Am I infected?

[GGreen123]

Hey all

I don't know much about HIV but I think I had a recent exposure

I went to the barber shop and the barber nicked my tragus on my ear. It didn't look like a deep cut but I noticed dried blood on it when I got back home. I got nervous because the barber was an older guy (70) and kept telling me about all his health issues (diabetes, 2x phenomena, exposed to agent orange in Vietnam).

I've come down with a sore throat and swollen lymphs on the right side of my throat 37 days later

I got really really freaked out, I guess my two ways go getting exposed were:

1. The barber having a cut on his hand and touching my ear cut.

2. The clippers having blood on them.

I tried to look around the internet and a few places said yes a barber shop could expose you to HIV

Please don't just give me a yes or no answer. I really need convincing whether I should ask my doctor for a test.

Thanks

[RapidRod]

You never had an exposure.

HIV is unable to reproduce outside its living host (unlike many bacteria or fungi, which may do so under suitable conditions), except under laboratory conditions; therefore, it does not spread or maintain infectiousness outside its host.

HIV is transmitted by;
Unprotected penetrative anal and/or vaginal sex
Sharing works with other IV drug users
Mother to child

[GGreen123]

Thanks for the response. I'm assuming any other knowledgable person of this forum agrees that this is a no risk situation, any other reasoning would be good to help calm my nerves! But none the less thanks again.

[jkinatl2]

Thanks for the response. I'm assuming any other knowledgable person of this forum agrees that this is a no risk situation, any other reasoning would be good to help calm my nerves! But none the less thanks again.

Though I could easily expand and expound on Rapidrod's on-point advice, the nitty gritty of the subject matter remains. HIV cannot remain viable in our atmosphere. The glycoproteins that form most of the outer structure do more than simply protect the outer shell of the virus. They actually constitute the "rods" by which HIV manages to attach to a vulnerable CD4 or dendritic cell.

Without those glycoproteins being sturdy (and they disintegrate upon exposure to oxygen, Ph changes, and temperature changes) the virus is inert, useless. It is a cargo ship without a booster rocket OR a docking mechanism. It is non-viable.

IMagine a very intricate key made of ice. This key has important, necessary parts that are as thin as human hair. ALl these parts are necessary to open a particular lock. Imagine taking that key out of the freezer and walking across a parking lot, in the summer, to find that lock. The ice would have melted; the key would be useless. Unless that lock is IN that freezer, the chances of the key working are non-existent. And even then, as we know from HIV study, only a portion of those keys even work, and encountering a viable lock requires specific contact.

You can no more get HIV from  a barber incident than I can duplicate my car key in the freezer from a mold, carry it within my pocket on a hot summer day, then insert it into my lock and assume it wil turn the ignition. If enough of it exists at all, it will simply break off.

You have had no risk. And HIV is really that fragile.