I got surprised and moved my finger from holding the piece of cotton and in the process my index finger, which I was using to hold the piece of cotton on the venipuncture wound, mistakedly touched the blood which was flowing from my venipuncture wound. This blood was still close to the venipuncture wound. 

The phlebotomist did notice my finger mistakenly touching my blood near the venipuncture wound and just suggested that I wash the blood from my finger, she didn’t say anything else or seem alarmed.

So what I want to know is: 

1) If there was the previous patient is HIV positive and their fresh blood was on the arm rests of the phlebotomy chair where I kept my arms on, and if my index finger touched this blood, and since I mistakenly touched the blood flowing out of my venipuncture wound right after the blood draw with my index finger, can this blood from the previous patient mix with my blood and flow through my blood into the venipuncture wound and then enter my blood stream and infect me with HIV? Can HIV be contracted in this kind of situation? 

3) Is this incident considered a no-risk event for contracting HIV? 

4) Do I need to test for HIV? 

I kinda feel I’m being overly anxious. I do plan to seek therapy for my health anxiety. 

HIV is not as infectious as many people think.  It is not transmitted through transfer from person to person on hands or on inanimate objects such as the gauze that was used to cover your puncture site.  Laboratory staff are carefully trained to not re-use any material used on a patient on another patient and carefully clean their worksites between patients.  There has never been a case of HIV acquired through the sort of expsure that you suggest might have happened and you are not going to be the first.  Even is blood from another patient was on the arm rests and was transferred to the piece of cotton you used, it would not put you at risk.  Thus:

1.  It is most unlikely that the armrest was contaminated with another person's blood or that the person before you had untreated HIV.  Even if it did, there would be no risk of infection being transmitted to you.  As I said above, no one has ever acquired HIV in the way you suggest.

3.  Ys, this was a no risk event

'4.  There is no need for you to test for HIV related to the event you describe.

I hope that this information is helpful.  There is no need for concern.  EWH

Just to briefly clarify, I’m not worried about the blood transferring to the cotton piece and infecting me that way.  I’m more concerned about the blood mixing with my blood after I mistakenly touched my blood with my possibly contaminated finger right after the blood draw, and this blood possibly flowing and entering the venipuncture wound since the venipuncture wound was still fresh and the blood leaking out was close to the venipuncture wound. 

So, 

1) Based on what I said above, do you think I need to test for HIV? 

There is a part of me that thinks logically since blood is flowing out of the venipuncture wound after the blood draw, it’s not possible for blood or any other infectious materials to go inside this venipuncture wound. Am I right? 

Please don’t worry. EWH.