HIV concern

[xen12345]

Hello Experts,

Sorry for my English. I went to a spa in Vietnam which provided steam bath, massage and only hand job as extra service. The thing that makes me worried is the plastic slippers they provided to wear.  The slippers were made of strong plastic material and I noticed that the plastic material was 'defected' at one small point on the inner area of one of the slippers. It looks like a small 5mm diameter 'spiky/sharp hill' on the inner area of the slipper. It was painful to wear that slipper, every time I lift up my leg I felt a painful pricking sensation on my foot while wearing it. I don't think that the skin on the foot was broken or bleeding, but I could see the marks on my skin where it was hurting my foot. My mind keep playing the worst scenario that the person who has previously used the same slipper had damaged his foot (bleeding) due to that 'spiky/sharp hill' and that 'spiky/sharp hill' penetrated my skin significantly leading to infection. I hope you can understand my description. Do you see any risk of HIV from this event?

Thanks

[Jeff G]

I understand you very clearly . HIV is fragile and hard to transmit, once exposed to conditions outside the human body small changes in temperature and PH levels damage the virus rendering it unable to infect . It would not matter if a HIV positive person had bled on a shoe ... by the time the person took off the shoe and handed it to you any fluids on the shoe would not be infectious ... HIV really is that fragile .

HIV is transmitted from ...
Unprotected anal and vaginal sex .
Using IV drug equipment immediately after an infected person .
Mother to child during or shortly after childbirth .

Here's what you need to know in order to avoid hiv infection:

You need to be using condoms for anal or vaginal intercourse, every time, no exceptions until such time as you are in a securely monogamous relationship where you have both tested for ALL sexually transmitted infections together.

To agree to have unprotected intercourse is to consent to the possibility of being infected with an STI.Sex without a condom lasts only a matter of minutes, but hiv is forever.

Have a look through the condom and lube links in my signature line so you can use condoms with confidence.

Although you did not have a risk and do not need to test for this specific incident , anyone who is sexually active should be having a full sexual health care check-up, including but not limited to hiv testing, at least once a year and more often if unprotected intercourse occurs.

If you aren't already having regular, routine check-ups, now is the time to start. As long as you make sure condoms are being used for intercourse, you can fully expect your routine hiv tests to return with negative results.

Don't forget to always get checked for all the other sexually transmitted infections as well, because they are MUCH easier to transmit than hiv. Some of the other STIs can be present with no obvious symptoms, so the only way to know for sure is to test.

Use condoms for anal or vaginal intercourse, correctly and consistently, and you will avoid hiv infection. It really is that simple!


 

[xen12345]

Thank you for your reply. Just one last conclusive question. Can I consider it as a zero risk event and move on with my life?

[Jeff G]

Thank you for your reply. Just one last conclusive question. Can I consider it as a zero risk event and move on with my life?

Yes ... you can move on from this zero risk event .

[xen12345]

Hi. Sorry for my English. My friend whom I know slept with a prostitute pee into my inflatable pool and now I am worried that his urine posed a risk of HIV infection. My 10 years old sister was also in the pool when this happened. I did not change the water for days as I was not aware of this. The pool is very small and only maximum of 3 adults could fit in it and its height is same as the distance from foot to knee. I went to test because of an other sexual exposure and came out negative. Now I am only worried for my sister. Do you see any risk of HIV here? Is urine infectious regarding HIV?  Thanks and looking forward to your reply!

[Jeff G]

Please only post in this one thread no matter how long between visits or the subject matter . You can find this thread by going to your profile and selecting show own post .

The information I gave you last time is the same advice for pool peeing … not a risk .

I understand you very clearly . HIV is fragile and hard to transmit, once exposed to conditions outside the human body small changes in temperature and PH levels damage the virus rendering it unable to infect . It would not matter if a HIV positive person had bled on a shoe ... by the time the person took off the shoe and handed it to you any fluids on the shoe would not be infectious ... HIV really is that fragile .

HIV is transmitted from ...
Unprotected anal and vaginal sex .
Using IV drug equipment immediately after an infected person .
Mother to child during or shortly after childbirth .

[xen12345]

Hello,

Happy New Year!

Sorry for coming back with another paranoid question, but I would feel much better if you could answer my questions.
I recently went to have a blood test. There were many patients and I noticed that the nurse did not change gloves between patients. I was not worried at all until I started to have sore throat, maybe one enlarged lymph node in the right side of my neck, runny nose, nasal congestion and the feeling of being sick 10-11 days after the blood test. These symptoms lasted for about 5-7 days except runny nose and nasal congestion which I still have. I am worried that the nurse might have accidently touched the needle with gloves on and there was some blood on the gloves from previous patients before she inserted the needle in my arm. I understand from your previous replies that HIV does not live well outside the body. But in my case the time gap between the previous patient and me was 30 seconds. Another thing makes it suspicious that I was at home all the time for 5 days before these symptoms evolved, so I did not meet with people who were sick and therefore I don’t believe I got bacterias or viruses from other people.

