Risk situation?... please, comments and advice

[wonchito]

Sorry to ask another question again, I just need to confirm if everything is OK. Last sunday, at the beach, my 5 years old daughter and I were having lunch at an informal restaurant that shared just one restroom with other restaurants. Before eating, my daughter asked me to take her to the toilet. I decided to take her to the ladies restroom. Inside, the restroom floor was very dirty, with water all over the place and who knows what else (pee, menstrual blood, etc.). I helped my daughter in a way she did not sit on the toilet. What worries me is that both of us were wearing sandals and some of the wet stuff on the floor came in contact with our naked feet. In my particular case, I had a 12 hours wound on my foot thumb (like a hangnail that bleeded at first but at that time was OK). My daughter´s feet were ok, just some peeled skin. Outside the toilet we washed our feet with water. At home, I checked many times my wound, it was Ok, not bleeding but it hearted a bit when pressing. When cleaning it, some pink liquid could be found in a very small amount. I cleaned it with alcohol. After a few hours I checked again and I found a transparent liquid was coming out of the wound (just a bit). After a day the wound was completely dry.

Doctor, I´m worried because we both went to a very dirty ladies toilet and the liquids found on the floor came in contact with our naked feet. In a ladies toilet I think is more likely to find MENSTRUAL BLOOD on the floor or traces of it and that is what worries me. Is any risk for hiv in this situation for my daughter or for me (considering the WOUND I had)?... Do we need to test? Are there any precautions when using a public toilet?.

I think I might be overreacting to this situation but as I father I want to keep my family and myself save. At the same time I do not want to be obsessive with situations that won´t be worth the effort, so for the future should I worry for situations like this? Many thanks for your important comments.

[H. Hunter Handsfield, M.D.]

Welcome back.  However, Dr. Hook terminated your other thread because you were unwilling or unable to understand his advice about low risk transmissions.

If exposures like you describe could transmit HIV, wouldn't you agree there would have to be a significant number of infected people who do not have traditional risks?  And yet in the US we simply never see the infection in someone who has not had unprotected sex or needle sharing with someone who in turn was also at high risk.  

Here is all you need to do to be certain you will never get HIV:  choose your sex partners carefully, and don't have vaginal or anal sex outside a mutually monogamous relationship; and don't ever share drug injection equipment with other people.  That's all.

"I think I might be overreacting..."  Yes, in a big way.

"...for the future should I worry for situations like this?"  No, absolutely not.

Please note MedHelp's rule that allows no more than 2 questions every 6 months on each of the professionally moderated forums (see Terms and Conditions) -- the purpose of which is to prevent domination of the forums by hyper-anxious users.  This is your second in a couple of weeks -- so no more before next Augusts.  (I don't want you to lose a non-refundable posting fee on a question that would be deleted without reply.)

Regards--  HHH, MD

[wonchito]

Just wanted to say thank you for your comments and patience. I will move on and put behind these silly thoughts. Many thanks Doctor...