Welcome, Guest. Please login or register.
March 30, 2024, 12:31:53 am

Login with username, password and session length


Members
  • Total Members: 37614
  • Latest: bondann
Stats
  • Total Posts: 772965
  • Total Topics: 66312
  • Online Today: 178
  • Online Ever: 5484
  • (June 18, 2021, 11:15:29 pm)
Users Online
Users: 0
Guests: 177
Total: 177

Welcome


Welcome to the POZ Community Forums, a round-the-clock discussion area for people with HIV/AIDS, their friends/family/caregivers, and others concerned about HIV/AIDS.  Click on the links below to browse our various forums; scroll down for a glance at the most recent posts; or join in the conversation yourself by registering on the left side of this page.

Privacy Warning:  Please realize that these forums are open to all, and are fully searchable via Google and other search engines. If you are HIV positive and disclose this in our forums, then it is almost the same thing as telling the whole world (or at least the World Wide Web). If this concerns you, then do not use a username or avatar that are self-identifying in any way. We do not allow the deletion of anything you post in these forums, so think before you post.

  • The information shared in these forums, by moderators and members, is designed to complement, not replace, the relationship between an individual and his/her own physician.

  • All members of these forums are, by default, not considered to be licensed medical providers. If otherwise, users must clearly define themselves as such.

  • Forums members must behave at all times with respect and honesty. Posting guidelines, including time-out and banning policies, have been established by the moderators of these forums. Click here for “Do I Have HIV?” posting guidelines. Click here for posting guidelines pertaining to all other POZ community forums.

  • We ask all forums members to provide references for health/medical/scientific information they provide, when it is not a personal experience being discussed. Please provide hyperlinks with full URLs or full citations of published works not available via the Internet. Additionally, all forums members must post information which are true and correct to their knowledge.

  • Product advertisement—including links; banners; editorial content; and clinical trial, study or survey participation—is strictly prohibited by forums members unless permission has been secured from POZ.

To change forums navigation language settings, click here (members only), Register now

Para cambiar sus preferencias de los foros en español, haz clic aquí (sólo miembros), Regístrate ahora

Finished Reading This? You can collapse this or any other box on this page by clicking the symbol in each box.

Welcome to Do I Have HIV?

Welcome to the "Do I Have HIV?" POZ forum.

This special section of the POZ forum is for individuals who have concerns about whether or not they are HIV positive. Individuals are permitted to post up to three questions or responses in this forum.

Ongoing participation in the "Do I Have HIV?" forum (posting more than three questions or responses) requires a paid subscription, with secure payments made via PayPal.

A seven-day subscription is $9.99, a 30-day subscription is $14.99 and a 90-day subscription is $24.99.

Anyone who needs to post more than three messages in the "Do I Have HIV?" forum -- including past, present and future POZ Forums members -- will need to subscribe, with secure payments made via PayPal.

There is no charge to read threads in the "Do I Have HIV?" forum, nor will there be a charge for participating in any of the other POZ forums. In addition, the POZ Basics "HIV Transmission and Risks" and "HIV Testing" basics, will remain accessible to all.

NOTE: HIV testing questions will still need to be posted in the "Do I Have HIV?" forum; attempts to post HIV symptoms or testing questions in any other forums will be considered violations of our rules of membership and subject to time-outs and permanent bans.

To learn how to upgrade your Forums account to participate beyond three posts in the "Do I Have HIV?" Forum, please click here.

Thank you for your understanding and future support of the best online support service for people living with, affected by and at risk for HIV.

Author Topic: Needle Stick. May seem silly...  (Read 52955 times)

0 Members and 1 Guest are viewing this topic.

Offline wavecast

  • Member
  • Posts: 42
Needle Stick. May seem silly...
« on: June 20, 2006, 01:26:09 pm »
I was at a bar the other night and I've got this small little scab looking thing on my hand. I had quite a few beers and became paranoid about the possibility of being stuck with something. A needle perhaps? With contaminated blood? I've heard alotta stories about people getting stuck with needles in clubs and bars... probably just myths but you never know...

I don't know it's far fetched but I'm just not so sure I would've felt it even if it was a needle since I'd had some drinks.

What would the wound look like if it was a needle stick?

Offline Andy Velez

  • Global Moderator
  • Member
  • Posts: 34,126
Re: Needle Stick. May seem silly...
« Reply #1 on: June 20, 2006, 01:44:46 pm »
You've got too much time on your hands. And maybe you've also been drinking too much.

That strikes me as something you might give some thought to instead of this totally trumped up what if scenario you've come up with.

This is not an HIV situation and doesn't bear any further thinking or conversation about.

You can also put your time to better use by reading the lesson on this site about transmission so that you're well informed about the REAL risks in relation to HIV transmission. 
Andy Velez

Offline jkinatl2

  • Member
  • Posts: 6,007
  • Doo. Dah. Dipp-ity.
Re: Needle Stick. May seem silly...
« Reply #2 on: June 20, 2006, 02:00:18 pm »
I won't even bother with this one. Seriously, We're not your monkeys.

"Many people, especially in the gay community, turn to oral sex as a safer alternative in the age of AIDS. And with HIV rates rising, people need to remember that oral sex is safer sex. It's a reasonable alternative."

-Kimberly Page-Shafer, PhD, MPH

Welcome Thread

Offline wavecast

  • Member
  • Posts: 42
Re: Needle Stick. May seem silly...
« Reply #3 on: June 20, 2006, 04:45:29 pm »
So you think a needle prick is definitely something I would've felt?

Offline Matty the Damned

  • Member
  • Posts: 12,277
  • Antipodean in every sense of the word
Re: Needle Stick. May seem silly...
« Reply #4 on: June 20, 2006, 05:07:02 pm »
So you think a needle prick is definitely something I would've felt?

Wave,

You really need to read the Welcome Thread. Don't tell me you already have, just read it.

MtD

Offline Ann

  • Administrator
  • Member
  • Posts: 28,134
  • It just is, OK?
    • Num is sum qui mentiar tibi?
Re: Needle Stick. May seem silly...
« Reply #5 on: June 20, 2006, 06:04:57 pm »
wavecast,

You have been coming to this forum since last December (see the link in my first post in that thread for your December concerns) and I think it's fair for us to expect you to have learned something about hiv transmission by now. Don't you?

You seem to be dwelling on your fear of being infected with hiv. I'm sorry, but the purpose of this forum is education, not mental health care. Please seek out a mental health care professional for some face-to-face help with your hiv anxieties. We cannot help you with that here.

Ann
Condoms are a girl's best friend

Condom and Lube Info  

"...health will finally be seen not as a blessing to be wished for, but as a human right to be fought for." Kofi Annan

Nymphomaniac: a woman as obsessed with sex as an average man. Mignon McLaughlin

HIV is certainly character-building. It's made me see all of the shallow things we cling to, like ego and vanity. Of course, I'd rather have a few more T-cells and a little less character. Randy Shilts

Offline wavecast

  • Member
  • Posts: 42
Re: Needle Stick. May seem silly...
« Reply #6 on: June 20, 2006, 07:58:54 pm »
wavecast,

You have been coming to this forum since last December (see the link in my first post in that thread for your December concerns) and I think it's fair for us to expect you to have learned something about hiv transmission by now. Don't you?

You seem to be dwelling on your fear of being infected with hiv. I'm sorry, but the purpose of this forum is education, not mental health care. Please seek out a mental health care professional for some face-to-face help with your hiv anxieties. We cannot help you with that here.

Ann


I know and I have in fact learned alot. But it seems that the more I learn, the more worried I seem to become. I'm pretty sure the mark on my hand was just a harmless scratch as it has seemed to scab over now, but it's just all those little 'what ifs' that make me nuts.

What if i was pricked with something and didn't feel it? I know you call them urban myths but I mean there's lots of twisted people in our society... you never know.

All I really wanted to know was if anybody knew how likely it might be to not feel a needle prick you. I try to make my questions as harmless as possible I don't wanna upset you guys, you've already been a great help to me.



« Last Edit: June 20, 2006, 08:01:43 pm by wavecast »

Offline Ann

  • Administrator
  • Member
  • Posts: 28,134
  • It just is, OK?
    • Num is sum qui mentiar tibi?
Re: Needle Stick. May seem silly...
« Reply #7 on: June 20, 2006, 08:08:46 pm »
wave,

Even if you were pricked, this is not a viable transmission route. And yes, these kinds of reports are pretty much urban myths.

YOu didn't have a risk of hiv infection.

I suggest you seek the help of a mental health care professional to work through these hiv anxieties you are having. Hiv education should be making your more relaxed and confident, not making you a nervous wreck.

Hiv sites have become toxic to you and you would do yourself a favour by staying away from them, this one included.

There's nothing more we can do for you here. Please get the face-to-face help and support you need. We can't do that for you here.

Ann


Condoms are a girl's best friend

Condom and Lube Info  

"...health will finally be seen not as a blessing to be wished for, but as a human right to be fought for." Kofi Annan

Nymphomaniac: a woman as obsessed with sex as an average man. Mignon McLaughlin

HIV is certainly character-building. It's made me see all of the shallow things we cling to, like ego and vanity. Of course, I'd rather have a few more T-cells and a little less character. Randy Shilts

Offline wavecast

  • Member
  • Posts: 42
Re: Needle Stick. May seem silly...
« Reply #8 on: June 20, 2006, 08:10:23 pm »
wave,

Even if you were pricked, this is not a viable transmission route.



