Aa
Tattoo apprentice concerns
Hello! I'm a cosmetic tattoo apprentice. 6 weeks ago I sustained a small needle stick injury to my index finger during a supervised training of a client's eyebrow tattoo. I stopped the service and went to the sink to remove gloves. Upon squeezing hard there was a tiny speck of blood that came out, I washed it with soap and went to urgent care shortly thereafter as my mentor agreed to finish up the last part of the service. The doctor did provide me with a risk assessment and gave transmission percentages which are low, but still suggested I take PEP for 28 days because the client refused to provide negative bloodwork results. I finished the 28 day course and have Hep B immunity ... I'm currently waiting to get back HIV and Hep C bloodwork (they told me to retest at 6 weeks, then 3 months, then 6 months). Is 3 months conclusive or do I really need to wait for 6 months to confirm my status?
Are the transmission percentages doctors provide based off of needle stick incidents in medical settings of hollow / hypodermic needles exclusively? Do doctors factor in the type of needle involved in the injury when logging reports and advising on post exposure treatment? The reason I ask this is my injury is recorded in my medical file as a hypodermic needle stick injury - but that doesn't seem accurate. The manufacturer of the tattoo needle confirmed it is a solid needle, so I would think the transmission risk is lower than in a medical setting - but this event and the fact that the client wouldn't provide me with negative results has really frightened me. I'm feeling anxious and trying to make a more informed decision about the risks and whether or not I want to even finish the training. I also don't want to take PEP again because it made me feel very lousy.
Thank you in advance for your consideration and input.
Are the transmission percentages doctors provide based off of needle stick incidents in medical settings of hollow / hypodermic needles exclusively? Do doctors factor in the type of needle involved in the injury when logging reports and advising on post exposure treatment? The reason I ask this is my injury is recorded in my medical file as a hypodermic needle stick injury - but that doesn't seem accurate. The manufacturer of the tattoo needle confirmed it is a solid needle, so I would think the transmission risk is lower than in a medical setting - but this event and the fact that the client wouldn't provide me with negative results has really frightened me. I'm feeling anxious and trying to make a more informed decision about the risks and whether or not I want to even finish the training. I also don't want to take PEP again because it made me feel very lousy.
Thank you in advance for your consideration and input.
COMMUNITY LEADER
A superficial needle stick where you had to squeeze your finger to get blood out is NOT going to result in HIV transmission. Transmission via needles does involve a hollow-bore needle with a syringe, and injection directly into the bloodstream. This is why drug needles are dangerous - hollow bore, with a syringe, and injected directly into a vein.
You don't have anything to worry about.
You don't have anything to worry about.
Your situation involves personal contact with an object in air (hand, cuts, solid needle, 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 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. Note that 2 of them require a penis and the third requires a hollow injecting shared needle - there are no OTHER 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.
You should stop worrying and move on from this non-event.
I suggest you find a better doctor next time since this was a zero risk event and PEP was a waste of time. Athletes don't go on PEP every time they collide and smear each other's blood.
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.
You should stop worrying and move on from this non-event.
I suggest you find a better doctor next time since this was a zero risk event and PEP was a waste of time. Athletes don't go on PEP every time they collide and smear each other's blood.
Have an Answer?
You are reading content posted in the HIV Prevention Community
Condoms are the most effective way to prevent HIV and STDs.
PrEP is used by people with high risk to prevent HIV infection.
Can I get HIV from surfaces, like toilet seats?
Can you get HIV from casual contact, like hugging?
Frequency of HIV testing depends on your risk.
Post-exposure prophylaxis (PEP) may help prevent HIV infection.
