POZ Community Forums
HIV Prevention and Testing => Do I Have HIV? => Topic started by: hivworrier on June 25, 2006, 11:54:33 am
-
Hello
I went for a blood test today and thankfully it was negative :)
During the test, I was very careful regarding the needle used since I read many cases of WWs on aidsmeds on this issue and I was sure that she used a new needle. She got the needle out of the box and attached to it the blood tube container and drew my blood.
My question is why are reports sayng that HIV can survive for a long time inside the hollow bore needle. I mean I saw the needle today and the hollow part in it was quite large and visible. So any traces of blood in the hollow bore will be dried and the virus deactivated within a few minutes coz air can surely go inside the needle bore I saw today.
Thanks for the clarification.
-
Dear Worrier
I'm very new to this group but working in biomedical science and the health field i think i'm very qualified to answer this particular question. You say you got tested today, so i'm assuming you went to some sort of city clinic or other medical office?
In any of these circumstances the very last thing you need to worry about is getting an HIV infection from having blood drawn. Each needle used on a new patient comes inidividually wrapped after being sterilized well enough to kill any possible organism on the planet. Medical workers ALWAYS use clean sterilized needles everytime they draw blood - it's the LAW. YOU SHOULD HAVE ABSOLUTELY NO FEARS OF GETTING BLOOD DRAWN AT ANY SORT OF HEALTH CLINIC. You are more likely to get struck dead by a meteor falling on you leaving the clinic than getting HIV from your simple blood test.
HIV is a very delicate virus and does not survive long outside of the body. All these urban legends you hear about criminally insane people putting hiv infected needles on gas pumps or movie theatre seats are, well URBAN LEGENDS. Not true, impossible.
Congratulations on your test result...
-
Thanks for the answer...am not worried as I am sure that she used a new needle but I was wondering why would the virus survive in the needle more than in the atmosphere as both of them allow air to enter.
-
To get into the technicalities as far as I understand it, needlesticks that you hear about in health care settings result because blood inside the needle can protect the virus for a very small amount of time and if someone was to get "stuck" in that short period of time they transfer the HIV infected blood into their blood stream carrying the potential for infection.
However a needle with a very miniscule amount of blood sitting around for any length of time would certainly not be a permissive envrionment for HIV survival and not a concern.
-
so why are the transmission rates so high with injection drug users?
-
Injection drug users, share works without sterilizing and inject directly in to a vein immediately after use by another user.
-
worrier,
I'd like to second what Rodney says. When hiv transmission happens through ANY sort of incident with a needle, it is because that needle has been used IMMEDIATELY after the person who is positive.
There's a difference here too between injecting drug users and needle stick injury. With needle stick injury, it is simply a small break in the skin where the specific cells that hiv needs to infect are not likely to be present. When a needle is use to inject drugs, this needle is placed directly into a vein and the contents of the syringe - possibly including some blood of the previous user - are injected directly into the blood stream where there ARE the specific cells present.
One thing you must realise is that when a person is injecting drugs, they put the needle into a vein and draw some blood into the syringe to make sure they really do have the vein. This is a crucial factor that enables transmission during the act of sharing needles.
Another crucial factor here is that people waiting for their turn with the syringe don't normally have a lot of patience. They want their hit and they want it NOW. So as a result, very little time elapses between one person using the needle and the next.
If you inject drugs, make sure you use your own equipment. Hiv isn't the only blood borne pathogen that you need to protect yourself against.
You are hiv negative and it's up to you to stay that way. 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 STIs together. To agree to have unprotected intercourse is to consent to the possibility of being infected with a sexually transmitted infection.
Have a look through the condom and lube links in my signature line so you can use condoms with confidence.
Use condoms and your own drug injecting equipment and you will avoid hiv infection. It really, really is that simple!
Ann
-
Thanks for the VERY informative replies
-
However a needle with a very miniscule amount of blood sitting around for any length of time would certainly not be a permissive envrionment for HIV survival and not a concern.
hiv can survive in a needle and still be infectious for more than a month, maybe it is not as fragile as we think
http://hivinsite.ucsf.edu/insite?page=ask-01-06-11
-
nwo,
You left out 'hermetically sealed syringe'
and this 'your basic insulin needle and the most common type exchanged by needle exchange programs, can contain about 20 microliters of residual blood. In syringes with fixed needles the residue is only about one microliter, and as a result, HIV doesn't last as long in the fixed needle syringes.'
yes it is as fragile as we say. In a hermetically sealed environment it is protected from oxygen and the virus is safe because the blood cannot dry
-
Pray tell who is going to leave a syringe of blood? No one. There are not any IV drug users that are going to take a chance and leave any blood in the syringe. They want to make sure they got all their drug.
-
What is a hermetically sealed needle, is it the same as a capped needle?
-
HIV Worrier, you are reliably negative. As much as I enjoy reasonable and rational discussion of HIV, I fear that what you are seeking is fuel to inflame your fear.
You did not, and will not get HIV from an HIV test.