You're right in everything you say I know that.  :-\

But just out of curiosity why wouldn't it be a viable transmission route?

Offline wavecast

  • Member
  • Posts: 42
Re: Needle Stick. May seem silly...
« Reply #9 on: June 21, 2006, 10:26:46 am »
You're right in everything you say I know that.  :-\

But just out of curiosity why wouldn't it be a viable transmission route?

I've read through the lessons but still can't seem to figure out why a needle stick in this kind of setting wouldn't qualify as a viable route.

Offline wavecast

  • Member
  • Posts: 42
Re: Needle Stick. May seem silly...
« Reply #10 on: June 21, 2006, 04:08:32 pm »
I've read through the lessons but still can't seem to figure out why a needle stick in this kind of setting wouldn't qualify as a viable route.

???

Offline wavecast

  • Member
  • Posts: 42
Re: Needle Stick. May seem silly...
« Reply #11 on: July 11, 2006, 10:54:43 pm »
Sorry to bug you guys again, but I've got a question about the use of dirty toilet paper.

I was using a public washroom the other day for #2 and when I went to clean up - I noticed a some blood on the paper from what was probably a small irritation down there. This freaked me out because I used the toilet paper there to clean up and before I did, the roll had fallen on the floor. I picked it up right away not thinking much about it... but used it anyways.

So is there anything to worry about? I'm just worried about taking something that had touched a dirty bathroom floor and rubbing it over a bleeding cut or sore. I hate these filthy bathrooms in the city but it was an emergency.

Offline RapidRod

  • Member
  • Posts: 15,288
Re: Needle Stick. May seem silly...
« Reply #12 on: July 11, 2006, 10:59:27 pm »
READ THE WELCOME THREAD.

Offline wavecast

  • Member
  • Posts: 42
Re: Needle Stick. May seem silly...
« Reply #13 on: July 11, 2006, 11:02:38 pm »
I have. I just thought I'd ask this here because you people seem to know alot about all types of STDs.

Offline RapidRod

  • Member
  • Posts: 15,288
Re: Needle Stick. May seem silly...
« Reply #14 on: July 11, 2006, 11:05:15 pm »
This is an HIV website.

Offline wavecast

  • Member
  • Posts: 42
Re: Needle Stick. May seem silly...
« Reply #15 on: July 11, 2006, 11:07:18 pm »
I'm aware of this. But on numerous occasions I've seen people talk about things that SHOULD be taken into account when a chance of HIV transmission was non-existant. I thought that perhaps I'd ask about the toilet paper thing here.

Offline RapidRod

  • Member
  • Posts: 15,288
Re: Needle Stick. May seem silly...
« Reply #16 on: July 11, 2006, 11:09:45 pm »
Contact your local STD clinic to answer that question. It has nothing to do with HIV.

Offline Ann

  • Administrator
  • Member
  • Posts: 28,134
  • It just is, OK?
    • Num is sum qui mentiar tibi?
Re: Needle Stick. May seem silly...
« Reply #17 on: July 12, 2006, 05:31:51 am »
Wavecast,

It is a myth that you can pick up STIs from any surface in a public toilet. They are called sexually transmitted infections for a reason - and that reason is they are transmitted through sexual contact - not contact with surfaces in a public place.

You can pick up bacteria like E.coli from dirty surfaces, so always wash your hands after going potty. OK?

Ann
Condoms are a girl's best friend

Condom and Lube Info  

"...health will finally be seen not as a blessing to be wished for, but as a human right to be fought for." Kofi Annan

Nymphomaniac: a woman as obsessed with sex as an average man. Mignon McLaughlin

HIV is certainly character-building. It's made me see all of the shallow things we cling to, like ego and vanity. Of course, I'd rather have a few more T-cells and a little less character. Randy Shilts

Offline wavecast

  • Member
  • Posts: 42
Re: Needle Stick. May seem silly...
« Reply #18 on: July 12, 2006, 10:40:57 pm »
I wasn't actually worried about anything ON the toilet seat, but rather what could've been on the floor of that filthy washroom. The paper touched the floor before I used it (when the roll fell out of the holder) and THEN I discovered I had a small bleeding irritation down there after I cleaned up :(

Offline DingoBoi

  • Member
  • Posts: 1,355
  • Bailey's Infected Cream™ Served since 2004
Re: Needle Stick. May seem silly...
« Reply #19 on: July 13, 2006, 02:37:01 am »
oh yeah!  we understood that in your first post. '

for you, it's still no risk.

I fail to understand why you all continue to repeat the same exact questions that have been already answered.

The answers won't change no matter how many times you ask nor in what fashion.




Offline Ann

  • Administrator
  • Member
  • Posts: 28,134
  • It just is, OK?
    • Num is sum qui mentiar tibi?
Re: Needle Stick. May seem silly...
« Reply #20 on: July 13, 2006, 05:10:42 am »
wavecast,

You didn't read what I wrote. I said ANY surface in a public toilet. A public toilet is another way of saying public washroom. I didn't mean the actual porcelain throne alone, I meant the whole shebang.

STIs, including hiv, are NOT transmitted via surfaces in public buildings, whether it is a toilet, a washroom, a doorknob or toilet paper.

If you cannot let go of the concerns you have brought to us, it may be time for you to seek the assistance of a mental health care professional. We cannot give you the face-to-face support you need. There is nothing more we can do for you here.

Ann
Condoms are a girl's best friend

Condom and Lube Info  

"...health will finally be seen not as a blessing to be wished for, but as a human right to be fought for." Kofi Annan

Nymphomaniac: a woman as obsessed with sex as an average man. Mignon McLaughlin

HIV is certainly character-building. It's made me see all of the shallow things we cling to, like ego and vanity. Of course, I'd rather have a few more T-cells and a little less character. Randy Shilts

Offline wavecast

  • Member
  • Posts: 42
Re: Needle Stick. May seem silly...
« Reply #21 on: July 13, 2006, 07:09:38 am »
Sorry sorry I guess that people from the UK just say 'toilet' instead of 'bathroom' - I misunderstood, My fault sorry. And thanks for the reply Ann.

Offline AldousOrwell

  • Member
  • Posts: 63
Re: Needle Stick. May seem silly...
« Reply #22 on: July 13, 2006, 09:10:48 am »
May not seem as silly as you all think.

I traipsed a needle from my train station to my home in Oct 1999. I may or may not have stood on it in my stocking feet after changing from my work clothes. The needle and green transluscent plastic housing were hard to see against the grey loop pile carpet in my hallway as I wandered to the kitchen.  I walked back and forth from my room to the kitchen a few times. It was only after being home 15 minutes that my flatmate spotted it. Why he did not say anything immediately was down to his Asbergers Syndrome and assumption "It was your rubbish as you work in a hospital" so he left it there for me to pick up. I sat on my bed staring at my feet looking for a jab mark. I did see a tiny puncture on my left instep but figured surely I would have felt it. But they are so sharp you may not feel it.

I rang the police to report the whole thing and asking who should clean the station which was opposite a needle exchange clinic, which lacked injecting rooms. The cop was rather dismissive and said that had I stood on it I had a 1 in 4 chance of it carrying HIV. I would be more likely to come down with Hep C or something similar first. I kept the needle in an empty plastic water bottle for later analysis but disposed of about a month later as I had no symptoms. I also discussed it with an HIV Virologist I play soccer with. He said the same thing as the cop.

Approx two months later I feel very ill, lost 20 pounds and took three weeks off work. I visited my local doctor 4 months later as my perotid glands grew cysts and my cheeks had visible swellings. I asked about HIV and mentioned the needle incident. The hospital doctor, a top Maxillofacial surgeon, was placating me with the facts that as a straight man who had usually practised safe sex and never injected drugs it was not worth testing me. Two years and various illnesses later I had it confirmed in Oct 2002. I went on meds in Aug 2004.

Some doctors say no way. The Dec 1999 flu was probably my system collapsing after the 10 year latent phase. And I caught it from a condom breakage in the late 80's ( I'm so butch!). My actual specialist,  perhaps the best HIV Consultant in Britain, was not so hasty. He thinks that a fresh needle caught in the cleats of my boots could feasibly keep the blood hermetically sealed until my foot was impaled against it. The Dec 1999 'Millenium Bug Flu' could have been my sero-conversion.

So there you have it. I can't prove anything, can't sue the Train Operator or the Needle Exchange Clinic. Only if I had kept a clean blood speciman from before the incident could I prove anything. The official line is that the chances of transmission this way are 0.5%. All very well for a medic in a white coat to trot this out but when you are the one who stood on it you become aware that these 1 in 200 unlucky people do exist. Had it happened on ward with alcohol swabs etc I may have been OK.

