[Question #9481] Hiv transmission by blood
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32 months ago
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Hello Doctor
I have an inquiry please about a specific transmission way for hiv that i start to worry about recently and I don’t know if what I’m doing is correct or not.
I had a electrical man visiting my home to fix the electricity, I noticed he had cuts on his hand and he was using as well band-aid. He didn’t had a wet blood but i’m not sure if there was a dry blood on his hand.
And he was touching the door, tables and the furniture of the house.
So i was worried and i start avoiding touching the furniture incase if there was a dry blood on his hand while he touched these things.
1- if he had a dry blood in his hand and he was touching my furniture and surfaces, but i didn’t see a dry blood mark on the furniture.. can that still transfer hiv ? Because he touched these surfaces while his hand contain dry-blood and cuts ?
2- it’s now 13 days since I didn’t touch the surfaces inside my home that he did touch it , is it after 13 days the hiv virus on the dry blood will die ? Like after 13 days it’s non-infectious?
3- if I touched dry-blood without noticing it and I eat with my hand and touch my mouth can that transmit hiv ?
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Edward W. Hook M.D.
32 months ago
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Welcome to our Forum. I'll be glad to comment. First, you do not know that your electrician had HIV- most people do not. Second, HIV is more difficult to transmit than many people think. The infection is transmitted ONLY through direct sexual contact or injection of infected material deep into tissue. It is NOT transmitted through casual contact including contact with inanimate objects (furniture, door knows, toilet seats, etc.), by hugging, or by kissing. This is true whether the casual contact is with material which has dried or is still wet. Thus:
1- if he had a dry blood in his hand and he was touching my furniture and surfaces, but i didn’t see a dry blood mark on the furniture.. can that still transfer hiv ? Because he touched these surfaces while his hand contain dry-blood and cuts ?
No, there is no risk of HIV from exposures such as this
2- it’s now 13 days since I didn’t touch the surfaces inside my home that he did touch it , is it after 13 days the hiv virus on the dry blood will die ? Like after 13 days it’s non-infectious?
HIV becomes non-infectious almost immediately following exposure to the environment. As mentioned above, there is no risk for infection from exposures such as this.
3- if I touched dry-blood without noticing it and I eat with my hand and touch my mouth can that transmit hiv ?
No
I hope that hte information I have provided is helpful to you. There is no reason to worry that your electrician may have transmitted HIV (or any other blood borne infection) to you when he came to your house to work. There is no need for concern and no need for testing.
Take care. Please don't worry. EWH
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32 months ago
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Thank you Doctor for the reply
Doctor on your reply “ HIV becomes non-infectious almost immediately following exposure to the environment.“
that’s mean the dry blood will takes only few hours to be non-infectious?
In some medical website they were saying Hiv on dry-blood can stay infectious for few days and some times to 7 or 20 days is that correct ?
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32 months ago
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Like i mean on the surfaces does the hiv virus survive for couple of days on the dry-blood ?
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Edward W. Hook M.D.
32 months ago
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Your reply suggests that you may have been searching the topic on the internet. If so, I encourage you to stay off the internet as a source of information regarding HIV and other STIs. Much of what is there is incorect, eitehr because it is out of date, because it is taken out of context, or because it is just plain wrong.
As I said earlier, HIV becomes non-infectious soon (hours to minutes) after exposure to the environment (drying, room temperature, etc.). While laboratory experiments may be able to culture the virus in such circumstances, this is not the same as being infectious to others.
Please don't worry. EWH
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32 months ago
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Thank you Dr that make me fell better.
So the infected blood on the surface s , when it’s dry it’s not infectious any more at all for sure ?
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Edward W. Hook M.D.
32 months ago
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Correct
This is the final response to this thread. EWH
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32 months ago
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Thank you Doctor for all appreciate it all
Last thing Doctor please ,
Does sun light exposure kill the hiv virus on the infected blood faster ?
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Edward W. Hook M.D.
32 months ago
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Sunlight is part of environmental exposure. EWH---