Is there a risk of HIV if there was some blood from previous patients on the nurse’s gloves and she accidently touched the needle before she inserted the needle in my arm? (time gap between the previous patient and me was 30 seconds)

Do you think these symptoms are related to the blood drawing event and these could be HIV ARS symptoms?

I hope you can understand my English. Thank you for your time!

[Jeff G]

You did not have a risk for HIV and quite frankly your last post leads me to think you may be suffering from an HIV phobia, we cant help you with that so if you have any questions about what happened at the clinic you tested at direct it to them. Please talk to your doctor and tell them you are having illogical thoughts . I'm wishing you the best .

[xen12345]

Thanks for your quickly reply. I agree with you, I think have an annoying HIV phobia. I just want to ask last final question and I promise I will move on. Is it absolutely sure that HIV is not transmitted in this manner I described above?

[Jeff G]

  Is it absolutely sure that HIV is not transmitted in this manner I described above?

That is correct, you did not have a risk for HIV .

[xen12345]

Hello. I was doing quite well after your last response, but unfortunately my phobia came back again. I understand that you are not a therapist, but I would feel much better if you could evaluate my fears again.

I decided to go to have a final HIV test, but unexpected things happened in the clinic. It was a rapid finger test. The woman used a needle to puncture my finger to get the blood for the test. My finger was really bleeding, it bled more than if it was punctured in my arm. After that, she gave a small piece of gauze to stop the blood on my finger. She asked me to wait in the hall and come back for the result after 10-15 minutes. After 10-15 minutes, I came back to the room where the test was done, and I accidently drop the gauze from my hand to the ground. When I picked up the gauze from the ground, I noticed that there was another bloody gauze right next to where I dropped my gauze on the ground. Thinking back I am not sure if I picked up the gauze that I used or it was another patient’s gauze. So now I am worried that I accidently picked up another patient’s bloody gauze and it touched my puncture wound on my finger.

Sorry for my English, I hope you can understand it. Please let me know if something is not clear in my description.

[Joe K]

HIV is not transmitted by casual contact, nor does it survive outside the body.  Picking up the wrong gauze is not a risk for infection.

Joe

[xen12345]

Is it absolutely no risk even if another patient's bloody gauze touched my fresh puncture wound caused by a needle? I have no clue for how long that gauze bad been lying there before I picked up. Can please tell me for how long the HIV blood stay infectious maximum in this circumstances?

[Joe K]

HIV is a very fragile virus that is damaged IMMEDIATELY when it leaves the body.  Changes in temperature and pH, alter the HIV RENDERING IT UNABLE TO INFECT.  HIV also needs certain cells to attach itself to and these calls are not found on the fingers.  You have not had a risk, period.

Joe

[Jeff G]

I understand you very clearly . HIV is fragile and hard to transmit, once exposed to conditions outside the human body small changes in temperature and PH levels damage the virus rendering it unable to infect . It would not matter if a HIV positive person had bled on a shoe ... by the time the person took off the shoe and handed it to you any fluids on the shoe would not be infectious ... HIV really is that fragile .

HIV is transmitted from ...
Unprotected anal and vaginal sex .
Using IV drug equipment immediately after an infected person .
Mother to child during or shortly after childbirth .

[xen12345]

Thanks guys. I will sleep better tonight and will try to not think about it anymore.

[xen12345]

Hey Jeff. You have been repeatedly told me that HIV can't survive once outside the body. Would it also be dead quickly in a sealed plastic bag? Can HIV blood survive (remain infectious) on a pizza snail or sandwich in a sealed plastic bag after 15 minutes? Since it is protected from the environment in a sealed plastic bag, I guess it takes longer for it to die. Please let me know if I am wrong.

[Jeff G]

As long as you do not have unprotected anal or vaginal sex or shoot up drugs with the same syringe a infected person used you will not become infected with HIV .

Get a grip man … HIV is not your problem.

[xen12345]

I really appreciate your work here and I know that I have an annoying phobia, but can you please answer my question. It would really help a lot. Can small amount of HIV blood survive (remain infectious) on a pizza snail or sandwich in a sealed plastic bag after 15 minutes?

[Joe K]

I really appreciate your work here and I know that I have an annoying phobia, but can you please answer my question. It would really help a lot. Can small amount of HIV blood survive (remain infectious) on a pizza snail or sandwich in a sealed plastic bag after 15 minutes?

No.

Joe

[Jeff G]

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.