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Needle Stick

Hello Experts,

My son while playing outside in playgroud had a needlestick injury with a discarded needle. There was NO syringe attached to needle, it did not look like an hollow needle that is used to inject and there was no visible blood on the needle. The injury on her foot was NOT too deep but it did drew few drops of blood.

Freaked out about possibility of HIV infection.. Pls let me know your assessment asap.
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3191940 tn?1447268717
COMMUNITY LEADER
By the way, while this event does not present any risk for HIV, it does present a decent risk for bacterial infection.  Please watch for any swelling, redness, or tenderness.
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And tetanus, if she hasn't been vaccinated, is a remote possibility as well.  But not HIV.
Avatar universal
We rely on the opinion of expert doctors so do not pay attention to other sites or what people claim they have read otherwise we will be here arguing all day. There is nothing boilerplate about my explanation which clearly identifies the roles that air or saliva have in killing hiv. Reread about the 3 and realize hiv prevention is straightforward - otherwise why have you never read about anyone getting hiv from needlesticks, rubbing one's cut on one body with cuts on someone else's (shaking hands for example) barber cuts, etc. which likely happens about 300 Million times per year minimum?
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Avatar universal
Then why is needlestick considered as risk for HIV? even cdc calls it out.. can you add more details than boiler plate response. I am so confused and worried..
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Since the inception of HIV ~40 years ago,  only a handful of medical professionals have been infected by needles, and most of those were ages ago.  HIV must enter the bloodstream, which isn't going to happen from a casual needlestick - a person needs to have a syringe attached that pushes blood into the bloodstream.  

Blood found on any surface, including a needle or a pin, is not going to infect anyone.  
Avatar universal
Your situation involves personal contact with an object in air  ( needle, maybe fluids, maybe blood  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.
Any hiv on the point of this needle was long dead before he was injured.
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