Has this person worried about the 'Pricks' in bars actual had a test? Her paranoia reminds me of an ex girlfriend from New York I dated while she was in London in 1988. Her flat was next to a famous Gay hotel in Earl's Court. She came to me worried as she heard that her flat shares the water supply with the hotel. She said she got splashed when she flushed the loo and wondered if there was any chance of HIV. I laughed my head off. A top college grad talking like a retarded person. Well it was 1988. Surely we still don't have this paranoia in 2006.


Offline RapidRod

  • Member
  • Posts: 15,288
Re: Needle Stick. May seem silly...
« Reply #23 on: July 13, 2006, 09:23:12 am »
 AldousOrwell, nice story, but you've had other risky incidents that you can't say without a reasonable doubt that you didn't get HIV another way. 

Offline Matty the Damned

  • Member
  • Posts: 12,277
  • Antipodean in every sense of the word
Re: Needle Stick. May seem silly...
« Reply #24 on: July 13, 2006, 09:25:29 am »
he Dec 1999 flu was probably my system collapsing after the 10 year latent phase.

With respect, HIV does not have a "latent" phase. Surely the specialist you play soccer with would have pointed that out.

Aldous, (your name notwithstanding) your story strikes me as dangerously anecdotal and of no relevance to the AIDSMEDS forums and this thread in particular. Clearly you have issues and a particular agenda that you're pushing. You should either start your own thread or, even better, take your stuff elsewhere.

In fact I view your comments with such seriousness that I've reported them to the Moderators.

MtD
« Last Edit: July 13, 2006, 09:28:29 am by matty.the.damned »

Offline AldousOrwell

  • Member
  • Posts: 63
Re: Needle Stick. May seem silly...
« Reply #25 on: July 14, 2006, 07:33:35 am »
So much for feeling like we are all in this together.

In response to my message of yesterday telling a totally true story about a 'possible' needle stick incident, I think I need to make my position more clear. I'm not being pius or judgemental, just honest.

I'm not pushing any hidden agenda. The criticisms seem to contradict each other. One viewer disputes my 'latent' phase. Call it what you will 'Incubation' or 'Ignorance is Bliss' phase you know what I mean. I write of the time between Sero-conversion and showing symptoms. I thought stating this alternative scenario makes it clear that I really have no way of knowing how or when I got infected , via the needle or my knob.

I am stating the actual views of qualified healthcare professionals. I have to consider all opinions. On a more serious note I hope it was through the needle at least that way I have eliminated the chances of onward transmission prior to 1999. Although I always insisted on condoms. Coming from clean green nuclear-free New Zealand to England in 1987 I had already had enough paranoia instilled in me via the media prior to coming here. I have walked out of bedrooms when women have not had condoms but were willing to have sex anyway. My attitude was 'How many other guys have they said that to?' It is indeed a bitter irony considering the current behaviour of my 'presumably' negative straight friends, that I'm the positive one. But that's life.

I did not expect such an unsympathetic backlash and certainly did not expect to be threatened with censorship by way of being reported to the moderator. I think my comments are indeed most relevant to this thread even if they are a counter point to all the other doubters.

I think the thing that hacks other positive people off is this notion that I'm saying I've got 'Good AIDS' through an innocent accident. I am reluctant to tell this story to people in my support group for this very reason. All I'm doing is relating actual events as they occurred. You have to admit the timing is very suspicious. 6-8 weeks between both events, exposure in Oct 99 to sero-conversion illness in Dec 99.

Perhaps I should start another thread. The fact that people like me are not supposed to exist. I recently answered a plea from a Greek journalist from a conservative newspaper in Athens. She said that she has yet to meet a heterosexual positive man other than IV drug users. I explained that stigma stops them getting medical help let alone going to her support group. I pointed out that Straights are TEN TIMES MORE LIKELY TO DIE THAN GAYS as they ignore the signs and present too late to be saved. That is why there are so few of us.

It suits all other parties to treat us as invisible. The Gay community see us as a threat to limited charitable funds and clinical resources. The governments don't want to throw cold water on the 'Commercialisation of Sex and the Sexualisation of Commerce' It suits big business and state alike to kept the numbers down by ignoring us or letting us die, and at the same time using sex to sell practically everything from ice cream to paint.

I think all affected groups need to come together to  broaden the debate and finally take this virus seriously. I'm not homophobic but I sense a certain heterophobia out there. I find this shouting down very counter productive.

Take care Aldous


Offline Ann

  • Administrator
  • Member
  • Posts: 28,134
  • It just is, OK?
    • Num is sum qui mentiar tibi?
Re: Needle Stick. May seem silly...
« Reply #26 on: July 14, 2006, 08:28:58 am »
Aldous,

I'd like to invite you to post in the  Living With HIV Forum rather than this forum. Your post is not really appropriate in this thread or forum. Here in the Am I Infected forum, we stick to first-tier, peer-reviewed, quantifiable, researched and documented science when it comes to hiv transmission issues.

I am not questioning your theory on how you became infected - but at the end of the day, I'm sure you can agree that it is just that - theory. Stories like this, when related in this forum, only cause panic unnecessarily.

I hope you can understand where I'm coming from - as I can understand where YOU are coming from. Please, post in the appropriate forum.

There are plenty of people waiting to accept and welcome you to the Living forum, with no judgements, just support.

Ann

Condoms are a girl's best friend

Condom and Lube Info  

"...health will finally be seen not as a blessing to be wished for, but as a human right to be fought for." Kofi Annan

Nymphomaniac: a woman as obsessed with sex as an average man. Mignon McLaughlin

HIV is certainly character-building. It's made me see all of the shallow things we cling to, like ego and vanity. Of course, I'd rather have a few more T-cells and a little less character. Randy Shilts

Offline jkinatl2

  • Member
  • Posts: 6,007
  • Doo. Dah. Dipp-ity.
"Many people, especially in the gay community, turn to oral sex as a safer alternative in the age of AIDS. And with HIV rates rising, people need to remember that oral sex is safer sex. It's a reasonable alternative."

-Kimberly Page-Shafer, PhD, MPH

Welcome Thread

Offline wavecast

  • Member
  • Posts: 42
Re: Needle Stick. May seem silly...
« Reply #28 on: July 14, 2006, 08:40:01 pm »
Aldous, I'm not sure what you're trying to say?

I take it you're HIV positive and you think it was because of stepping on a needle filled with HIV+ blood?

Offline AldousOrwell

  • Member
  • Posts: 63
Re: Needle Stick. May seem silly...
« Reply #29 on: July 14, 2006, 09:23:02 pm »
So it's Wavecast

You have got a lot to answer for. I read your new thread topic and Needle Stick leapt out at me so I read on.

I'm new to the forum world and naively typed out my own 'Very Freak' accident details without realising the hornet's nest I was about to stir up. Check it out on 'Living with HIV' under 'Pecking Order'.

I tend to write from a stream of conciousness, almost sub-consciousness, I'm afraid my story may have scared the bejezzers out of a small minority of untested people who I forgot may log on.

In regard to your question. Yes I'm positive I'm Positive but not so positive how. For me to have caught it in the way I described would have taken a combination of several low odds occurences so seems unlikely. I doubt one could even recreate the same scenario CSI stlyle. There are issues about the virus surviving in the hollow needle, presumably under my heel, while I walked about 500 yards from the station in the wet. Still I did fall very ill in typical time frame so the timing kind of points to it. That's kind of why I wrote about it in the first bloody place as I never have before. Is that not the point of forums, sorry fora for the pedants out there.

Like I wrote before about my old girlfriend and the toilet water you seem to be unduly worried. If you are do what I did and get a test. It's all the rage these days.

I did not mean to scare you. Perhaps this website is best reserved for those who know they are positive.

Take care Aldous

Offline Andy Velez

  • Global Moderator
  • Member
  • Posts: 34,126
Re: Needle Stick. May seem silly...
« Reply #30 on: July 14, 2006, 09:32:19 pm »
Aldous, I agree with Ann that you should talking in the LIVING WITH section.

While I do certainly sympathize with your having become infected, there is nothing in what you have written which conclusively deals with how you were actually infected.

It's important to say that here because so many people who come to this section are worried about whether they are infected or not. I'm afraid that reading what you have written, however unintentional on your part will feed into some of their worst paranoid and unfounded fears.

So I must state again that while we know you are HIV+, it is absolutely not clear how that came about and the conclusion you imply as the cause is not one which has been documented in any recognized scientific way.

« Last Edit: July 15, 2006, 08:42:57 am by Andy Velez »
Andy Velez

Offline AldousOrwell

  • Member
  • Posts: 63
Re: Needle Stick. May seem silly...
« Reply #31 on: July 15, 2006, 08:39:40 am »
Hi Andy

I have moved to the Living With HIV section. I was just signing off on this issue out of courtesy.

People must remember that in a global population of almost 5 Billion of which about 'only' 40 million have the virus their chances of being positive are almost infinitessimally low. 

Perhaps it would not be a bad idea to encourage testing even among 'hypochondriacs' or less informed people.

Forewarned is Forearmed.

Cheers Aldous

Offline Ann

  • Administrator
  • Member
  • Posts: 28,134
  • It just is, OK?
    • Num is sum qui mentiar tibi?
Re: Needle Stick. May seem silly...
« Reply #32 on: July 15, 2006, 09:04:41 am »
Quote
Perhaps it would not be a bad idea to encourage testing even among 'hypochondriacs' or less informed people.

