Potential blood risk on bus

[Harry4415]

Hi thanks for taking the time to read this.

I was on the bus in Leeds and i was standing up holding the metal handle thing. It must have been a minute of two later that i looked down at my hand and saw there was blood on it. I immediately went into a panic and started sweating. I was looking to see if it had come from my hand itself but there was no open bleeding cuts other than a tiny one on my other hand. So i have to admit there is a slight possibility it came from that but i am FAR from certain as it was so small.

I am aware that HIV is unable to penetrate intact skin but around my finger nails i had deep sore from where i had been biting around the nails. They happened to be unusually bad and i remember them bleeding before and after this incident happened. I am worried that i may have touched somebody else's blood that could be infected and it came in contact with one of these sores.

I also am aware that symptoms are not an indicator but i have to mention that 4 days later i came down with some kind of infection in which i was lethargic, headache and slight sore throat for around three days. It wasn't a cold, there was no blocked nose or sneezing which make me worried because i hardly ever get ill other than the odd cold. I just find it a big coincidence and cant seem to get the worry out of my head.

The doctor told me that its an extremely low risk but nothing is impossible and i do not need to test but if i want to i can at 3 months. I thought the window period for the DUO was 4 week? He still seems to think that 3 months is conclusive.

Of course i have to mention the story of the nail salon transmission. I no it is very very rare but it seems to now have been proven that this kind of transmission CAN take place. Given i had deep sores around my finger nails i feel my case may be somewhat unique?

To summarise, my question is there some degree of risk? Do you not find the symptoms somewhat strange given the potential exposure and timeline? And finally, just for peace of mind is a one month DUO test just as accurate as a 12 week standard test?

Thanks so much for reading and sorry it was so long.

Harry

[CaveyUK]

Your bus trip through Leeds was not a risk whatsoever. As you rightly say, HIV doesn't penetrate intact skin, and more than that it also doesn't survive outside the human body. If you had an open cut on your other hand then thats where the blood came from - end of mystery and ZERO risk of HIV.

Symptoms mean nothing. Most people living with HIV didn't have ANY. And if they did, they wouldn't usually manifest as quickly as yours showed and certainly would never happen in the absence of a genuine risk.

Your doctor is talking nonsense by even suggesting the bus thing was a risk. He was correct in saying you didn't need to test.

DUO testing at one month will catch most, but not all infections. That is why we recommend testing out to 3 months. A one month negative test is NOT conclusive. Not that this applies in your case anyway.

If you are referring to the same nail salon thing that has kicked around for a while now, then it most certainly doesn't prove anything. It is a conclusion reached by someone with anecdotal evidence, after the fact. There are biological prerequisites to the transmission of HIV which were not met then, and certainly were not met by your hand bleeding on a grab-rail of a bus.

So, absolutely zero risk at all. Please move on with your life.

[Harry4415]

Thank you for your reply.

I am still concerned about the deep saws/cuts around my finger nails, there is no risk from this either? I am fully aware that its a very low risk but i am still feeling anxious about the situation.

Regarding the story of the nail sharing equipment, they identified that the girls HIV was the same strain as her cousin who was infected. The only possible route was them sharing equipment. It seems like she was indeed infected this way.

i also must mention that because i was on a bus i was unable to get the blood off my hand for a good 20 minutes so would not this increase the risk?

Harry

[Jim Allen]

Harry

Its not low risk, this is simply incorrect. You had no risk - none whatsoever!

HIV is far more fragile than other infections, despite rubbish claims in headlines media (I would not call them news) and stories online there simply has never been a case confirmed from the type of concerns you are talking about. Never.

Science has moved on and anecdotal stories are just stories, not facts. There are many reasons why someone would rather not admit to an exposure or the full truth. Being newly diagnosed is difficult enough time on its own, for some it is a time of struggling with deep fear of HIV stigma, social judgment & self stigma but also  things like sexuality, religion, family, sexual relationships etc etc come into play as well and for others even legal fears.

Also there is allot of misinformation and stories on the internet and lots of opinions or outdated data that get passed around as facts, We however rely on the latest scientific peer reviewed science for our assessments. This also gets fed back into the poz pages on transmission risks if needed and great effort is put into ensuring the message is clear.

In short stop reading shit that passes for news nowadays in the UK Harry, as its clearly rotting your brain, corroding your ability to think straight and feeding your fears.

Fears are not facts, its the same as people calming discarded needles* are a risk or a route when the facts remain HIV is not transmitted this way, it lacks the conditions needed and nobody has ever been documented to be infected this way despite 40 years worth of research and 78 million cases to investigate 
*https://forums.poz.com/index.php?topic=68627.0

Your "incident" was not a risk for HIV transmission and HIV is not transmitted through scratches or small wounds in the skin.

Regardless of small cuts / wounds or scratches HIV is fragile so much so that well nobody has ever either sexually of from day to day contact been infected this way. Its not an example of a direct pathway to the bloodstream or an effective route, it lacks quantity and on top of all that it is very simple any fluids it came into contact with was not infectious to start with.

Once hiv finds itself exposed outside the body, the exposure to the environment damages the outer receptors of the virus and rendering it unable to infect.

So all in all biologically, four conditions must be present for even a theoretical transmission risk to occur: The virus must be present in an infectious body fluid from the HIV positive person, it must be present at sufficient levels to cause infection. There must be an effective route of transmission, and it must reach susceptible cells in another person.

You did not meet any of the 4 biological conditions needed and 4 must be present for even a theoretical risk, you had none!. Relax and move on with your life, if you can't speak to a therapist face to face to help you cope with your irrational fears

Please don't post about this again, consider the topic closed!

I wish you well but your fears are not facts, your stories that you are using to support your fears are not facts either and we have given you the facts you need.

Here's what you need to know in order to avoid hiv infection:
Use condoms for anal or vaginal intercourse, correctly and consistently, every time, no exceptions.

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.

More information on HIV Basics, PEP, TaSP and Transmission can be found through the links in my signature to our POZ pages, this includes information on HIV Testing

Kind regards

Jim

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[Harry4415]

Hi there,

I accidentally pricked myself with a sewing needle that the alteration people had left on my trousers. I squeezed my index finger and it bled for about a minute. Am i at risk of contracting anything? I have no reason to believe that needle had come into contact with anyone else but am still unsure? Do i need to do a 4 week test?

Thanks in advance.

[Jim Allen]

Hiya

It's no HIV risk whatsoever, as in zero!

Relax and move on with your life

Jim