Aa
Stabbed by a sewing needle
Dear doctors,
I bought a new shirt at a store. I got home and put it in my wardrobe. 3 days later i deciced to
Wear that shirt and spent the whole day wearing it. When i got home late at night, while i was taking it off, i felt i stabbed my finger into something and it bled a little. I found out there was a sewing needle on the shirt ( it came from the store with the sewing needle on it) and i concluded i stabbed my finger on it. What are my risks of getting hiv or hepatites b or c if someone had poked his/her finger on that seewing needle before me?
Do i need to get tested after this incident? Thanks
I bought a new shirt at a store. I got home and put it in my wardrobe. 3 days later i deciced to
Wear that shirt and spent the whole day wearing it. When i got home late at night, while i was taking it off, i felt i stabbed my finger into something and it bled a little. I found out there was a sewing needle on the shirt ( it came from the store with the sewing needle on it) and i concluded i stabbed my finger on it. What are my risks of getting hiv or hepatites b or c if someone had poked his/her finger on that seewing needle before me?
Do i need to get tested after this incident? Thanks
MEDICAL PROFESSIONAL
The viruses are killed by drying. If there is no blood that is visible and wet, you can safely assume no risk for all three of these viruses.
Thank you very much doctor. I do appreciate your work.
Just for curiosity, if you do not mind answering, how long does hiv live on surfaces ( such as a sewing needle?) what about hepatites virus b and c? Thank u so
Much
Just for curiosity, if you do not mind answering, how long does hiv live on surfaces ( such as a sewing needle?) what about hepatites virus b and c? Thank u so
Much
MEDICAL PROFESSIONAL
Welcome to the forum. Thanks for your question.
We get occasional questions like this -- sharp instrument injuries (pins, needles, splinters, and so on) in the environment, often in stores or workplaces, with fear that someone else might have been injured recently by the same object. The answer is always the same: absolutely no risk. In the entire 30 years of the known worldwide HIV/AIDS epidemic, I'm sure nobody has been infected by such an event. Same for heptatitis B andC. The odds are zero a) that the needle stuck someone else, b) that the previous stickee had a blood-borne infection, and c) that it happened so recently that wet blood with live virus still was present. You definitely don't need testing.
Best wishes-- HHH, MD
We get occasional questions like this -- sharp instrument injuries (pins, needles, splinters, and so on) in the environment, often in stores or workplaces, with fear that someone else might have been injured recently by the same object. The answer is always the same: absolutely no risk. In the entire 30 years of the known worldwide HIV/AIDS epidemic, I'm sure nobody has been infected by such an event. Same for heptatitis B andC. The odds are zero a) that the needle stuck someone else, b) that the previous stickee had a blood-borne infection, and c) that it happened so recently that wet blood with live virus still was present. You definitely don't need testing.
Best wishes-- HHH, MD
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