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HIV exposure during OR observation
I am a nursing student and one week ago I was allowed to watch amputations in the OR. While the surgeon was performing one of the amputations, she flushed the wound with Normal Saline and this caused saline and blood to splash onto her eye mask (the same mask she was using during the last 4 amputations). Because she could no longer see clearly she asked me to pull down her mask, so I did, but I realized I did not have gloves on. I looked down at my fingers and saw spots of wet blood. I ran to the sink and washed it off within 30 seconds. I then started looking for any cuts on my hands and found one paper cut and two damaged cuticles on the fingers I pulled the mask down with. I also wash my hands frequently so they are dry and somewhat peeling. What are the chances that, if the pt had HIV, I could contract it this way?
You can't contract HIV from a paper cut, hangnail, or an abrasion. You should have already had your lessons on bloodborne exposure way before you done any labs.
Can you please explain to me how contracting HIV this way is irrational? Are paper cuts not non-intact skin? And does blood not contain the virus? I have always been very interested in your opinion and I was hoping to get a helpful response from you.
If this is a true story then shouldn't you really be speaking to a Dr or the hospital?
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