my last response until I get my results.
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You seem to be determined to find an opportunity to worry about being exposed to HIV , at first it was a needle stick and now its gone to kissing with a bad tooth .
Have you been diagnosed as OCD ? Its rather apparent that your problem isn't HIV , we see this all the time .
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There was a strong likelihood that the female I kissed could have had hiv. She was extremely promiscuous and even tried to get me to go home with her. I didn't even know her. Just freaked out because of the symptoms I experienced two weeks after. I just felt terrible after I left the bar. Then to add to the fear something stuck me in the foot.
Sorry about OCD. It's just fearful. Then to read that someone was infected from kissing through the seroconduct studies through the cdc.
Sorry to annoy or offend those who have tested positive.
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There was a strong likelihood that the female I kissed could have had hiv. She was extremely promiscuous and even tried to get me to go home with her. I didn't even know her. Just freaked out because of the symptoms I experienced two weeks after. I just felt terrible after I left the bar. Then to add to the fear something stuck me in the foot.
Sorry about OCD. It's just fearful. Then to read that someone was infected from kissing through the seroconduct studies through the cdc.
Sorry to annoy or offend those who have tested positive.
Again, no matter how you try to spin these episodes, you DID NOT have a risk of HIV infection. I would also like to see the source quoted for your claim that someone was infected from kissing, through a study by the CDC. Our assessments are based on the latest peer-reviewed science on HIV infection and based upon that science, YOU DID NOT HAVE A RISK FOR HIV INFECTION.
Joe
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Joe,
http://www.cdc.gov/mmwr/preview/mmwrhtml/00048364.htm?mobile=nocontent
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Joe,
http://www.cdc.gov/mmwr/preview/mmwrhtml/00048364.htm?mobile=nocontent
Thanks for the source and if you read the notes, you will see that the mode of transmission could not be determined in this case. Please stop looking for reasons why you are poz, when you have not had a risk.
Period. End of discussion.
Joe
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Doubts and fears are not facts. As you have been told repeatedly, you did not have a risk.
Now I am going to caution you that we aren't going to continue an endless round of what ifs about your no risk situation. If you continue to return about this same situation you are going to find yourself getting a 28 days time out from the site.
HIV is not a problem for you. Get on with your life.
Last warning. If you come back with more of this what if stuff you are getting a time out. Cut out the drama and get on with your life. And if you can't let go of this then see a therapist or other professional to sort things out. We can't help with that in this setting.
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Just curious. How long does it take for results? I tested Friday. The dr said it would be sometime next week. He just said it depended on how busy the lab was. Told me to refrain from sexual intercourse until I got my results.
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Just curious. How long does it take for results? I tested Friday. The dr said it would be sometime next week. He just said it depended on how busy the lab was. Told me to refrain from sexual intercourse until I got my results.
How ridiculous. Wear a condom for penetrative sex and you will avoid HIV infection (and significantly reduce your chances of any other STD). It's really that simple. Either the doctor is ignorant of the basics regarding safer sex or s/he thinks you are.
And if you got a blood test, it might take upwards of a week to get the results depending on the testing facility. But like we have said over and over again, you have not had a risk for HIV.
I am reporting your post to the global moderators. This simply needs to stop.
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All I did was asks about test time frame