Do I Have Hiv ?

[anita]

Hi, I work in a restaurant. Once our guest fell in front, in the garden of the restaurant, and injured his head. He sat down and waited for someone to take him to the doctor. It is possible that he touched the table with a bloody hand. I didn’t know it had happened and twenty seconds after this man left, I wiped the table with a light damp cloth. I had a cut on the tip of my finger that was about two days old and, as far as I remember, I didn't bleed then. I did not touch the blood directly with my hand, but with a cloth. It is possible that the cloth absorbed some of this blood. Can HIV be obtained this way? I worry that I wiped the table only twenty seconds later, and I also worry because I wiped it with that cloth for a few more minutes and held it in my hand so that the cloth covered my incision where there was blood Did the cloth prevent air circulation that could damage virus? The incision is about 3 mm deep, I cut myself while working in the garden, it hurt a little, there was a little blood, after that it didn't bleed anymore. Should I be tested for HIV? I look forward to your reply Hello

[Jim Allen]

Hiya,

Read your post three times, you had zero HIV risk from wiping the table clean.

Jim

[anita]

thank you very much, all the best!

[Jim Allen]

You're welcome

[anita]

Hi Jim,
I'm sorry to call you again, but I wanted to ask you if there is a risk that I will wipe the blood stain with a cloth and my finger will bleed (2, 3) drops? I read some of your answers to similar questions where you said that both sides must have large wounds, like knife wounds, in order to have a theoretical risk. Did I understand you well? Does that mean that there is no risk, even if my wound bleeds a little, without noticing, is it safe to wipe the table? Thanks a lot for your patience and answers

[Jim Allen]

Hiya,

This is not an HIV risk for many reasons. Now indeed it would be a theoretical risk if you had been in a knife fight with the guest and the two of you were bleeding half to death directly into each other wounds, although if that unlikely event happened HIV would be the least of your concerns.

Look what you are fearing is day to day environmental contact and there has never been a documented case of HIV transmission the way you fear.

Many reasons why but to name a few HIV is fragile and the receptors needed to infect corrode once exposed outside the human body leaving it unable to infect and
scrapes, small wounds, cuts, bumps etc simply lack route for HIV to infect.

Lack of route and exposure to viable HIV means no HIV risk. Try to relax and move on with your life.

Here's what you need to know to avoid HIV infection:
Use condoms for anal or vaginal intercourse, correctly and consistently, every time, no exceptions. Consider talking to your healthcare provider about PrEP as an additional layer of HIV protection going forward

Keep in mind that some sexual practices which may be described as ‘safe’ in terms of HIV transmission might still pose a risk for transmission of other STI's, so please do get fully tested regularly and at least yearly for all STI's including but not limited to HIV and test more frequently if unprotected intercourse occurs

Also, note that it is possible to have an STI and show no signs or symptoms and the only way of knowing is by testing.

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 and it 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 deleted.

[Jim Allen]

Received you comment, Glad to hear it helped and you're welcome.   

[anita]

Hi Jim,
You are a wonderful person and a real encyclopedia of knowledge regarding HIV infection, so I want to hear your opinion about this case. My brother was tested for HIV (HIV 1 + 2 Ag / At) and the result is negative, however, he had lung cancer caused by smoking that metastasized to the bones. He was still not in bed when he went for testing, he was not a drug user, he was not on radiation, but he died of cancer a month later. Can his result be considered correct if has he complied with the window period of one month or is it possible that his condition affected the results?. He was tested by a doctor, not because he had a risk, but they do it routinely.

[Jim Allen]

Anita,

I'm sorry to hear about your loss, wishing you strength particularly if this was a more recent loss.

I moved your post to here as it's related to HIV so not off-topic and you should only post your HIV questions in this one thread.

About your brother, hard to say, and not to speak ill of someone but just being realistic the sad truth is we are all people with private lives and unless he was watched 24/7 during the window period there is no way to ever know with any certainty when his last possible exposure would have been, also a month would not be a conclusive result.

[Jim Allen]

You're welcome