HIV Fear From Used Needle At Clinic

[Sphinx1965]

Hi,

I am from India. Recently I had contacted Flu and went to a local clinic in Delhi. The nurse gave me injection and ever since then i am surrounded with this fear whether he might have given me injection with an used needle as i noticed that the clinic was not clean and several needles were lying there. I did not notice the nurse tearing a fresh needle to give me medicine. So i would like to know that in case the nurse used a dirty needle on me what are the chances of me acquiring HIV? I am going mad since that day as i feel that in a third world country like India, it is possible for nurses to used dirty needles on patients. Please help as i have read that such incidents may transmit hiv.

Thanks

[RubyWitch]

You had no risk.

If you can not accept that, then have a 4th generation DUO test done 28 days post the injection and a confirmatory test done at 12 weeks.

[Sphinx1965]

My concern is even though the flu shot was given in my waist muscle, it did pierced inside the flesh resulting in exposure to blood stream...so what if it was an used needle previously used on an hiv+ person?

[Sphinx1965]

Hi Ruby,

Thanks for your response. It has give a bit peace of mind to me. He gave me flu vaccine on my butt not vein. So I guess my HIV risk is zero even if he gave me used needle?

Thanks

[RubyWitch]

If he was giving you a flu vaccine, they come in prefilled syringes that are incapable of being reused. Once the plunger is fully depressed, it is "locked" in place and can not be retracted.

The flu vaccine is given IM (intramuscularly) which means it is going into muscle, not a vein. For the possible transfer of infected blood, the nurse would have had to tie off your arm, find a vein, inject the needle, retract the plunger to make sure he was in a vein by observing your blood entering the syringe and then depress the plunger. Was that the procedure used for your injection? If not, your risk was zero.
RubyWitch