Aldous, we do encourage anyone who is sexually active to have routine sexual health care check-ups at least once a year.

Ann

Condoms are a girl's best friend

Condom and Lube Info  

"...health will finally be seen not as a blessing to be wished for, but as a human right to be fought for." Kofi Annan

Nymphomaniac: a woman as obsessed with sex as an average man. Mignon McLaughlin

HIV is certainly character-building. It's made me see all of the shallow things we cling to, like ego and vanity. Of course, I'd rather have a few more T-cells and a little less character. Randy Shilts

Offline wavecast

  • Member
  • Posts: 42
Re: Needle Stick. May seem silly...
« Reply #33 on: August 24, 2006, 05:33:46 pm »
So I finally did it. I went to get a blood test and full checkup. Took about every ounce of courage I had, but it's done. I guess we'll see what happens.

I was nervous about putting a needle in me though, the nurse who took the blood seemed to be in a huge rush and wasn't very gentle about it. I hope she wasn't careless with that needle before she stuck it in me. I didn't even see where she got it from which kinda makes me nervous.

And also, the nurse didn't wear gloves. I just realized this now...
« Last Edit: August 24, 2006, 06:17:03 pm by wavecast »

Offline RapidRod

  • Member
  • Posts: 15,288
Re: Needle Stick. May seem silly...
« Reply #34 on: August 24, 2006, 06:23:47 pm »
Seek out the help of a mental health professional. You're now going out of bounds for us to help.

Offline jkinatl2

  • Member
  • Posts: 6,007
  • Doo. Dah. Dipp-ity.
Re: Needle Stick. May seem silly...
« Reply #35 on: August 24, 2006, 06:25:58 pm »
yeah, I see where this is going.

This site is toxic to you at this point. And from here, it's a slippery slope to full-frontal crazy. You can, at any time, exit the ride.

"Many people, especially in the gay community, turn to oral sex as a safer alternative in the age of AIDS. And with HIV rates rising, people need to remember that oral sex is safer sex. It's a reasonable alternative."

-Kimberly Page-Shafer, PhD, MPH

Welcome Thread

Offline wavecast

  • Member
  • Posts: 42
Re: Needle Stick. May seem silly...
« Reply #36 on: August 24, 2006, 07:10:02 pm »
Why is it so crazy to think that a careless nurse might've put me at risk for some type of an infection if she used a needle that wasn't discarded of properly?

And isn't it improper practice to not wear gloves? If she was doing that God knows what else she could've done.


Offline jkinatl2

  • Member
  • Posts: 6,007
  • Doo. Dah. Dipp-ity.
Re: Needle Stick. May seem silly...
« Reply #37 on: August 24, 2006, 07:12:24 pm »
::sigh::

I respectfully withdraw from this conversation.

"Many people, especially in the gay community, turn to oral sex as a safer alternative in the age of AIDS. And with HIV rates rising, people need to remember that oral sex is safer sex. It's a reasonable alternative."

-Kimberly Page-Shafer, PhD, MPH

Welcome Thread

Offline Ann

  • Administrator
  • Member
  • Posts: 28,134
  • It just is, OK?
    • Num is sum qui mentiar tibi?
Re: Needle Stick. May seem silly...
« Reply #38 on: August 24, 2006, 07:27:32 pm »
Wave,

Keep it up and earn yourself a time out.

Nurses aren't in the business of infecting people with anything. If you cannot accept that fact, then seek the assistance of a mental health care provider. We cannot help you with your health care related anxieties here. If it takes giving you a time out to encourage you to get help through the appropriate channels, then that's fine by me.

Ann
Condoms are a girl's best friend

Condom and Lube Info  

"...health will finally be seen not as a blessing to be wished for, but as a human right to be fought for." Kofi Annan

Nymphomaniac: a woman as obsessed with sex as an average man. Mignon McLaughlin

HIV is certainly character-building. It's made me see all of the shallow things we cling to, like ego and vanity. Of course, I'd rather have a few more T-cells and a little less character. Randy Shilts

Offline blackhawk

  • Member
  • Posts: 11
Re: Needle Stick. May seem silly...
« Reply #39 on: August 24, 2006, 10:24:16 pm »

I am a worrier myself but agree with the others that it'd prolly be best for you to turn your attention online elsewhere. Too much of this site for those in a worry well phase is not good.

Just a quick comment on the above posts regarding the needle stick, I think everyone would agree that it would be much more common for soemone who worked in a healthcare setting to become accidentally stuck with a needle than someone who is drinking beer at a local pub.  As an alcoholic myself, I have often times worried about possible non-events during those times when the memory becomes a little fuzzy with Budwesier or Tequila.  I'm sure your tests will be fine, if this is the only incident (non-incident) you are worried about I'm willing to guarantee it. 

Next time you go to log on to this site, Google a page about a favorite hobby or a favorite movie, sports team, etc.

Take care, Everything will be fine.

Offline Matty the Damned

  • Member
  • Posts: 12,277
  • Antipodean in every sense of the word
Re: Needle Stick. May seem silly...
« Reply #40 on: August 24, 2006, 11:34:34 pm »
Hawk,

You should stick to your own thread and leave the giving of advice to others.

Regards,

MtD

Offline HIVsexpert

  • Member
  • Posts: 9
Re: Needle Stick. May seem silly...
« Reply #41 on: August 26, 2006, 12:20:59 am »
Lets do a little experiment.........it may help you determine your "needle stick" risk.    Go into your fridge and grab a 6 pack........drink them.   Get a clean, unwrapped, sterile needle........and gab in into your hand.  Did you feel that?  thought so!   People arent running around with needles infecting other people, get a grip!

Offline RapidRod

  • Member
  • Posts: 15,288
Re: Needle Stick. May seem silly...
« Reply #42 on: August 26, 2006, 12:52:27 am »
HIVsexpert, sick to your own thread with your thoughts and worries. 

Offline ScienceGuy25

  • Member
  • Posts: 120
Re: Needle Stick. May seem silly...
« Reply #43 on: August 26, 2006, 12:57:36 am »
Hawk,

You should stick to your own thread and leave the giving of advice to others.

Regards,

MtD


« Last Edit: August 26, 2006, 01:21:54 am by ScienceGuy25 »

Offline HIVsexpert

  • Member
  • Posts: 9
Re: Needle Stick. May seem silly...
« Reply #44 on: August 26, 2006, 01:08:07 am »
Excuse me?  This was not a worry, it was a response to a question.  Who designated you the sole advice giver on the site?

Offline RapidRod

  • Member
  • Posts: 15,288
Re: Needle Stick. May seem silly...
« Reply #45 on: August 26, 2006, 01:12:03 am »
Just keep all your thoughts and worries in your own thread.

Offline HIVsexpert

  • Member
  • Posts: 9
Re: Needle Stick. May seem silly...
« Reply #46 on: August 26, 2006, 01:14:04 am »
I might say the same thing to you.............you've posted an awful lot of responses to wave before I was even here, whats your excuse?   Why don't you "create your own thread and stay in it"?

Offline RapidRod

  • Member
  • Posts: 15,288
Re: Needle Stick. May seem silly...
« Reply #47 on: August 26, 2006, 01:18:13 am »
Enought said, I'll let Ann handle it. You've violated the guidelines once already.

Offline ScienceGuy25

  • Member
  • Posts: 120
Re: Needle Stick. May seem silly...
« Reply #48 on: August 26, 2006, 01:18:23 am »
I might say the same thing to you.............you've posted an awful lot of responses to wave before I was even here, whats your excuse?   Why don't you "create your own thread and stay in it"?

He knows what he is talking about and give valid advice - how useful was your post?

Offline jkinatl2

  • Member
  • Posts: 6,007
  • Doo. Dah. Dipp-ity.
Re: Needle Stick. May seem silly...
« Reply #49 on: August 26, 2006, 01:22:14 am »
Um, worried well people, especially those with open threads, tend to sort of clog up the system here when they attempt to give advice. Mainly because we have to double check their supposed facts to a degree far and above those given by seasoned respondents. It's not some exclusive club. Its simply an agenda-free zone reliant on the science.

At least, that's what it is to me.

"Many people, especially in the gay community, turn to oral sex as a safer alternative in the age of AIDS. And with HIV rates rising, people need to remember that oral sex is safer sex. It's a reasonable alternative."

-Kimberly Page-Shafer, PhD, MPH

Welcome Thread

Offline HIVsexpert

  • Member
  • Posts: 9
Re: Needle Stick. May seem silly...
« Reply #50 on: August 26, 2006, 01:25:36 am »
His "posts" weren't useful..........except to belittle and insult the person, aside from the fact that the poster was way overboard.  Better to not say anything at all.  Rapidrod.........please refrain from hijacking others threads.....if you have a problem with me, you can address me in mine or through a private message.  Thanks in advance!

Offline ScienceGuy25

  • Member
  • Posts: 120
Re: Needle Stick. May seem silly...
« Reply #51 on: August 26, 2006, 01:34:04 am »
His "posts" weren't useful..........except to belittle and insult the person, aside from the fact that the poster was way overboard.  Better to not say anything at all.  Rapidrod.........please refrain from hijacking others threads.....if you have a problem with me, you can address me in mine or through a private message.  Thanks in advance!

