[Question #11419] HIV risk from diabetes needle

14 months ago

Hello,

I had to help my friend change his diabetic insert which is put in by a needle, I did not wear gloves and the needle shot out while I held a plastic piece and then it shot back in and when it did I though I felt the needle rub my finger. I checked my finger and did not notice any bleeding or obvious wounds, but am concerned this could have led to job transmission. I did ask if he had it and he said no but who knows. Please let me know how risky of an event this is and if you think testing is warrented at this time. I have a family and do not want to put them at risk. Thank you

H. Hunter Handsfield, MD

14 months ago

I'm sorry to see you back with your sixth question in 2.5 years about yet another event that everybody knows carries little or no risk for HIV or other blood borne infections. As we discussed previously, this is your OCD speaking once again. We also discussed another sharp instrument event that did not penetrate your skin. Why would this event lead to the same question, other than your OCD? And why would your friend lie to you about his HIV status? But even if he was infected, there was no risk. Of course you do not need testing for anything (especially since testing without need already led to the unpleasant and unnecessary experience of the false positive IgM test for hepatitis A a couple years ago).

From your experience with OCD, surely you know that simply hearing the facts is never enough to relieve irrational fears of this sort. The only long term answer lies in professional health care, like counseling. I suggest it from compassion, not criticism.

My closing comment in your last thread asked you to not continue to post similar questions. This time I'll be even more direct. The forum does not permit repeated questions on the same topic or exposure. All your questios reveal your inflated anxieties about STI/HIV risks in general, and you have been resistant to the reasoned, science-based evaluations and advice you have had repeatedly. This will have to be your last one; future questions on these topics and your inflated fears will receive no reply and the posting fee will not be refunded. As for my suggestion about counseling, this policy is based on compassion, not criticism, and is intended to reduce temptations to keep paying for questions with obvious answers. In addition, experience shows that continued answers tend to prolong users' anxieties rather than reducing them. Finally, such questions have little educational value for other users, one of the forum's main purposes.

Thanks for your understanding. Best wishes and stay safe (as you have been!).

HHH, MD

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14 months ago

Yeah I gotta go back to therapy I know, one last thing I wanted to ask is if herpes can live on an object like a e cigarette I was sharing this with someone with hav1 and I touched the end and then touched my penis with my hand when I went to pee. I was wondering if there’s any risk from that