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HIV risk at A&E hospital
Hi there,
I got a big concern. I went to the hospital most precisely to the A&E department as I was having stomach pain from eating food. However first a nurse check on every patient that comes to take notes and use a pulse oximeter on your index finger. The thing is when she introduced the oximeter on my finger i filled like a scratch on my finger as it seems it impact the inside of the pulse oximeter and the top of my index finger was red(small spot). Since I was not at home I didn't sanitize my finger until I return home 4 hours later. My question is say someone before me got same issue with the pulse oximeter and in this case he bleed inside of it will I be at risk of contracting HIV from my cut? Based on the fact that the inside gets closed once is not in use and only open when you are inserting your finger(I assume wont have air exposure but not an expert of this kind of equipment). I understand inanimate objects will be inactive to hiv due to air exposure but will that also take into consideration the inside of a pulse oximeter? Also after that incident an hour later I had to use again my index finger for checking my pulse but this time I didnt hit my finger however I didnt wash my finger from the previous incident. Will that be consider a risk? Thanks for your time.
I got a big concern. I went to the hospital most precisely to the A&E department as I was having stomach pain from eating food. However first a nurse check on every patient that comes to take notes and use a pulse oximeter on your index finger. The thing is when she introduced the oximeter on my finger i filled like a scratch on my finger as it seems it impact the inside of the pulse oximeter and the top of my index finger was red(small spot). Since I was not at home I didn't sanitize my finger until I return home 4 hours later. My question is say someone before me got same issue with the pulse oximeter and in this case he bleed inside of it will I be at risk of contracting HIV from my cut? Based on the fact that the inside gets closed once is not in use and only open when you are inserting your finger(I assume wont have air exposure but not an expert of this kind of equipment). I understand inanimate objects will be inactive to hiv due to air exposure but will that also take into consideration the inside of a pulse oximeter? Also after that incident an hour later I had to use again my index finger for checking my pulse but this time I didnt hit my finger however I didnt wash my finger from the previous incident. Will that be consider a risk? Thanks for your time.
The pulse oximeter would not transmit the virus. It is exposed to air. And even if someone with HIV had this device used before you, it would not transmit the virus. And the likely hood of that being the case is slim at best. PLUS, it's the time of covid. We are in the middle of a global pandemic and would think any health care establishment would be careful with items used on different patients. Especially that device as it is used to assess someone's oxigination which covid can affect. Try not to let your anxiety run wild with you!
Your situation involves personal contact with an object in air ( plastic, maybe blood, maybe other body fluids from someone's cuts runny nose, etc.). No hiv worries, because you can't get hiv from personal contact except unprotected penetrating vaginal or anal, neither of which you did and you didn't share hollow needles to inject with which is the only other way to acquire 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.
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.
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Hi there, thanks for your reply. Will the inside of a pulse oximeter be considered an object where air comes into contact. Asking because of the nature of it since is open only when inserting the index finger and closed when not in use. Thanks for your time.
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