Scared/concerned of being an HIV carrier

[Derasto]

Hello,
This is my first time posting or even opening up about anything of this nature anywhere, I am greatly concerned about being an HIV carrier, this is a delicate subject for me as I have always been afraid of doctor visits throughout my life, mostly because of fear of receiving negative information. My job requires me to deal with many different walks of life, I have been a professional tattoo artist for the past 2 years. When I began I was taught about blood borne pathogens and preventing cross contamination, as well as proper sterilization methods, I know there are several risks involved my line of work and I wish to be as informed as possible. A few months ago I noticed several raised,lumpy, sometimes painful, recurring areas on my inner thigh and occasionally my left armpit that I had never noticed this before I started tattooing. This has been a concern for me as I have heard of swollen lymph nodes being related to the disease, as well as a few others ones , however I have also been told that it is best that a doctor determine whether or not these are swollen lymph nodes. I have not lost any unexplained weight or really experienced any other symptoms besides a minor canker sore a few weeks ago,  these concerns have been heavy on my mind  and have caused a great deal of stress on top of my day to day aggravations, as well as I am concerned for the health and well being of my clients if I were to be diagnosed as a carrier. I respectfully ask for any helpful information on this subject and give thanks in advance.

[nonbeliever]

first off your risk is non existant, hiv is very fragile as you been told, i have never heard of a tattoo artist pricking himself with his own needle as its not like taking blood. i would worry more about hep than hiv, but if you are that concerned you should find another career.

[HSci34]

***** = P R I C K

[HSci34]

You seem to take a great deal of care in your handling of equipment that fluid from other peoples' bodies is touching. HIV is a very sensitive virus, however, and cannot survive in the external environment. In your case, one of the only things you should really be careful of is to not ***** yourself with a needle if you use it on someone else. Health care professionals must be careful of this too.

HIV is not transmitted from the external environment. The four main ways it is transmitted are:
1) Vaginal sex
2) Anal sex
3) Needle sharing
4) Breast milk to child

If you have had protected sex and not been pricked by a used needle from a person of unknown status, then you CANNOT have HIV.

You should continue the clean/sterile technique you have learned and been using. Use gloves if you are dealing with foreign body fluids (if possible). This will limit the chance that you get any form of infection. Be careful when dealing with other's blood also. You aren't at risk if you are dealing with blood, but if, for example you have an open cut on your hand... you don't want other peoples' blood to get on that. Wearing gloves would eliminate this concern.

[Derasto]

In this line of work, breaking the skin is involved, as well as the cleaning and sterilizing of equipment used to apply the tattoos. We only use single-use needles. and after I finish working on an area I sanitize my workspace with a bleach solution. I take pride in maintaining a clean work area, However as I have heard with some people in the medical field, that there are similar risks of being in contact with these circumstances.

[Uniquelymen]

Hi there....

After reading....may I know what risk did you have?