Suggesting someone seek the help of a mental health professional is not meant to be insulting and is often very therapeutic for someone suffering from such intense, irrational HIV related anxiety.  This kind of fear often needs to be treated professionally and can't be helped by "surfing the web."

Offline Matty the Damned

  • Member
  • Posts: 12,277
  • Antipodean in every sense of the word
Re: Needle Stick. May seem silly...
« Reply #52 on: August 26, 2006, 02:19:02 am »
Sexpert,

It's time you shut up and stopped giving gratuitous advice. The same goes for Blackhawk. You're hijacking threads and have no credibility in this forum. You need to know that RapidRod is a recognised and longstanding AIDSMEDS expert and doesn't answer to you. He is also a clinical health professional.

Leave the giving of advice to those of us who know what we're doing.

MtD

Offline wavecast

  • Member
  • Posts: 42
Back again. This time it's not so silly :(
« Reply #53 on: November 11, 2006, 08:58:05 am »
Hi guys, I know I've come to you before with concerns that weren't very serious - or not serious at all. But last night something happened that I think might have put me at a significant level of risk.

I was out with a girl and we were kinda fooling around and play-fighting when she bit me quite hard on one of my fingers. I don't think she meant to hurt me but when i examined my finger the skin had been broken - it wasn't gushing blood but it WAS bleeding when I applied pressure. I didn't see any of her blood on the wound, but I can't be sure there weren't small amounts. The actual cut was small but it was enough to make me bleed.

Now I know saliva on it's own isn't infectious but how significant is my risk if she were to have traces of blood in her mouth? Her lips looks like they might've been chapped and bleeding slightly, which would constitute blood to blood contact.

Please bear with me on this and advise me as to what I should do... if I should wait 3 months and test...

This is really breaking me down. I was finally beginning to overcome my irrational fear of this and BANG - this has to happen.

Thanks in advance for the help. You guys have been great to me in the past I'm hoping you'll help out just one more time.


Offline Ann

  • Administrator
  • Member
  • Posts: 28,134
  • It just is, OK?
    • Num is sum qui mentiar tibi?
Re: Needle Stick. May seem silly...
« Reply #54 on: November 11, 2006, 09:05:44 am »
wave,

You didn't have a risk of hiv infection through this bite. IF you had just punched her in the mouth BEFORE she bit you, and she was bleeding profusely, then you MIGHT have a TINY risk. But, as she wasn't dripping with blood when she bit you, you didn't have a risk. Seriously.

Ann
Condoms are a girl's best friend

Condom and Lube Info  

"...health will finally be seen not as a blessing to be wished for, but as a human right to be fought for." Kofi Annan

Nymphomaniac: a woman as obsessed with sex as an average man. Mignon McLaughlin

HIV is certainly character-building. It's made me see all of the shallow things we cling to, like ego and vanity. Of course, I'd rather have a few more T-cells and a little less character. Randy Shilts

Offline wavecast

  • Member
  • Posts: 42
Re: Needle Stick. May seem silly...
« Reply #55 on: November 11, 2006, 09:13:26 am »
Hello Ann. Once again, thank you for your patience. Your words are comforting as usual.

So as I take it, unless there were large VISIBLE amounts of her blood all over my finger after the bite, then my risk is nonexistent? I sure didn't punch her beforehand lol. Her lips just looked sorta cracked.

Offline Ann

  • Administrator
  • Member
  • Posts: 28,134
  • It just is, OK?
    • Num is sum qui mentiar tibi?
Re: Needle Stick. May seem silly...
« Reply #56 on: November 11, 2006, 09:43:20 am »
wave,

No, you didn't have a risk by any stretch of the imagination. Cracked lips do not transmit hiv.

Ann
Condoms are a girl's best friend

Condom and Lube Info  

"...health will finally be seen not as a blessing to be wished for, but as a human right to be fought for." Kofi Annan

Nymphomaniac: a woman as obsessed with sex as an average man. Mignon McLaughlin

HIV is certainly character-building. It's made me see all of the shallow things we cling to, like ego and vanity. Of course, I'd rather have a few more T-cells and a little less character. Randy Shilts

Offline wavecast

  • Member
  • Posts: 42
Re: Needle Stick. May seem silly...
« Reply #57 on: November 11, 2006, 11:04:16 am »
Thank you Ann. I take it this wasn't a small risk, it was a no risk situation and therefore warrants no testing...

Offline Ann

  • Administrator
  • Member
  • Posts: 28,134
  • It just is, OK?
    • Num is sum qui mentiar tibi?
Re: Needle Stick. May seem silly...
« Reply #58 on: November 11, 2006, 12:38:33 pm »
wave,

NO risk.

NO test.

Ann
Condoms are a girl's best friend

Condom and Lube Info  

"...health will finally be seen not as a blessing to be wished for, but as a human right to be fought for." Kofi Annan

Nymphomaniac: a woman as obsessed with sex as an average man. Mignon McLaughlin

HIV is certainly character-building. It's made me see all of the shallow things we cling to, like ego and vanity. Of course, I'd rather have a few more T-cells and a little less character. Randy Shilts

Offline wavecast

  • Member
  • Posts: 42
Re: Needle Stick. May seem silly...
« Reply #59 on: January 20, 2007, 12:53:25 pm »
At the risk of getting kicked off these forums, I've got a question for Ann and whatever other experts might want to add their input.

I've made some constructive progress in the realm of my HIV phobias as of late. Usually I'd be on this board quite often - and lately I haven't come here at all. I've been able to keep my irrational fears at bay through the advice I've received. I've also been able to pass on the knowledge I've received here to others who are greatly misinformed about what they think are risks.

What I came to ask about might qualify as an environmental surface exposure, which I KNOW is in fact no risk - but I thought that clarification might just be a good idea since it wasn't just any old ordinary surface.

Recently our office changed locations. Our new washrooms aren't the most sanitary ones around but that's cool... I still use them, use the toilet paper there freely... no risk of anything from washrooms or toilets as I know. [told ya I've made progress!]- The other day as I was washing my hands I slammed my knuckle against the tip of the faucet and I gave myself a nice cut that bled immediately. Now of course this isn't anything I'd normally worry about, but this faucet is like a razor-sharp edge that I'm sure didn't only injure me. It's sharp as hell and I can't see why it was made the way it was. Definitely not a piece of quality faucet craftsmanship!

Anyways I just wanted to check with you guys and see how risky getting cut with something that may have cut other people is. If it was any other washroom I really wouldn't care - but it's just the sheer volume of people who use that faucet that worries me. This would be similar to sharing a razor blade if there was another man's blood on the faucet... so I thought I would just check it out here.

Thanks for reading and for your patience. It's more appreciated than you know.

And also happy new year to everyone.

p.s. Ann I'll be visiting the U.K. soon - any suggestions for a not-so-good-with-directions tourist?

Offline RapidRod

  • Member
  • Posts: 15,288
Re: Needle Stick. May seem silly...
« Reply #60 on: January 20, 2007, 12:55:32 pm »
Zero risk again.

Offline Andy Velez

  • Global Moderator
  • Member
  • Posts: 34,126
Re: Needle Stick. May seem silly...
« Reply #61 on: January 20, 2007, 01:00:17 pm »
I suspect you already know the answer(s) you will get to your latest question.

You've been hanging around here long enough and had enough information given to you to know that you were not in any way at risk in the latest situation you have posed.

Period. End of story.

This site is not for you to just drop in anytime and as often as you feel like to chat about your latest non-risk.

Consider yourself warned. 
Andy Velez

Offline wavecast

  • Member
  • Posts: 42
Re: Needle Stick. May seem silly...
« Reply #62 on: March 03, 2007, 09:41:44 am »
Alright Andy I understand. Thanks for your patience.

I had another question to ask you - it's not about any exposure or risk or non risk I had or anything like that. Just a general inquiry about something I saw on TV. I hope either you or Ann will be kind enough to answer. I tried searching the forums for something like this before posting but I couldn't find anything.

I was watching a UFC fight with some friends of mine this past weekend, a couple of which practice mixed martial arts themselves. One of the fighters was cut pretty badly - and since much of this sport involves close contact grappling on the ground, there were a few drops of blood that landed on the other fighter's face. My friend asked "I wonder if these guys are required to get tested for HIV?"

I know sports aren't a risk because of sweat not being infectious in any way, I'm just curious as to what the line is between 'no risk' and 'risk' in terms of fighters getting each others blood in their eyes? Would just a drop require testing? Or would it have to be many many drops? Does the actual amount matter at all?

Just something that had me curious. Not that I'm fighting like this or anything. Just an inquiry.




Offline Andy Velez

  • Global Moderator
  • Member
  • Posts: 34,126
Re: Needle Stick. May seem silly...
« Reply #63 on: March 03, 2007, 10:36:54 am »
No, there is no REQUIREMENT that athletes get tested in relation to the situation you mentioned or many like ones which come up in various sports.

