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Avatar universal

Blood in Sandwich and Cold Sore in Mouth

Hi,

So today I bought a sandwich from a nearby store. After he handed to me I noticed that he didn't have any gloves on and had some red smear on the bottom of his palm ( I didn't think much of it). Not to judge by appearance, but I know statistically African American men and the homosexual community have higher rates of HIV and the guy who was making the sandwich was both.  

I quickly ran back to my place and started eating the sandwich (less than 30 seconds as my place is right next to the place). I have cold sores in my inner lip and a had a cut in my mouth. I have HSV 1 that I got when I was a kid, and I just happen to have a outbreak when I had this sandwich.

NOW I am freaking out that there might have been blood on the sandwich and it could have gone through my sores or the cut in my mouth. I wasn't bleeding out of my mouth or anything, but still! This fear only came after I Finished the entire sandwich and was drinking water.

Trust me I looked through the web before I submit this question as none of the questions mention the poster having cold sores or cuts in their mouths.

What are my HIV risks here if he was HIV positive?

Thank you
2 Responses
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Avatar universal
This answers all of your HIV questions, and if you can think of any more just reread about the 3. You had zero risk therefore  testing is irrelevant to your situation because you had zero risk. HIV is a fragile virus, which is instantly inactivated in air and also in saliva which means it is effectively dead so it can't infect from touching, external rubbing or oral activities. It doesn't matter if you and they were actively bleeding or had cuts at the time either because the HIV is effectively dead.  
Only 3 adult risks are the following:
1. unprotected penetrating vaginal with a penis
2. unprotected penetrating anal sex with a penis
3. sharing needles that you inject with.
The only way to get HIV is if you did one of the 3. The situation you describe is a long way from any of these 3.
Even with blood, lactation, cuts, rashes, burns, etc the air or the saliva does not allow inactivated virus to infect from touching, external rubbing or oral activities. Doctors have calculated the risk from what you describe to be less than that of being hit by a meteor, therefore no one will get HIV from what you did in the next 40 years of your life either. The above HIV science is 40 years old and very well established, so no detail that you can add to your encounter will change it from zero risk.
If you didn't have one of the 3 then you are just worrying about your own hiv theory - which is unrealistic for you to think that can become reality - so you should move on back to your happy life instead.
Helpful - 0
3191940 tn?1447268717
COMMUNITY LEADER
This is absolutely ZERO risk for HIV.  This is not a way in which HIV can be transmitted, no matter what.

HIV risks for adults are:
1) having unprotected, penetrative, anal or vaginal sex, or
2) sharing intravenous needles (with IV drug users)

You didn't even come close to either of those.  Blood or fluids, once outside of a human host, lose the ability to infect others with HIV.  It doesn't matter if you had sores, cuts, or scrapes - the imagined blood from him would not be infectious.

If you're eating at unsanitary places, you should stop doing so, and report them to the health department.  You could get common bacterial or viral infections that way.  But there is zero chance you got HIV from this event.
Helpful - 0
1 Comments
Hi, thanks for your reply.

Sorry, but this is also another question. Two days ago on a packed bus, I had a bloody nose but I was trying to hold it in by putting my head back a little. It wasn't bleeding profusely. I realize that HIV isn't airborne. However, the guy in front of me that was standing basically coughed directly into my face.

I felt some droplets on my face and probably saliva. If some droplets contained HIV + blood and immediately landed in my nose where it was bleeding, is it possible to get infected this way because it was almost immediate?

I was breathing in heavily with my nose to stop the blood from coming out !  This fluid was outside the human host, but it was not even a second. Is this a possible way of transmission?

Thank you so much.
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