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Is it risky to reuse other people's cotton balls?
Hi . Please let me ask that. Will I be at risk of HIV infection if I use a cotton ball that has been used that has been contaminated with someone else's blood about 5 minutes ago and covers the injection site where I have just drawn blood for the test.
No, that is not a risk for HIV. Once the virus is exposed to air, it is inactivated. The only way adults get HIV is to have unprotected vaginal or anal sex or share IV drug needles. And reusing a cotton ball with blood on it would be beyond unlikely. That falls into the category of irrational fear. If you have those a lot, it would be best to talk to someone about anxiety. You won't be alone, many suffer this type of health anxiety.
1 Comments
Thank you very much for correctly understanding my problem. I do feel like I have OCD. Or fear in bloody situations. There should be no problem but because 2 weeks after the test I developed a lymph node under my chin. That's why I'm worried. The cotton swab had a blood stain about 0.5 cm. I'm not sure it's my blood anymore. But let's say that the worst case scenario is someone else's blood and that cotton ball is inserted into my needle hole. In your opinion it is not dangerous, is it? Let me ask if the symptoms of HIV are lymphadenopathy, not a single site. I'm also not fever or tired at all.
Your situation involves personal contact with an object in air ( gauze, blood 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, 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.
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.
You are not a doctor so should stop poking and irritating your lymph or whatever you poked. There is no purpose in describing the swab anymore either, since it can't give you hiv or asking if it is dangerous when you were told it is not.
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.
You are not a doctor so should stop poking and irritating your lymph or whatever you poked. There is no purpose in describing the swab anymore either, since it can't give you hiv or asking if it is dangerous when you were told it is not.
3 Comments
Thank you very much. You help me feel much more relieved
Yesterday I went to hospital for blood test there the nurse drew the blood and she bymistake dropped the cotton ball on dirty hospital floor and she picked up from floors cleaned my blood from injection area am I risk of getting Hiv or hbv? Cause there are so many hiv patients for blood test?... Plzz answer soon
Reread the advice above and you will notice that you didn't do any of the 3 (there wasn't a penis inside a vagina or anus while she drew your blood and she didn't use a hollow needle on the floor to inject you with) so you should move on. You must be very nervous if you didn't notice the only 3 in the advice since it was mentioned by 2 people here.
can i get HIV if i test myself for HIV with Alere HIV Combo ag/ab test strip . I heard that the test strips contain HIV antigens. After holding the test strip without wearing gloves, I went to the toilet. I washed my genitals and anus. Can HIV components on the test strip infect me?
1 Comments
Reread about the QUESTION but I will answer it for you this time. ANSWER is "No I didn't do any of the 3 so I should move on from hiv fears and find something interesting to do instead."
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