There are no reliably documented cases of transmission in that manner.
Andy Velez

Offline wavecast

  • Member
  • Posts: 42
Re: Needle Stick. May seem silly...
« Reply #64 on: March 03, 2007, 10:53:05 am »
Never been known to happen, I see. So in terms of the quantity is it because there's just not enough blood? I'm just trying to understand what is and isn't a risk in terms of the amount.

Offline wavecast

  • Member
  • Posts: 42
Re: Needle Stick. May seem silly...
« Reply #65 on: March 04, 2007, 07:03:41 pm »
Can anybody field my last inquiry, please?

Offline Ann

  • Administrator
  • Member
  • Posts: 28,134
  • It just is, OK?
    • Num is sum qui mentiar tibi?
Re: Needle Stick. May seem silly...
« Reply #66 on: March 04, 2007, 07:08:24 pm »
wave,

It's because successful hiv transmission needs to take place INSIDE the human body, most usually during unprotected anal or vaginal intercourse. Hiv is very fragile and once it finds itself outside the human body, it quickly becomes damaged and unable to infect.

As Andy told you, no one has EVER become infected in a sports setting - or even a street brawl. It just doesn't happen that way.

Ann
Condoms are a girl's best friend

Condom and Lube Info  

"...health will finally be seen not as a blessing to be wished for, but as a human right to be fought for." Kofi Annan

Nymphomaniac: a woman as obsessed with sex as an average man. Mignon McLaughlin

HIV is certainly character-building. It's made me see all of the shallow things we cling to, like ego and vanity. Of course, I'd rather have a few more T-cells and a little less character. Randy Shilts

Offline wavecast

  • Member
  • Posts: 42
Re: Needle Stick. May seem silly...
« Reply #67 on: March 04, 2007, 07:14:10 pm »
Thanks for the response Ann. I realize that it's one of those things that just doesn't happen, but is it specifically because the blood would be exposed to too much of a hostile environment? Or does it have to do with the amounts of blood involved? That's what I was unsure of.

I know the virus can't survive outside the host - but a drop might sometimes go from one fighters face into another guys eye.

Offline wavecast

  • Member
  • Posts: 42
Re: Needle Stick. May seem silly...
« Reply #68 on: March 29, 2007, 08:50:02 pm »
Sorry my thread kinda got lost. Ann or Andy might you have an answer for my last question? Thankyou! You've done worlds for my overall knowledge of this. I hope you don't mind adding to that knowledge with additional inquiries I have. The more I'm able to understand the better.

Offline RapidRod

  • Member
  • Posts: 15,288
Re: Needle Stick. May seem silly...
« Reply #69 on: March 29, 2007, 08:53:19 pm »
Wavecast, there has never been anyone in sports, including street fighting, that has been infected by another competitor.
« Last Edit: March 29, 2007, 08:54:54 pm by RapidRod »

Offline wavecast

  • Member
  • Posts: 42
Re: Needle Stick. May seem silly...
« Reply #70 on: March 29, 2007, 08:56:22 pm »
Yeah I understand. I'm just trying to wrap my head around the differences between lets say an MMA figher or a boxer who gets a drop of blood in their eye from an opponents fesh cut - and a health care worker who gets blood in their eye from a patient. That's the difference I'm looking to understand. There's obviously a difference since there's never been a transmission related to sports, I just want to understand what it is. Thanks Rod.

Offline RapidRod

  • Member
  • Posts: 15,288
Re: Needle Stick. May seem silly...
« Reply #71 on: March 30, 2007, 03:43:06 am »
You aren't a health care worker and you aren't a fighter so that makes one less worry for you.

Offline Ann

  • Administrator
  • Member
  • Posts: 28,134
  • It just is, OK?
    • Num is sum qui mentiar tibi?
Re: Needle Stick. May seem silly...
« Reply #72 on: March 30, 2007, 05:12:09 am »
wave,

There's never been an infection in a health care worker from blood in the eye either. So there is no difference.

Ann
Condoms are a girl's best friend

Condom and Lube Info  

"...health will finally be seen not as a blessing to be wished for, but as a human right to be fought for." Kofi Annan

Nymphomaniac: a woman as obsessed with sex as an average man. Mignon McLaughlin

HIV is certainly character-building. It's made me see all of the shallow things we cling to, like ego and vanity. Of course, I'd rather have a few more T-cells and a little less character. Randy Shilts

Offline wavecast

  • Member
  • Posts: 42
Re: Needle Stick. May seem silly...
« Reply #73 on: March 30, 2007, 07:23:17 am »
What? I thought cases like that HAD been documented? They list the risk as like 1/1000 or something like that and mention how the membranes in your eye are a means of transmission? I was under the impression that it had been documented... Am I misinformed?

Offline RapidRod

  • Member
  • Posts: 15,288
Re: Needle Stick. May seem silly...
« Reply #74 on: March 31, 2007, 04:56:03 am »
Post the link to where you saw that there are documented cases of blood splatter in eyes is documented to have caused HIV transmission.

Offline wavecast

  • Member
  • Posts: 42
Re: Needle Stick. May seem silly...
« Reply #75 on: March 31, 2007, 04:45:59 pm »
Hi Rod. I was basically saying that every time you hear about "occupational exposures" - you usually see that 'blood to eye' contact is lumped in as a risk.

"Some health-care workers have become infected after being stuck with needles containing HIV-infected blood or, less frequently when infected blood comes in contact with a worker's open cut or is splashed into a worker's eyes or inside their nose."

That's taken from the CDC. It doesn't really show a documented case - but it's the only reason I was under the impression that there have been cases documented.

Anyways I was just curious what the difference was between a health care worker's eye being exposed to blood and an athlete's eye. That was what my initial question was driving at.

Offline wavecast

  • Member
  • Posts: 42
Re: Needle Stick. May seem silly...
« Reply #76 on: April 01, 2007, 10:29:00 pm »
Can you guys please help me understand this? Thanks.

Offline RapidRod

  • Member
  • Posts: 15,288
Re: Needle Stick. May seem silly...
« Reply #77 on: April 01, 2007, 10:40:17 pm »
There have been apx. 900,000 occupational exposures and less than 100 have become positive. Now do you think the risk is great? That's blood in the eyes, needle stick, busted test tubes, lacerations by bone, and suture needles. As you can see it's not that great of a concern.

Offline wavecast

  • Member
  • Posts: 42
Re: Needle Stick. May seem silly...
« Reply #78 on: April 01, 2007, 10:57:44 pm »
So if it hasn't been documented as ever actually happening - how can they lump it in with the other needle sticks and bone lacerations? Is it because it's theoretical only?

Also - is the amount of blood a factor in an eye exposure? Because surely some athletes, fighters & boxers have gotten small droplets of blood in their eyes before.

Thanks for your patience. I'm just trying to get as good an understanding of this as I can.

Offline milker

  • Member
  • Posts: 4,034
  • Protected phone sex
Re: Needle Stick. May seem silly...
« Reply #79 on: April 01, 2007, 11:17:12 pm »
If you want to be the first documented case of hiv infection from blood to eye, then be it. Boxers that are HIV didn't get it thru the eye.

Milker.
mid-dec: stupid ass
mid-jan: seroconversion
mid-feb: poz
mar 07: cd4 432 (35%) vl 54000
may 07: cd4 399 (28%) vl 27760
jul 07: cd4 403 (26%) vl 99241
oct 07: cd4 353 (24%) vl 29993
jan 08: cd4 332 (26%) vl 33308
mar 08: cd4 392 (23%) vl 75548
jun 08: cd4 325 (27%) vl 45880
oct 08: cd4 197 (20%) vl 154000 <== aids diagnosis
nov 2 08 start Atripla
nov 30 08: cd4 478 (23%) vl 1880 !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
feb 19 09: cd4 398 (24%) vl 430 getting there!
apr 23 09: cd4 604 (29%) vl 50 woohoo :D :D
jul 30 09: cd4 512 (29%) vl undetectable :D :D
may 27 10: cd4 655 (32%) vl undetectable :D :D

Now accepting applications from blowjob ninjas™

Offline RapidRod

  • Member
  • Posts: 15,288
Re: Needle Stick. May seem silly...
« Reply #80 on: April 02, 2007, 04:31:38 am »
Wavecast, we're done with you here. You did not have a risk, so it's time for you to move on.

Offline wavecast

  • Member
  • Posts: 42
Re: Needle Stick. May seem silly...
« Reply #81 on: April 02, 2007, 06:56:54 pm »
Rod as a matter of fact, the questions I'm asking this time (above few posts) are NOT to do with a risk I had (or think I had) - but more to do with areas of this topic that I truthfully don't understand and would like to wrap my head around a little more thoroughly.

I'm sorry if my curiosity has offended you. It isn't my intent to do so.

Offline ACinKC

  • Member
  • Posts: 2,994
  • Bring it VIRUS! #2 Ranked In-crowd Member!
Re: Needle Stick. May seem silly...
« Reply #82 on: April 02, 2007, 07:12:44 pm »
Thing is we are here to help people with REAL risks.  We arent here as paid educators of the masses.  if you want the knowledge you should work to get it rather than take the easy road by asking us.  Also, continually responding to your quest for knowledge taxes the precious little time we have to help those who really need it.

