[Question #6668] Hiv fear
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66 months ago
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Good days doctor,
Thank you for the great service. Let me start by mentioning that I have a cousin who has hiv and I’m from a black community, which makes me fear hiv. Yesterday, I sat on the toilet seat and defecated, after that, the water splashed on my anus, and I fear that there was semen on the toilet water. I know that nobody was infected that way but I have two questions:
1) does the virus become inactive in water after 30 seconds passing (assuming the guy before me ejaculated)?
2)if the water splashed on my anus directly, is there even a theoretical risk that it could infect me with hiv (assuming the virus was alive)?
3)do I need to take PEP?
4) for future references only, I just want to know, does Semen become inactive when exposed to air faster or slower than if it was in water?
Thank you for the great service!
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66 months ago
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Just to make clear, can I be 100% certain that the virus will become inactive in water after 30 seconds passing? Please reply to this question with a yes or no.
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H. Hunter Handsfield, MD
66 months ago
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Welcome to the forum. Thanks for your kind words and your confidence in our services.
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Forgive me if my reply seems blunt. But you are way over-worried about this. After 35 years of the known worldwide HIV/AIDs epidemic, with millions of infected people, not one -- not a single person -- has been known or even suspected to have been infected without sex, direct blood exposure, or being born to an infected woman. There is absolutely no risk from the events described.
With on average one in 1,000 Americans having HIV, obviously the chance a previous recent toilet user had HIV is very low. Second, who ejaculates in a public toilet? The notion that an HIV infected person used the toilet and also ejaculated while there is, on the face of it, almost impossible. And if that had happened, there still would be no risk.
1,2) It doesn't matter whether or how long HIV survies in toilet water. When an HIV infected man ejaculates in the vagina or rectum, the chance the partner will catch HIV is around 1 in a thousand. That's a full load of infected semen deep inside the body. What could the risk possibly be with a minor splash onto the anus? Zero.
3) You should not seek PEP. Any doctor or clinic who agreed to provide it in this situation should lose his or her medical license.
4) The answers to this are unknown.You ask the same thing, in different words, in your follow-up quesiton. It doesn't matter, since nobody ever catches HIV from exposure to HIV in the environment. How long HIV may surive is irrelevant. Whether HIV survive 10 seconds or 10 years makes no difference in risk of anybody for catching HIV.
So all is well. No risk and nothing to be concerned about. Have only safe sex with low risk partners and don't share drug injection equipment with anyone else. Those are the only things you need consider in order to avoid HIV. Move along without worry!
I hope these comments are helpful. Let me know if anything isn't clear.
HHH, MD