Anxiety and ocd about possible needle poke!!

[Adamsky]

Hi there, I was walking down a dirt road the other day and something poke through my flip flip into my big toe. I bled just a tiny bit, and was a tiny bit sore. I’m concerned that it may have been a discarded needle, and I’m obsessing about that thought and the chances of catching hiv through this incident. I looked around on the ground but I didn’t see anything, but there was so much gravel I probably couldn’t see it anyway! Could any one be kind enough to offer some insight? I’m freaking out a bit.. I’ve had anxiety and  OCD around hiv for years but I still don’t know if this was a real risk or not. I’m confused.. thank you for your time!

[Paxiled]

No risk.  You should, however, seek a psychologist for treatment of your anxiety if it isn't getting any better.

[Adamsky]

Thank you for your response! I just started treatment.. why wouldn’t it be a risk? Thank you!

[Paxiled]

The better question is, why did you ever think it was?  Given there are STDs in the world, it's a good idea to do some homework with solid scientific texts and learn how one actually gets those diseases and how to protect yourself against them.  You've probably heard a lot of theoretical things about HIV on the internet or from friends, but we now have decades of actual experience with it.  The only way to practically get it is by having penetrative sex without protection or sharing drugs by intravenous injection with the same syringe.  The disease doesn't last long, and out of the protected environment of a sealed syringe, it's dead.  Any needle lying on the ground, even assuming it was a syringe used for drug use, isn't active anymore.  And again, that's assuming that's what you stepped on.  Of course, you should make sure your tetanus shot is up to date.  But seriously, do some solid research and learn about this stuff, it will help you relax about it, but your anxiety and phobia about it is your actual problem right now.  If you go into the archives on the HIV forums on this website, you'll see hundreds of questions by people like you who have had no risk at all of getting HIV who are so phobic about it they think all kinds of things can cause it.  Peace.

[Paxiled]

And let me add, do also learn what OCD is.  Not every obsessive thought is OCD.  You have to be careful about self-diagnosis.  You might have OCD, I don't know, but this isn't a symptom of it.  All phobias and all mental illness is characterized by obsessive negative thoughts, and if we could get rid of them we wouldn't have the problem.  OCD is a different thing, and is treated differently.  Although you'll find all sorts of OCD diagnoses these days, they aren't actually OCD and aren't treated the way OCD is treated in therapy, so they are really just anxious thoughts and phobias.  Good luck with your therapy.  Peace.