Do I Have HIV? / Re: Semen in the eyes
« Last post by Jim Allen on April 24, 2024, 02:27:24 pm »From what I've read, semen in the eyes is not effective way of transmitting the virus and the virus dies when exposed to air.
Exposure to the environment is only one of many barriers, but yes, it plays a role. As an example, it is one of the reasons why needle stick injuries outside of the healthcare environment have never resulted in HIV transmission.
why semen in the eyes considered low risk but blood is not?
Neither of these would be HIV risk to you. Zero.
A bit of blood on your eye isn't going to result in HIV transmission, neither will semen and never has. Poor route, exposure to the environment, lack of quantity needed etc, etc, etc.
Your confusion might be related to the theoretical risk in healthcare settings, for example; arterial blood spray directly into the eye. However, even in occupational settings with large volumes of blood containing a high viral load, and levels not found in semen, I only know of a single confirmed and unique laboratory case and it doesn't apply to you. There were a tiny handful of suspected cases mostly from the 90s with an absence of any phylogenetics to confirm and nothing in the last 20+ years, however, none of this applies to you or your situation.
So you had no HIV risk unless this guy somehow was in urgent need of medical care, pissing pure blood directly from his penis into your eyeball and even if that unlikely and never happened situation did happen to you, the HIV risk would be near zero and I would tell you to move on with your life.
Am I at a risk here? Should I ask for PEP?
No, and no.
I am usually on prep but I ran out of the medication. I was on prep last week but stopped because I ran out. I was without prep for 3 days or so. The I restarted my prep after getting it from pharmacy and had been back on it for 2 days before this happened.
That's fine, continue to take the PrEP. Get a routine STI & HIV screening every three months, if possible. Talk to your healthcare provider about vaccination against HPV, Hepatitis A & B and use condoms.
Please don't post about this again, thank you!
Here's what you need to know to reduce your HIV risks:
Use condoms for anal or vaginal intercourse correctly and consistently, with no exceptions. Consider talking to your healthcare provider about PrEP as an additional layer of protection against HIV
Keep in mind that some sexual practices described as safe in terms of acquiring HIV still pose a risk for other easier-acquired STIs. So please do get tested at least yearly for STIs, including but not limited to HIV, and more frequently if condomless intercourse occurs.
Also, note that it is possible to have an STI and show no signs or symptoms; testing is the only way to know.
Kind regards
Jim
Please Note.
As a member of the "Do I have HIV" Forum, you are required to only post in this one thread no matter how long between visits or the subject matter. You can find this thread by going to your profile and selecting show own post, which will take you here. It helps us to help you when you keep all your thoughts or questions in one thread, and it helps other readers to follow the discussion. Any additional threads will be removed.