[Question #13818] Blood on paper bag
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7 days ago
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Yesterday, as I was paying for my stuff in a drugstore, I noticed something about the cashier. He had some red dirty stain under his thumb nail. I don’t know if it was blood or something else. But I think it could be.
He then handled the paper bag to me and I grabbed it with my right hand. I have a teeny tiny cracked skin spot on my index finger. It doesn’t even sting when I put alcohol on it.
I didn’t touch his hand directly at all, only the paper bag and the stuff inside it.
I suppose this is a zero risk situation, based on many other posts about situations similar to this, but I would like to know what you have to say, since it’s something that can easily happen again at any moment.
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Edward W. Hook M.D.
7 days ago
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Welcome back to the Forum. Thanks as well for looking at other threads on the forum, that’s just the reason we make them available. Your research has led you to the correct conclusion. This was a no risk event. The clerk is statistically unlikely to have HIV, you don’t know that the red discoloration was blood and even if it were, it would be noninfectious due to exposure to the environment. No one has ever become infected with HIV or other blood borne infections due to an exposure of this sort. I see no reason for concern and no reason for testing.
Please don’t worry. EWH
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6 days ago
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Thank you, dr. Hook.