[Question #9965] HIV risk
27 months ago
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Yesterday I went to coworkers house and he was doing some maintenance at garden.I helped him for around 5-10mins.
On the safe side I wore nitrile dipped breathable fabric (cheap) working gloves (nitrile coating covers the palm and fingers (heel of hand ) and from top side finger tips including nails). These are not water resistant and water can pass thorouh these and I checked. Also i was wearing a long sleeve sweater.
I used his screw driver to tighten some screws he handed me and move some small boxes he passed to me. Suddenly I noticed a 5-6 inch long scrtach on his forearm (not deep) . It was not actively bleeding. But blood visible (it was red) on the scratch wound and it was not covered with a plasters. I didnt ask when it happened, but at least before 10 mins.
As I have OCD left the place and within 2-3 mins I washed my hand and used sanatizer on my hands.
I didnt touch his wound or hands. But what if his blood touched the screw driver and other equipments and then it may contacted my hands. Also blood could pass through from equipments to my skin via gloves as they are not waterproof.
27 months ago
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1.If he is infected what is the risk I am getting HIV if there were blood on screwdriver or any other equpiments he touched then came in to contact with my hands?
2.Can I get infected if my hands were dry and had tiny cuts on skin ?
3.Later that day I felt a pain on my thumb cuticle. Can I get hiv if the same screwdriver hit my finger via gloves resulted a tiny scratch without bleeding?
4.Can I get any other blood borne infections from this?
5.What if I touched a equipment directly without gloves ?
6.Do I need hiv testing or PEP?
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H. Hunter Handsfield, MD
27 months ago
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Welcome back, but I'm sorry you found it necessary -- especially since Dr. Hook replied in your other (still open) thread already answered; or the answers are obvious from his comments and advice. Among other things, he said:
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"HIV is harder to get than you think. It is acquired ONLY through direct, unprotected sexual contact or injection of infectious material deep into tissue" and he added "it is not acquired from contact with contaminated inanimate objects or through cuts and scrapes."
Having carefully read your current question, and the exposure events you now are concerned about, Dr. Hook's answers still apply. Hence the answer is a resounding NO to all six of your new questions.
Please do not expect any more detailed replies than this. We are not a site for confirming what people with OCD mostly already understand, or for resolving issues causing anxiety. Given your OCD, undoubtedly you understand that simply understanding the scientific facts never is enough; there's always another "yes but", "what if", or "could I be the exception" sort of question and we will not play that game. If you are in counseling for your OCD, you could discuss all this with your counselor.
I do hope these comments help a little bit.
HHH, MD
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