So please, study some other way than just asking us.  The information is out there if you want to find it.
LIFE is not a race to the grave with the intention of arriving safely
in a pretty and well-preserved body, but, rather to skid in broadside,
thoroughly used up, totally worn out, and loudly proclaiming--WOW! WHAT A
RIDE!!!

Offline wavecast

  • Member
  • Posts: 42
Re: Needle Stick. May seem silly...
« Reply #83 on: April 02, 2007, 07:49:27 pm »
I understand that. And I appreciate what the volunteers do here. Believe me I'm not ignorant to the fact that people go out of their way from the goodness of their hearts. It's just that so much of the information out there is contradictory and confusing at best. I trust what's said on this site - which is why I often turn to these forums for answers.

If the answers to my questions were out there -  I wouldn't bother anybody here. It's not due to laziness. 


Offline ACinKC

  • Member
  • Posts: 2,994
  • Bring it VIRUS! #2 Ranked In-crowd Member!
Re: Needle Stick. May seem silly...
« Reply #84 on: April 02, 2007, 07:54:32 pm »
Regardless of the information that is or is not out there, you are not speaking of a risk directly related to you.  We can't help you any further.
LIFE is not a race to the grave with the intention of arriving safely
in a pretty and well-preserved body, but, rather to skid in broadside,
thoroughly used up, totally worn out, and loudly proclaiming--WOW! WHAT A
RIDE!!!

Offline wavecast

  • Member
  • Posts: 42
Re: Needle Stick. May seem silly...
« Reply #85 on: June 15, 2007, 09:01:03 pm »
Hello I've been away so I hadn't had a chance to respond. Can somebody clarify why it is that certain experts on this site say that transmission through the eye happens rarely, and others say that it has NEVER been known to happen? I mean it's one or the other, right?

Offline Matty the Damned

  • Member
  • Posts: 12,277
  • Antipodean in every sense of the word
Re: Needle Stick. May seem silly...
« Reply #86 on: June 15, 2007, 09:06:24 pm »
For the record there has never been a documented case of HIV transmission via the ocular route i.e. through the eye. Tears contain a substance called lysozyme which neutralises HIV, the fragile virus which causes AIDS.

You may draw from that answer what you will.

Having said that, I would remind you that you didn't have a risk to begin with and so HIV is not a concern in your case. As you have been told before, it's time you moved on. We cannot help you any further.

MtD

Offline wavecast

  • Member
  • Posts: 42
Re: Needle Stick. May seem silly...
« Reply #87 on: June 15, 2007, 09:12:10 pm »
Oh is that right? That's a new one I had never heard about that before. I was reading in another thread and Mr. Velez said that it happens "rarely" and I obviously gathered from that that it has in fact occured.

So why all the confusion about blood to eye contact as a mode of transmission? Even the damn CDC implies that it's happened! If it's never been documented then why isn't is as readily dismissed as things like kissing?

Offline Matty the Damned

  • Member
  • Posts: 12,277
  • Antipodean in every sense of the word
Re: Needle Stick. May seem silly...
« Reply #88 on: June 15, 2007, 09:17:33 pm »
Wave,

Am I Infected is not a discussion forum. I and the other experts are not here to bandy words with you about the various modes of transmission real or imagined. People come here to post their concerns about risky experiences they've had and we answer their questions.

I have rendered my answer to your question. As I said you may draw from it what you will.

One other thing, don't you dare take that pissy tone of voice with me. We cannot help you any further. Move on.

This conversation is over.

MtD

Offline wavecast

  • Member
  • Posts: 42
Re: Needle Stick. May seem silly...
« Reply #89 on: June 15, 2007, 09:24:11 pm »
Matty, tone is clearly lost on these forums. I took no 'pissy attitude' towards you whatsoever. I apologize that you understood me as such.

I appreciate your answer and wasn't trying to challenge it.

Offline Andy Velez

  • Global Moderator
  • Member
  • Posts: 34,126
Re: Needle Stick. May seem silly...
« Reply #90 on: June 16, 2007, 09:30:44 am »
Wave, I don't know which other thread you are referring to.

I would certainly consider transmission via the eye to be more in the theoretical category rather than an actual ongoing risk. Could transmission happen in that manner? Yes. Does it happen? So rarely beyond rare that it is not a matter for serious consideration.

It is mistakenly focusing on that kind of rarity which fuels unwarranted and obsessive fears about everyday life events and actions as a means of transmission.

We know from experience in the epidemic that unprotected intercourse is the big issue sexually in terms of risk. A very small number proportionally and in total of transmissions happen through healthcare-related accidents.

 
Andy Velez

Offline wavecast

  • Member
  • Posts: 42
Re: Needle Stick. May seem silly...
« Reply #91 on: June 16, 2007, 09:49:08 am »
Andy, the thread to which I was referring was this one: http://forums.poz.com/index.php?topic=2650.msg29755#msg29755

I can understand what a theoretical risk is. But when you say ocular transmission happens "so rarely beyond rare" it implies that it HAS in fact taken place, even if just once or twice.

That's what I was getting at. The other experts say it's NEVER been documented. You say it happens rarely. It can't be both.

Offline Ann

  • Administrator
  • Member
  • Posts: 28,134
  • It just is, OK?
    • Num is sum qui mentiar tibi?
Re: Needle Stick. May seem silly...
« Reply #92 on: June 16, 2007, 11:38:49 am »
wave,

You need to understand what it means when a case is "documented". Being documented means that there is absolutely no question of how transmission took place. As far as I am aware (and I've looked), there is not one single documented case of transmission via infected fluids getting into someone's eye.

There may have been people who thought they were infected this way, but it has never been proven - usually because they engaged in other risky behaviours, ones that are MUCH more likely to lead to transmission and infection.

You're more likely to stumble across a multi-million winning lottery ticket lying in a gutter than you are to become infected this way. Now chill, please.

Ann
Condoms are a girl's best friend

Condom and Lube Info  

"...health will finally be seen not as a blessing to be wished for, but as a human right to be fought for." Kofi Annan

Nymphomaniac: a woman as obsessed with sex as an average man. Mignon McLaughlin

HIV is certainly character-building. It's made me see all of the shallow things we cling to, like ego and vanity. Of course, I'd rather have a few more T-cells and a little less character. Randy Shilts

Offline wavecast

  • Member
  • Posts: 42
Re: Needle Stick. May seem silly...
« Reply #93 on: September 07, 2007, 08:32:11 pm »
Ann I was wondering if you might clarify something for me please. When a person seroconverts, I know they may or may not show symptoms and it's no way to determine anything. Now let's say somebody does show symptoms within 3 weeks, and they were in fact due to infection. Does that mean after that point antibodies would in fact be detectable through a test even if it was before the standard 3 month window?

I was reading the lessons but couldn't find an exact answer to this.

Thanks a lot for taking the time to read this.

Offline RapidRod

  • Member
  • Posts: 15,288
Re: Needle Stick. May seem silly...
« Reply #94 on: September 07, 2007, 08:35:14 pm »
Most people if they are going to test positive, will do so in six weeks. Just because you think you serocoverted does not mean that there will be enough antibodies in your system for the tests to detect.

Offline wavecast

  • Member
  • Posts: 42
Re: Needle Stick. May seem silly...
« Reply #95 on: September 08, 2007, 08:42:15 am »
I understand. Is there an amount of time that these symptoms usually last? Can they come and go in one day? Or would they last longer?

Offline RapidRod

  • Member
  • Posts: 15,288
Re: Needle Stick. May seem silly...
« Reply #96 on: September 08, 2007, 08:45:29 am »
No, they to not come on one day and go. They come on 2-4 weeks after infection and last 1-2 weeks.

Offline wavecast

  • Member
  • Posts: 42
Re: Needle Stick. May seem silly...
« Reply #97 on: September 08, 2007, 09:14:41 am »
I see. The lessons say that sometimes the symptoms are so mild that they're simply dismissed as nothing. Just thought this might have meant they could possibly come and go within a day or two.
« Last Edit: September 08, 2007, 09:19:30 am by wavecast »

Offline Ann

  • Administrator
  • Member
  • Posts: 28,134
  • It just is, OK?
    • Num is sum qui mentiar tibi?
Re: Needle Stick. May seem silly...
« Reply #98 on: September 08, 2007, 09:36:47 am »
wave,

The symptoms that may or may not accompany seroconversion is the physical reaction to the process the body goes through to produce antibodies; it is not a reaction to the virus itself. Some people observe no such physical reaction in their bodies. This is why testing is so important when there has been a risk, regardless of the presence or absence of physical symptoms.

Most often, if a person tests for hiv antibodies during the process of antibody production, the test will come back as negative or inconclusive as the levels of antibodies are not yet high enough to produce a definite positive result.

The majority of people who have actually been infected will have produced enough antibodies to result in a positive result by the end of six weeks. A negative result at this time MUST be confirmed at three months, simply to catch the RARE person who takes a little longer than six weeks to reach the necessary level and test positive.

However, where you're concerned, this is all purely academic as in order to become infected with hiv, you must first have a risk. You have not had a risk.

Do you need a time out to get the message? You have not had a risk for hiv infection. Use condoms for anal or vaginal intercourse, correctly and consistently, and you never will either.

