[Question #9153] small accidental spit with possible blood from high risk person in the eye

35 months ago

Hi docs, I had a situation happen last night that I'm not scientifically equipped to solve with CBT. I was at a gathering having a conversation with a gentleman who was limping he ended up telling me that he used to be a IV drug user and had a stroke and is now in sobriety for a year. usually I would expect my head to explode from my anxiety but I was completely fine, he ended up accidentally spitting in my eye one or two time during talking, I guess he was also having a glass of water so I didn't really take it that seriously just wiped it of my face with my sleeve cause from what I had known saliva doesn't transmit hiv. But then to my surprise all my friends were freaking out and apparently people go to jail for murder if they spit on cops and hospital staff go on pep for this? I'm very confused now. I mean he was still struggling with speech and he was also kind of biting his nails here and there so it's not impossible he had some blood in his saliva but I didn't see him visibly bleeding. I wanted to ask you guys if this is something to worry about. I washed my face when I got home but honestly this is a slippery slope that I'm trying proceed cautiously, if we are to go on pep and take an hiv test every time someone accidentally spits in our eye it's kind of ridicules. also logically speaking i'd imagine someone who is in recovery from drug addiction and is actively trying to get better from stroke would know their status and take meds and water and saliva would maybe dilute blood? I don't know, please enlighten me . it wasn't a huge amount of spit just two drops one landed on my face and one in my eye.

H. Hunter Handsfield, MD

35 months ago

I'm sorry to see you back. Of course this event had little or no risk for HIV. You describe someone who probably does not have HIV. Even if he does, nobody has ever been known to catch HIV because of saliva contacting their eyes. And it doesn't matter if he he had blood in his mouth either (which he did not -- if there was enough blood to be an HIV risk, it would be visably obvious). Once again, this is your OCD speaking, nothing more. You are not at risk for HIV and do not need testing and should not worry at all about it.

This is your third question in 2 months about scenarios that are obviously zero risk for HIV, of the sort that everybody knows carry little or no risk -- at least such low risk that they can be ignored. You have spoken previously about your OCD, and you probably know that simply hearing the facts about risk (again) never resolves the fears -- there's always a "yes but" or "could I be the exception" sort of question. For the future, just remember this: without unprotected sex (penis inside another person's vagina or mouth), or overt blood exchange (like shared injection equipment), you will never catch HIV. Please do not ask about other scenarios: this forum cannot be a source every time you have a new no-risk event that alarms you.

The forum does not permit repeated anxiety driven questions. This will have to be your last one; future new questions about such obviously zero risk HIV concerns will be subject to deletion without reply and without refund of the posting fee. This policy is based on compassion, not criticism, and is designed to reduce temptations to keep paying for questions with obvious answers; because experience shows that continued answers tends to simply prolong such anxieties, when the real answer normally should be professional counseling; and because such questions have little educational value for other users, one of the forum's main purposes. Thank you for your understanding.

HHH, MD

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