Aa
Blood exposure during basketball - HIV risk
Hello, I was playing team basketball going commando (aka i was wearing shorts, but no underwear as i forgot to do laundry that day). I didnt think much of it; but now i am really regretting it. One of the players got scratched on knuckle and forearm and was bleeding. I am scared that the blood during play would have gotten on my shorts and went through the shorts and made contact with my penis. To make matters worse, i wasnt wearing my regular basketball shorts, i was wearing a sport shorts that has a web based design; aka the outer layer has small holes in the fabric. Is this a real risk to contact HIV? Thank you for your help.
This makes a lot of sense. I guess what i am confused about is that when blood bleeds out of hand/arm, is that considered to be leaving the body and exposure to air?
1 Comments
There's no point in trying to analyze this or any other event, as the risks for HIV are straightforward.
The only risks for HIV in adults are:
1) Having unprotected (no condom) penetrative anal or vaginal sex, OR
2) Sharing IV drug equipment with other IV drug users.
HIV never infects people because of minor cuts and scrapes that do not require EMERGENCY medical attention. HIV is not transmitted via blood outside of the body, on surfaces or seeping through clothing. You had zero risk for HIV.
The only risks for HIV in adults are:
1) Having unprotected (no condom) penetrative anal or vaginal sex, OR
2) Sharing IV drug equipment with other IV drug users.
HIV never infects people because of minor cuts and scrapes that do not require EMERGENCY medical attention. HIV is not transmitted via blood outside of the body, on surfaces or seeping through clothing. You had zero risk for HIV.
Your situation involves personal contact with an object in air (body, fluids, maybe blood, cuts, bleeding, etc. ). You will be happy to learn that you had no risk, because you can't get hiv from personal contact except unprotected penetrating vaginal or anal with a penis, neither of which you did and you didn't share hollow needles to inject with which is the only other way to acquire hiv - there are ONLY 3 ways to get hiv. Note that 2 of them require a penis and the third requires a hollow injecting shared needle - there are no OTHER ways to get hiv. Analysis of large numbers of infected people over the 40 years of hiv history has proven that people don't get hiv in the way you are worried is a risk.
Hiv is a fragile virus in air or saliva and is effectively instantly dead in either air or saliva so the WORST that could happen is dead virus rubbed you, and obviously anything which is dead cannot live again so you are good. Blood and cuts would not be relevant in your situation since the hiv has become effectively dead, so you don't have to worry about them to be sure that you are safe.
There is no reason for a person to test when they are safe. The advice took into consideration that the other person might be positive, so move on and enjoy life instead of thinking about this non-event. hiv prevention is straightforward since there are only 3 ways you can become infected, so next time you wonder if you had a risk, ask yourself this QUESTION. "Did I do any of the 3?" Then after you say "No, I didn't" you will know that it's time to move on back to your happy life.
No one got hiv from what you did during 40 years of hiv history and no one will get it in the next 40 years of your life either. You can do what you did any time and be safe from hiv.
The other person's status is irrelevant when you have no exposure to live virus.
Your fear of hiv playing basketball is quite silly, since all people are cut all the time. If you have children and you think it just spreads around in the air, would you keep them indoors all the time so they don't touch a cut person and die of hiv.
Hiv is a fragile virus in air or saliva and is effectively instantly dead in either air or saliva so the WORST that could happen is dead virus rubbed you, and obviously anything which is dead cannot live again so you are good. Blood and cuts would not be relevant in your situation since the hiv has become effectively dead, so you don't have to worry about them to be sure that you are safe.
There is no reason for a person to test when they are safe. The advice took into consideration that the other person might be positive, so move on and enjoy life instead of thinking about this non-event. hiv prevention is straightforward since there are only 3 ways you can become infected, so next time you wonder if you had a risk, ask yourself this QUESTION. "Did I do any of the 3?" Then after you say "No, I didn't" you will know that it's time to move on back to your happy life.
No one got hiv from what you did during 40 years of hiv history and no one will get it in the next 40 years of your life either. You can do what you did any time and be safe from hiv.
The other person's status is irrelevant when you have no exposure to live virus.
Your fear of hiv playing basketball is quite silly, since all people are cut all the time. If you have children and you think it just spreads around in the air, would you keep them indoors all the time so they don't touch a cut person and die of hiv.
1 Comments
Since you didn't answer the QUESTION, I'll do it for you. Answer> No there wasn't a penis in my anus on the court and no one injected me with a hollow needle when I played so I should move on from hiv fears.
Have an Answer?
You are reading content posted in the HIV Prevention Community
Condoms are the most effective way to prevent HIV and STDs.
PrEP is used by people with high risk to prevent HIV infection.
Can I get HIV from surfaces, like toilet seats?
Can you get HIV from casual contact, like hugging?
Frequency of HIV testing depends on your risk.
Post-exposure prophylaxis (PEP) may help prevent HIV infection.