As for your hiv related anxiety/obsession, please see a mental health care professional. We cannot help you with that here.

Ann
Condoms are a girl's best friend

Condom and Lube Info  

"...health will finally be seen not as a blessing to be wished for, but as a human right to be fought for." Kofi Annan

Nymphomaniac: a woman as obsessed with sex as an average man. Mignon McLaughlin

HIV is certainly character-building. It's made me see all of the shallow things we cling to, like ego and vanity. Of course, I'd rather have a few more T-cells and a little less character. Randy Shilts

Offline wavecast

  • Member
  • Posts: 42
Re: Needle Stick. May seem silly...
« Reply #99 on: September 08, 2007, 09:41:45 am »
Ann I won't lie to you. Something happened 3 weeks ago that set me off. I didn't want to mention it or ask about it because I've got a good feeling that I'd be dismissed as paranoid.

Yesterday afternoon I began to feel tired with a slight headache. Today the headache is gone but I still feel slight fatigue. That's why I asked about how long these symptoms do last if they are in fact present. 

I know a test is the only way to be sure, but I just wanted confirmation on the duration of the symptoms if any at all.

Offline Ann

  • Administrator
  • Member
  • Posts: 28,134
  • It just is, OK?
    • Num is sum qui mentiar tibi?
Re: Needle Stick. May seem silly...
« Reply #100 on: September 08, 2007, 10:47:19 am »
Wave,

Unless you had unprotected anal or vaginal intercourse, you're likely worrying over nothing, yet again.

Please get yourself some face to face help with these unnecessary worries of yours. We cannot help you with them here.

Ann
Condoms are a girl's best friend

Condom and Lube Info  

"...health will finally be seen not as a blessing to be wished for, but as a human right to be fought for." Kofi Annan

Nymphomaniac: a woman as obsessed with sex as an average man. Mignon McLaughlin

HIV is certainly character-building. It's made me see all of the shallow things we cling to, like ego and vanity. Of course, I'd rather have a few more T-cells and a little less character. Randy Shilts

Offline wavecast

  • Member
  • Posts: 42
Re: Needle Stick. May seem silly...
« Reply #101 on: September 08, 2007, 11:19:29 am »
There was no unprotected sex. And at the time I was not worrying. This incident has to do with a needle prick I felt 3 weeks ago when I was out. I didn't want to mention it because people here will think I'm either making things up or overreacting. But I know what I felt and it felt like a needle stabbed me. And now I get this fatigue and headache exactly 3 weeks after. 

Offline Ann

  • Administrator
  • Member
  • Posts: 28,134
  • It just is, OK?
    • Num is sum qui mentiar tibi?
Re: Needle Stick. May seem silly...
« Reply #102 on: September 08, 2007, 11:32:00 am »
Wave,

You are not going to become infected this way, as you have been REPEATEDLY told. Keep posting and I'll give you that time out. No kidding.

Please get yourself into counseling/therapy for this obsession. It isn't healthy and we can't help you with it here.

For the LAST time, you haven't had a risk for hiv infection. No way, no how, regardless if you were stuck by a sharp object or not. Hiv just isn't transmitted in this way outside of a medical setting - and even then it's RARE.

This is you LAST warning. Get help outside this forum. You will no longer be permitted to use this site the way you have been. This is NOT an hiv situation. Never has been, from the moment you joined.

Ann
« Last Edit: September 08, 2007, 11:34:09 am by Ann »
Condoms are a girl's best friend

Condom and Lube Info  

"...health will finally be seen not as a blessing to be wished for, but as a human right to be fought for." Kofi Annan

Nymphomaniac: a woman as obsessed with sex as an average man. Mignon McLaughlin

HIV is certainly character-building. It's made me see all of the shallow things we cling to, like ego and vanity. Of course, I'd rather have a few more T-cells and a little less character. Randy Shilts

Offline wavecast

  • Member
  • Posts: 42
Re: Needle Stick. May seem silly...
« Reply #103 on: September 08, 2007, 11:46:22 am »
I understand Ann. And I didn't come here to get into this. I just asked about the symptom thing. All I'm going to say is that it's possibly being deliberately stabbed with a hypodermic needle that worries me. I'm fully aware that a sharp object or other type of needle isn't a risk.

Offline Matty the Damned

  • Member
  • Posts: 12,277
  • Antipodean in every sense of the word
Re: Needle Stick. May seem silly...
« Reply #104 on: September 08, 2007, 05:56:42 pm »
Wave,

We've been addressing your needle concerns for more than 12 months now. This has really gone way beyond what we generally put up with.

Clearly you would benefit from seeing a mental health worker. I urge you to get the help you so obviously need.

MtD

Offline wavecast

  • Member
  • Posts: 42
Re: Needle Stick. May seem silly...
« Reply #105 on: September 11, 2007, 07:32:03 pm »
Matty that might not be a bad idea. The thing is that I wasn't worried about anything during the time that lead up to this incident.

I admit it's not the 1st time I've worried about getting pricked by somebody with a needle. But this time I actually felt a jab in my back. And now 3 weeks later I've developed a headache, mild chills, and fatigue (lasted for about 4 days now and are starting to go away). Just seems like a really big coincidence. Too big to ignore. 

I know the responses will say there's no risk but I mean if a healthcare worker can be infected through these accidents then why am I so immune? As I see it the virus doesn't know where it is. A needle stick is a needle stick.
« Last Edit: September 11, 2007, 07:35:32 pm by wavecast »

Offline Matty the Damned

  • Member
  • Posts: 12,277
  • Antipodean in every sense of the word
Re: Needle Stick. May seem silly...
« Reply #106 on: September 11, 2007, 07:43:30 pm »
Wave,

Clearly we're not getting through. I cannot possibly see how we can help you any further. I'm flicking this one to the Moderators for review.

MtD

Offline RapidRod

  • Member
  • Posts: 15,288
Re: Needle Stick. May seem silly...
« Reply #107 on: September 11, 2007, 07:47:45 pm »
No, a needle sick is not just a needle stick. Out of 900,000 occupational exposures only about 150 have contracted HIV since 1984. Those are people that actually work with syringes full of blood and that is a combined number, not just needle sticks. It's time that you move on and get professional help. You are beyond the scope of this forum.

Offline Ann

  • Administrator
  • Member
  • Posts: 28,134
  • It just is, OK?
    • Num is sum qui mentiar tibi?
Re: Needle Stick. May seem silly...
« Reply #108 on: September 11, 2007, 07:53:19 pm »
wave,

I don't see the point in continuing this with you. Please get yourself a good therapist to discuss your issues with. We cannot help you with that here.

Ann
Condoms are a girl's best friend

Condom and Lube Info  

"...health will finally be seen not as a blessing to be wished for, but as a human right to be fought for." Kofi Annan

Nymphomaniac: a woman as obsessed with sex as an average man. Mignon McLaughlin

HIV is certainly character-building. It's made me see all of the shallow things we cling to, like ego and vanity. Of course, I'd rather have a few more T-cells and a little less character. Randy Shilts

Offline Andy Velez

  • Global Moderator
  • Member
  • Posts: 34,126
Re: Needle Stick. May seem silly...
« Reply #109 on: September 11, 2007, 09:06:21 pm »
...and further to what Ann has said, consider yourself warned.

If you continue to come here with this kind of what if and handwringing that you want us to take seriously, we won't. And you'll be given a time out and possibly banned from the site. 
Andy Velez

Offline wavecast

  • Member
  • Posts: 42
Re: Needle Stick. May seem silly...
« Reply #110 on: November 17, 2007, 04:22:38 pm »
wave,

I don't see the point in continuing this with you. Please get yourself a good therapist to discuss your issues with. We cannot help you with that here.

Ann


I understand I was given a time out for this, but all I was looking for was an answer as to whether or not I should go for a test. When Ann said that I can't be infected from a  sharp object, I thought she may have assumed that I thought ANY sharp object was a risk and I know that's not the case. That's why I posted again, I wanted to make it clear that it wasn't just any old sharp object I'm worried about.

I was specifically concerned about the being stabbed with a needle. And i developed a headache and fatigue with muscle aches exactly 3 weeks later I felt that sharp pain in my back. I would've dismissed this if it hadn't been for those symptoms. All of it just seems like too much of a coincidence to ignore and I'm just really worried here and a few words of advice would really be appreciated.

Offline RapidRod

  • Member
  • Posts: 15,288
Re: Needle Stick. May seem silly...
« Reply #111 on: November 17, 2007, 05:21:01 pm »
You're going to be banned permanently if you don't stop with the questions that have already been answered.

Offline anniebc

  • Member
  • Posts: 6,185
  • AM member since 2003
Re: Needle Stick. May seem silly...
« Reply #112 on: November 17, 2007, 05:27:21 pm »
Wavecast

It would seem that a 56 day TO didn't work..we can no longer help you here because you have refused to listen to all the advise you were given.

I have placed a permenant ban on your account.

Jan
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
Never knock on deaths door..ring the bell and run..he really hates that.

 


Terms of Membership for these forums
 

© 2024 Smart + Strong. All Rights Reserved.   terms of use and your privacy
Smart + Strong® is a registered trademark of CDM Publishing, LLC.