[Question #12448] HIV Exposure???

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7 months ago

I did a single earlobe re-piercing at a jewellry store a couple days ago. A new earring was opened and loaded in front of me by the store attendant) however she didn't wipe down/santise the actual piercing gun prior to loading the earring.


Later that day I scrolled the internet (much to my demise because I deal with chronic anxiety) to research aftercare for the piercing and was met with a deluge of websites all advising against piercing guns because of the risk of transmission of HIV and Hepatitis B and C.


I'm in a committed relationship and I'm deathly scared about potentially exposing my partner during this window of uncertainty and Is this kind of ear piercing an HIV risk?



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H. Hunter Handsfield, MD
7 months ago
Welcome back to the forum -- several years since your earliest questions and over a year since the last.

We have previously discussed your exaggerated fears of HIV and other STIs. This is the same. The internet is not your friend -- indeed rarely a good source of information for people worries about health issues. It's especially important to avoid websites run by and for people with that particular problem or fearful of it. Like Reddit, for example. Anyone can write anything they like; and personal testimony about how people THOUGHT they were infected is the very worst kind of medical advice. So many people are just plain wrong or, in some cases, intentionally untruthful. And non scientific sources often do not distinguish between theoretical risks and ones that really have occurred in the real world. While we are primarily experts in sexual transmission, I can tell you with confidence that there have been very few HIV infections -- at any time or anywhere in the world -- that resulted in HIV, and probably equally few that caused infection with the hepatitis B and C viruses (HBV, HCV). Certainly I have never heard of such a case. This is an entirely unwarranted worry. In the future, if you feel compelled to keep searching online, stick with professionally run or moderated sites, like this one; and those run by academic medical centers, medical societies, public health agencies and the like. 

You are not at risk for any of these infections. Don't worry about it.

I hope these comments are helpful. Let me know if anything isn't clear. 

HHH, MD
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7 months ago
Thank you kindly doctor Hansfield. You put my mind at rest and I will make a greater effort to stay off the internet.
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7 months ago
Just one more question for clarification please doctor. Can you kindly clarify on this part in your response 

”...there have been very few HIV infections -- at any time or anywhere in the world -- that resulted in HIV..."
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H. Hunter Handsfield, MD
7 months ago
My apology. It should read "...there have been very few HIV infections...that resulted from tattooing or cosmetic procedures of the sort you describe". I would add "if any at all". I'm not aware of any such reports in the medical literature. If it happens, it is extraordinarily rare. Your risk of being struck by lightning probably is far higher.---