Unusual Situation!?

[quite nervous!]

Hi there.

First i should mention that this is not my first scare with HIV. I can openly admit that i have had a fear of contracting HIV in a sexual manner in the past, all of which have turned out not to be the case. However, this situation is slightly different. I was in a nightclub a few weeks back and was not drunk at the time. As i walked into the nightclub there was a waiter behind me who was constantly pushing my back. A few seconds later i felt something on my lower back. It wasn't painful and i really cannot describe what the feeling was but there is a possibility it was a needle. it felt quite sharp and quick. I cant recall the pain but i just no it was very quick. It wasn't enough for me to even turn around and i dont think i even flinched i just remember thinking what was that, was it a needle? I turned around and there didn't appear to be anyone there holding a needle or acting suspicious. Anyway, i went to touch my back and there was a little spot there. It wasn't painful it was just a little raised bump. i went to the toilet to see and i couldn't even really see it and i made a point of looking for blood. There was none. And i had a tight white t shirt on so if there was blood i defiantly would of noticed. When i got home the next day i made a point of pricking myself with a sewing needle to see if it was a similar pain. I no that sounds crazy believe me! Well anyway i dont think it was a sewing needle because that was really painful more so then anything i felt in the club! 10 days later when i was starting to forget about it i developed 3 mouth ulcers and swollen glands under my chin. I no symptoms are NOTHING to go by but i feel this to be SUCH a co incidence. I occasionally get mouth ulcers but never swollen glands. Your views on the matter would be greatly appreciated.

Many thanks!

[jkinatl2]

There has NEVER been a documented case of HIV being transmitted by the manner you describe. It is an urban myth, and also pretty close to a scientific impossibility.

I hope you are getting counseling for this irrational fear of HIV.

[quite nervous!]

I am aware of the urban myth. And i do realize how crazy this situation sounds. But there is still a possibility that i could of got pricked by a little needle and barely felt it. i did feel something. Did i feel a sharp needle go straight into my back and see blood and turn around and be like wtf!? No...but i no any needle prick shouldnt be taken lightly no matter the circumstances. Yes it could have been a nail or i could have even imagined it. I no the mind can do crazy things. Il ask another question. If i did get pricked with a needle in order for it to be deep enough would it almost certainly bleed? I guess thats the one thing that im thinking maybe i didnt get pricked because there was no blood anywhere. There was a little spot tho, maybe a bite. And i no sometimes after you get pricked a little dot can appear on the skin. No idea if it was there before or not.

Thanks for reading.

[jkinatl2]

In order for a person to infect you with a needle, he or she would have to draw his/her blood into the needle using the plunger.

At this point, the clock starts ticking, as even in the anaerobic environment temporarily offered by the needle, the virus will quickly become inert due to temperature and other changes.

The person would have maybe a minute at best to find you, then inject you. Not prick you, inject you - as in holding the plunger down and shoving active viral particles into your bloodstream.

That is not a prick you would barely notice. That is an injection of matter into your body. That is why needle STICKS are taken seriously in a healthcare situation.

Of course you would bleed. And it would hurt. And you would not be musing over it on a message forum. You would be filling out a police report for the assault.

There is absolutely NO reason for you to worry about HIV from the incident you described. I reiterate my hope that you are seeing a therapist to overcome this irrational fear.

[quite nervous!]

I am taking on board everything you are saying and i DO really appreciate it. But there are cases in the healthcare setting where people have been infected by an accidental slip up. What i mean is the patients arm has flinched and the needle has pricked there hand for example and they have become infected that way. I no its rare but it does happen. In these situations nobody is pushing down on the syringe the needle is simply pricking them. Am i right in saying these are hollow bore needles so the infected blood is already at the tip of the needle and thats how transmission takes place?

[Andy Velez]

Your what if situation is very different from the healthcare setting to which you are drawing analogy. You did not have a risk and we're not going to indulge you in a back and forth about what is a what if.

Stop the unnecessary drama now and get on with your life. You did not have a risk.

[quite nervous!]

I understand completely what you are saying and i tell myself that everyday! The fact is if i would of seen a needle then that would be a different story. Obviously, i did not see a needle i can't claim that it was defiantly a needle that i felt, but it was something. If i was to say to you that i saw a needle then obviously the advice would be to get tested. Isn't testing warrented to the fact that there COULD of been a needle present?

Many thanks.

[RapidRod]

No. Being pricked, or scratched by a needle is not a risk of contracting HIV.

[quite nervous!]

I do appreciate all the responses on here. I will not bother anyone anymore with this. I needed some information and you guys have cleared it up for me. Am i confused as to how a needle prick in any situation cannot pose some level of risk? Slightly. But you guys no a lot more than i do. Am i worried about my symptoms of mouth ulcers and swollen glands ten days after. Yes. But i no you do not discus symptoms on here so i wont bother you with it. I will take all your information on board and try and get on with my life. If i cannot not i will seek a mental health professional and deal with it that way. Thanks again for the information you have provided.

You are all doing a tremendous job on this website and i am so happy i have found you guys because you have helped me a lot.

Many thanks.

[Andy Velez]

Your "symptoms" are something to discuss with your doctor. I don't see anything in what you have reported to suggest to me that your problem has anything to do with HIV.

[quite nervous!]

Its difficult to speak to a doctor about my symptoms because they have already passed. Although early hiv has non specific symptoms, would 3 mouth ulcers with swollen glands and a slight headache 10 days after infection sound typical of ARS to you guys?

[Ann]

nervous,

Why on earth would your symptoms have the slightest thing do to with hiv when you have not had a risk?

I suggest you seek out a qualified mental health professional to help you get to the bottom of your unnecessary fear and wild paranoia. We cannot help you with that here and we won't even try.

If you read the Welcome Thread before posting like you're supposed to, you will have read the following posting guideline:

Anyone who continues to post excessively, questioning a conclusive negative result or no-risk situation, will be subject to a four week Time Out (a temporary ban from the Forums). If you continue to post excessively after one Time Out, you may be given a second Time Out which will last eight weeks. There is no third Time Out - it is a permanent ban. The purpose of a Time Out is to encourage you to seek the face-to-face help we cannot provide on this forum.

Please consider yourself warned!

Ann

[quite nervous!]

I'm really sorry. I dont want to get a time out, at all. I guess the question i have been asking all along regardless of symptoms or chances or anything like that is as follows.

If someone was to prick me with a needle is it something that i would 100% no about. I mean are there needles out there which can prick you and you would barely notice a thing. Because i have had blood tests where i have felt bare anything?

And secondly, would there almost certainly be blood even tho it is piercing a muscle and not a vein. Like i said i have a spot which is still there. I have been picking away at it and it has turned into a scab. I guess i am right in saying that is a spot and not an injection mark?

If you could answer these questions i would be grateful. I am sorry to drag on but the not knowing is very hard to deal with especially when you are someone who suffers from extreme anxiety just generally in life !

Cheers.

[Andy Velez]

We are not going to indulge you in what ifs and other speculative ideas that are running through your head about HIV.

You did not have a risk. Sexually as long as you always use condoms for intercourse you will be well protected.

HIV does not get passed through the kind of environmental circumstances you are worrying yourself about.

And now I am going to give you that Time Out you have been warned about. HIV is not your problem. Get some professional help about it if you can't stop this unnecessary worrying. We can't help you with that in this setting.

It's a 28 day Time Out. Don't make the mistake of trying to get around it by creating a new account. We'll spot that right off and it will get you permanently banned. HIV is not your problem. Period.