[Question #13668] Saliva in the eye infection risk

1 months ago

Dear Doctors,

I had a problematic situation not long ago. A man I was seeing choked on his food accidentally and involuntary spat directly in my face! It got also into my eye and was split all over the table (in tiny little drops/pieces of food). I washed my eye in the bathroom with water but not thoroughly. I returned to the table and ate a small bit of this good and drank my drinks ( not sure if smth from him went into the drinks, but I think it is very likely). Later at home I took echinacea extract which I always take in such situations or when I am at risk of developing a cold.

The man has oral herpes with frequent outbreaks, but I don't think he had one at the time, but not sure since it could have been in the mouth. He is also extremely high risk (insane amount of sex partners)

What is my infection risk from this exposure regarding herpes and other infections?

Thank you and happy holidays.

Terri Warren, RN, Nurse Practitioner

1 months ago

I think the risk of you getting HSV in your eye is very low indeed - the chances that 1) he was shedding virus at that very moment and 2) that if he was, there happened to be virus in the bit of material that got into your eye had HSV 1 in it and 3) that if there was virus in that material, that there was sufficient quantity to infect you and 4) that we can be certain, without further information, that you don't have HSV 1 already - 50% of adults in the US do. If I were in your situation, I wouldn't give this a second thought but be grateful that he didn't choke to death! The same information applies to other infections, I suspect. Certainly, if you develop troubling eye symptoms, you should be seen by a professional.

Terri

---

1 months ago

Thank you. So this is theoretically possible in case of herpes? Would you advise me to take acyclovir profilactically when I see him next time? It happened before that he accidentally spat in my eye while talking. Were infections like chlamydia, gonorrhea, syphilis etc also a risk in the described situation?

Terri Warren, RN, Nurse Practitioner

1 months ago

I would not advise you to take acyclovir next time you see him - the person who might take that is him, not you.

I've never ever seen a patient who acquired HSV from someone spitting in their face/eye while talking, though it is a relatively common concern expressed by people. So is there a theoretical risk? I suppose. There is also a theoretical risk that you could be struck by lightning, but that chance is even less, I would think, that you would get herpes in your eye from this experience. No worries about other STI's , no

Terri

---
---

1 months ago

What about oral HPV?

I saw some sources say that it can be transmitted through kissing.

Is it true?

Can it also be a possibility in my situation?

Terri Warren, RN, Nurse Practitioner

1 months ago

I don't think HPV is a realistic concern. I've not seen HPV transmitted through kissing, myself, in 40 years of practice.

Terri

---