POZ Community Forums
HIV Prevention and Testing => Do I Have HIV? => Topic started by: eowwl on July 01, 2006, 05:15:19 am
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I'm a university student and there was an incident in the past whereby I was attending a lab tutorial class. We were required to test our blood types using a lancet and some anti-A and anti-B. Ok, the lancet was new and clean and I wasn't concerned about that. The problem is the lab technician has been going around helping each and every group carry out their experiment. The lab technician was wearing a pair of gloves but didn't change her gloves throughout the whole lab work. I pricked my finger with a new lancet and the lab technician used her fingers to apply pressure onto the tiny lancet cut to ooze out some blood for the testing. Before that the technician did the same for some other people and got some blood stains on her gloves.
Now my question: I wonder if this could be an HIV risk if some of the blood on the lab technician's gloves were from an HIV+ person.
My guess would be no coz this is considered as casual contact. However, I just need some suggestions and affirmation. Many thanks ;)
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eowwl, the glove would not come in contact with the lancet poke. Why? You wouldn't be able to get any blood out of your finger to do the test. NO RISK.......
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well, i was just concerned if the technician sort of brushed her gloves over the poke :) anyway thanks for your input!
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Sorry but can anyone offer some more input?
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eowwl,
You would not become infected with hiv in this scenario. Hiv is a fragile, difficult to transmit virus that is successfully transmitted INSIDE the human body, as in unprotected anal or vaginal intercourse.
There's no chance of hiv infection in what you describe. None at all.
Use condoms for anal or vaginal intercourse and you will avoid hiv infection. It really is that simple.
Ann
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Many thanks to Rapidrod and Ann. You 2 really made my day a beautiful one. Wish the both of you the best of health and happiness ;D
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PS Make sure you read the lessons on HIV transmission and testing so that you are down with the real issues of transmission. That will help you to protect your health as well as spare you the kind of unnecessary worrying you have been experiencing over this incident.
Cheers,
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I just want to ask some questions for knowledge sake since they aren't mentioned quite clearly in the lessons section.
1) Where are the dendritic cells (the cells required to hook up with hiv) located?
2) Why can't a cut on the outside of my skin transmit hiv?
3) Does it mean that as long as I stay out of unprotected sex with positive people and don't share needles I will be safely negative?
4) Why does HIV only infect inside the human body instead of outside?
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eo,
Transmission won't occur in the situation you're worried about because hiv does NOT survive in the environment. The envelope that surrounds hiv is very susceptible to pH levels, moisture content and temperature. When it is outside the body, it is away from the very specific environment it needs to remain viable. The membrane disintegrates. Hiv needs this membrane to be intact in order to infect as there are "plugs" on the surface of the membrane that must bump into the correct cells that have the specific receptors for hiv to plug into. Hiv is not transmitted outside the human body.
As long as you don't have unprotected intercourse with ANYONE or share needles, you will be ok. You need to assume that anyone you have intercourse with is hiv positive and protect yourself accordingly.
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 STIs together. To agree to have unprotected intercourse is to consent to the possibility of being infected with a sexually transmitted infection.
Have a look through the 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.
You did NOT have a risk of infection with the lancet scenario. No risk.
Ann
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Thanks Ann for the lengthy explanation I yearned for! :)
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OK please don't get me wrong, this is completely unrelated to my incident and I want to learn more about the HIV. I am aware that I should not open another new thread so I post it here :)
Anyway, I have read somewhere that drying blood will kill 99% of HIV in it. However I've read in many threads saying that HIV isn't viable once it comes into contact with air or leaves the body (not in syringes). With that in mind, I am rather confused as once blood leaves the body, it isn't fully dry yet. Please do clarify ;)
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Sorry, anyone?
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eo,
Hiv is a VERY fragile virus that doesn't remain viable outside its preferred environment (INSIDE the body) for several reasons, not just moisture content (drying in the air). Small changes in temperature and pH levels also effect it. How? One way is by bursting its fragile outer envelope. Hiv needs this envelop to be intact before it can successfully infect a new host. There are little "plugs" on the surface of this envelope that have to bump into the correct type of cell that has the correct "sockets" for the "plugs" on hiv to plug into.
Once hiv finds itself outside the human body, its chances of being able to infect a new host is pretty much zero.
Ann
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Since HIV doesn't survive in the environment, why do doctors still get infected when blood is splashed on their eyes and faces and when they get needle stick injuries?
I believe it has been explained before as to why cut fingers are still considered barriers from HIV transmission. Can you guys explain it here or just show me the link?
Many thanks.
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Doctor and other health care providers have direct contact. Since they have been recording HIV infections since the early eighties. Only 57 health care workers have contract HIV by occupational exposure. Out of the hundreds of thousands of exposures each years. 57 infections is a small drop in the bucket to the number of infected people that they have treated.
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Thanks rapidrod, I wanna ask again, what do you mean by direct contact?
So in my case, even if the glove did sweep over my cut fingers, it wouldn't result in HIV infection?
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No it would not have resulted in an exposure.
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...but as i've described, the technician was squeezing blood out of my finger, wouldn't that constitute a fresh open wound?
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You are carrying this out way to far. You didn't have a risk so let it go. You should really start seeing a councilor if you can't move on.