Hiv risk

[heynow74]

Had a blood exposure on Feb 21st. Went to ER room, wasn't feeling well. When they admitted me to a room, there was blood on a stretcher bed that I sat on. My concern is touching that blood and rubbing my eye and mouth which I did with my hand. I wasn't aware of what I was doing because I was scared of the symptoms I was experiencing that led me to the ER. Took a blood test on the 30th of March. Negative. That would be 37 days out. 5 days before the 30th, I began hving night sweats and other symptoms. Was my risk a low risk? Should I test again now 7 weeks out? Could the symptoms and night sweats that started a few days before the test mean tht not enough antibodies were produced to be detectable for the test? Thank you

[Sara_MHModerator]

We hope you can re read your answers here.  Our members have accurately assessed your concern as no risk.  We wish you the best.

***  thread closed ***

[AnxiousNoMore]

It is a bit silly to think that hospital procedures are thoughtless enough to allow transmission of hiv disease to people in ANY situation - a stretcher transmission is way beyond silly.

[heynow74]

I'm not saying the hospital did anything intentional in thoughtlessness. I went to ER. They put me into a room. There they had a bed, like a stretcher. I know I saw blood on it. ERs can get busy and hectic. The woman who took me to room told me to go in. She was looking for a nurse to see which room. Couldn't find one and just told me to go in. Usually after seeing the person at front desk, they take you to another waiting area where from there they take you into a room. In this case maybe there wasn't enough of a cleanup from the previous person when she told me to go in.

[AnxiousNoMore]

Every activity in a hospital is carefully thought out and procedures are put in place to avoid disease transmission.

Since you didn't answer the QUESTION I will do it for you now> ANSWER No there wasn't a penis in my anus and mine wasn't in anyone else's anus or vagina and I was not injected with a hollow needle while on the stretcher so I should move on from fears that my encounter could transmit hiv.

[heynow74]

Correct, I havent done any of those  3 things. I'm 48, haven't had sex in over 20 years, don't do drugs. My risk is as I stated. I have read literature that says theoretically there is a risk. Negligible one.  Maybe thats why many ppl, such as here, say there is no risk. Along with no documented cases. But I have read where splash of blood in the eye has resulted in infection, I believe in a lab setting. I'm sure one of the most often asked question is how long does it survive outside the body. I guess that's part of my concern, is not only that question but also transmission through mucous membranes in eye and mouth because again, the mucous membranes from what I have read is a way it can get in.

[AnxiousNoMore]

Your situation involves personal contact with an object in air  (blood, stretcher 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 with a penis, neither of which you did and you didn't share hollow needles to inject with which is the only other way to acquire hiv - there are ONLY 3 ways to get 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 from hiv.
The other person's status is irrelevant when you have no exposure to live virus.

[GuitarRox]

The first thing to know is that you had no risk for HIV.  HIV is inactivated by air so touching blood on a stretcher would not transit the virus. The ways that adults get HIV are to have unprotected vaginal or anal sex or to share IV drug needles. You did not need to test. You DEFINITELY do not need another test.  Since you had no risk, you couldn't have gotten HIV.  

[heynow74]

Thanks guitar. My main concern is the wording no risk vs small risk. Why wouldn't there be a small risk since the eye and mouth contain mucous membranes? Also the symptoms of night sweats along with leg aches, tingling in hands? That all concerns me. Especially since it would be 6 weeks from exposure. The timeline would fit. Thanks again for the help.

[GuitarRox]

NO one said small risk. ZERO risk.  Your only concerned because you have anxiety and I suspect that it may be a disorder you battle.  There is no risk from what you speak of. period,

[heynow74]

I am worried about my exposure. As I said, the blood was there and my preoccupation with what brought me to the ER prevented me from touching it and I rubbed my eyes and mouth with my hand. It wasn't just a spot of blood. Not a huge amount but very noticeable. This is why I ask. And from what I have read, the mucous membrane is a way for the virus to enter the body even if it's rare.