Hello Doctor. I had a few unfortunate events in past few days and that has given me a total scare of contracting HIV. 1) 3 days back I got out of the shower and used a towel that was not mine. I wiped my genitals with it ( cleaned my vagina thoroughly with it) only to realise it later that it had semen over it. I might have accidentally picked up my friend boyfriend's towel which was freshly used. maybe i used it in less than 5 minutes of time and neither me nor my friend knows his hiv status. I tried convincing my friend to ask her boyfriend if he ever got tested but she refuses to ask him. so there is no way that i can confirm if he is hiv +ve. This has made me extremely nervous and anxious and I'm scared the semen if infected could infect me. is this possible? considering I used the towel immediately and the semen was still fresh?2) Just when I was trying to get over what happened, i was struck with another incidence today. I never share razors and alwyas try to practice good hygiene. But today, as i hopped in to the shower, i noticed a few razors on the shelves of the bathroom, to avoid any confusion that would have risen in the future, I thought of safely picking them up and throwing them out. I tried to make no contact with the blades. But after throwing the razors out, I noticed there was blood on my thumb. so i dont know how did i manage to cut myself, but i had a tiny drop of it on my thumb. my fears are skyrocketing right now. I can't think straight. Is it possible for me to get hiv from the razors?also, i understand the main modes of hiv transmission is with direct body fluid contacts with intercourse, drug using or placental. I tried to read as much as possible on these topics from the trusted websites. But still found a lot of contradiction on the modes other than these. I live in Mumbai and i'm not aware of the prevalence in the city. Should I be worried? Should I get tested? Is there even a slightest chance for infection with both instances? 

There is no risk of HIV from the events described. Without unprotected sex or blood exposure through shared injection equipment, you are not at risk. There has never been a known (or to my knowledge, even a suspected) case of HIV transmission from a sharp instrument or fluids in the environment or from shared towels or clothing. (For example, even after 10 years in the households of people with HIV, regularly sharing kitchens, bathrooms, toilets, eating utensils, and bedrooms, those household members who are not also sex partners never catch HIV.) Further, the chance an HIV infected person had contaminated the towel or used nearby razors is low. You are at absolutely no risk of HIV from these events, do not need testing, and can continue your normal sexual relationship without putting your partner at risk.

I hope this information is helpful. Let me know if anything isn't clear.

HHH, MD

I had one more doubt, can warts on the hands cause genital warts? My ex boyfriend had a wart on his forearm, which he would touch and fiddle around with very often. We got drunk and he fingered me and I received oral sex from him, but no penetration at all. Also, that was my first sexual activity. I had no prior encounters at all. Could hand warts be passed on to the genitals? I have a single brown coloured tubular structure on my labia majora which I thought was a scab from acne, and I pulled it out with force. It bled for a while and stopped on applying pressure. Now, I'm confused if it was a wart or a skin tag. It for sure did not have the cauliflower appearance as mentioned on cdc. It resembled the skin tag on my neck. But I'm unaware if there are any variations in warts apart from the cauliflower ones. Does my description of the structure that I pulled out sound like a wart to you?

Hand warts are never transmitted to the genitals. They are caused by different HPV types that generally do not cause infection of genital area skin. And anyway, it sounds mostly like a skin tag.

There is no risk of either HPV or HIV (or any other STD) from surface contamination -- at least no measurable risk that has been documented. Same for towels, regardless of contamination with semen or other body fluids.

The world's busiest STD and HIV clinics never have patients whose only exposures were like these. If it occurred even rarely, obviously there would be at least occasional patients without the traditional, known exposure risks. There are none. (When such claims are made, as they occasionally are, it always turns out the patient was being untruthful or, most often, had true exposures they didn't know about -- e.g. a spouse who unknown to them had HIV or was at obvious risk.)

I have the feeling you are somewhat obsessed with hygiene and a fear of contamination. If this isn't interfering with life and happiness, it's probably manageable. But if you find yourself fearful of normal human interactions, touching commonly used surfaces (doorknobs, for example) and find it limiting, you might need to consider professional counseling. Such inflated fears can be an early sign of serious mental health disability (see "The Aviator", the excellent movie biogrpahy of the eccentric billionaire Howard Hughes, for an excellent example of where it can lead. And a great Leonardo DiCaprio movie, by the way!)

Is that still a small risk? or it rules out the risk completely? Do you think testing is necessary considering the time interval? 

I occasionally dont have the fear when there's casual contact. But i really panic when there's any sharp instrument whose use is unknown to me. I loved the movie btw. :D

Glad you enjoyed The Aviator!

That completes the two follow-up comments and replies included with each question, and so concludes this thread. I hope the discussion has been useful. Take care and stay safe!