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Sewing needle used to pop genital hsv 2 blisters HIV risk?

Straight to the point- Ive got genital hsv 2. When I have outbreaks I pop my blisters with a sewing needle of mine that's in my medicine cabinet. My cousin stayed with me for a couple mOnths and I'm pretty sure I had an outbreak or two while he lived with me. We're African American I'm married but my cousin has risky sex, he never wears condoms and actually takes pride in it seemingly, any way he gets ingrown hairs in his beard and on an occasion have asked me if I had some tweezers or a tac that he use's to pull them out his skin, at times bleeding he said, but not much, how much I don't know. Heres my worry; what if I walked in the bathroom after he's gotten some fresh blood my sewing needle (30 sec to a min) used that needle on my hsv blister to pop it with cd4 cells waiting to be infected. Ive read how it has to be a deep puncture but the difference here is the popping of the genital blister where again the perfect cells are there to be infected. Ive tried to get this out my mind but for some reason it seem possible. I'm pretty educated in HIV but the dynamics of this scenario scares me. I will donate if an expert can answer, but if your a highly knowledgable person concerning HIV ( no guessing Please) I appreciate it very much....
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101028 tn?1419603004
just wanted to say that you shouldn't be popping your genital herpes blisters! no reason to pop them - it doesn't speed healing and actually increases your risk of superinfection with other bacteria in your lesions!  Let them heal on their own and take antivirals to speed healing. you can also use topicals for comfort on them too.

no one should ever share tweezers or needles in a household to pick at infections be them bacterial or viral!!  You risk spreading bacterial skin infections needlessly to other household members.  This is basic hygiene practices in general.  

grace
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Avatar universal
Yes I put the needle up and as far as I know no one in my house other then my cousin had any reason to use it but he spends alot of time doing this and I'm concerned he may have used my needle... Point taken on the popping of blisters but is this an HIV risk to you
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Avatar universal
This seems crazy but I feel sometimes this urge to make sure I don't get HIV , I've been tested before my cuz moved in and had no risk other than this percoeved risk I can't get out of my head
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Not an HIV concern.
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Avatar universal
Thanx Teak, that's no risk because HIV can't spread outside its host ( no matter how long it's been out the host) & can't be spread off an inanimate right? I appreciate any time dedicated to my questions thank you again.
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I meant to say off an inanimate object right Teak? This is my last post if you reply again thank you
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101028 tn?1419603004
no it is not a risk. it's not that easy to contract hiv even if your relative does have it.

toss that needle too !
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Avatar universal
Thank you Grace, I appreciate you taking the time to reply. I've been feeling a whole lot more confident that this wasn't a risk .
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Avatar universal
Hey Teak I have a quick question, When You and others say HIV is inactive outside host or the virus dies"as soon as" Air touched virus it dies. Does Air mean Oxygen Air or Temperature Air; just to clarify is Air different then temperature? As in HIV dies in air and temperature change or is Air and temperature the same in this instance ? Sorry if this sounds redundant
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2073572 tn?1334301007
firstly hiv is very fragile virus to transmit n very weak .it survive only in medical labs as it require perfect enviroment.it dies instantly exposed to air.no worry dear
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HIV does not die it is either active or inactive.
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Thank you I'll try to internalize this remind myself of this
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Avatar universal
Thank you it's just too much information online about this so it's hard to believe one or the other but I've come to trust this site along with your answers. So outside host = inactive? Right?
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Avatar universal
Correct.
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Avatar universal
Hey Teak, Dr Jose said that the virus ( and these are his words not mine) that The virus dies in a few minutes but becomes unstable in seconds unable to infect, this goes along with what I mostly read on this, but I asked what my risk was to Dr handsfield and he said that if there was wet blood on the needle tip or if my Cousin got tested and did have HIV that I should get tested to be safe. This confuses me because he also said that their there was any risk it Probably is less then getting hit by lighting. I keep telling myself HIV can't spread outside its host but Dr hooks and handsfield confused me with their assessment. Who should I believe, because at the end of the day I just wanna do the right thing. Thanks again
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Avatar universal
Just to comment on this for you. A doctor will always tell you it is a good idea to get tested regardless just because there are so many factors with HIV that are unknown... yes it is a sexually transmitted virus, yes it is in blood cells, yes it does become inactive after a few seconds outside of the host as it no longer has anything to keep it alive now, no there is no definite answer on how many seconds, if you come in contact with someone else blood yes it is a great idea to get tested (as this is a safe way to keep your own mind sane)... in general take the cautious side of what everyone is telling you in this thread. The way I see it is what I was taught in CPR... Bad CPR is better than no CPR. What I mean by this is if there is something you can do to protect yourself then do it. Also as far as the popping the blisters what I would do if you decide to continue doing this is simply buy a stock pile still packaged needles... once you use one throw it away... next time you have an outbreak use a brand new one that no one has touched before... yes this is a little anal retentive but it is a safe sure way that you will not be using a needle that has your cousins (lack of caution) blood on it
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Avatar universal
Move along with your incorrect information.
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