hiv from massage

[chandravanshi]

Respected doctor,

i had been taking body massage from this guy for the last ten years regularly say twice  a week.
i have never had any kind of sexual relation (no oral sex ) with him ever except i am fully naked when i take massage.
it is just dry or with oil
also i am a professional cricket player so a lot of times i do get cuts on my body when i take massage.
Yesterday i got a shock of my life when i came to know this guy (my massage therapist) is hiv positive and now at the last stage i.e aids.
now i am dead scared as sometimes he might have cuts on his hand and also i may have got some cut or injury on my body.
i am too scared to go to a massage spa in future.
also i might have shared drinking water from the same glass or bottle with him.

DO I NEED TESTING THIS ?
PLEASE ADVICE

[chandravanshi]

thanks a lot doctor for your help..

i shall be careful in future and try to get both of them treated for hiv and yes his wife is also positive (very sad) just now i got her results from a rapid test.
her sample has gone for west and blot test for reassurance thats what doctor told me over phone.
i shall not treat them as paraya for sure
anyways me and my whole family are also planning to get tested tomorrow just for re assurance as two weeks back i got cut from the knife in kitchen which she got cut an hour before.

also living together for 10 years without knowing their status is worrying me
thanks again doc for your support
god bless you
take care

[H. Hunter Handsfield, M.D.]

You're overthinking it -- and I already answered about the kitchen work etc; see my original reply.  If the infected man bleeds overtly, e.g. a large cut with, say, blood dripping on the floor, use careful hygiene in cleaning it up -- for example, lots of bleach or other disinfectant, or wear rubber gloves -- but otherwise don't worry about it.  Aside from contact with large amounts of visible blood, there is no scenario your anxious mind can come up with that would be high risk for you or your family.

Perhaps another reassuring step would be for you to help this man obtain proper HIV therapy.  I see you are in India, and I don't have any way of knowing what HIV/AIDS clinical services are available that the man could afford.  But if he can get onto effective HIV therapy, it would improve his daily life, enhance the odds of survival, and protect his wife, if she is not already infected (Obviously, she should be tested if that hasn't yet been done); and it might make you feel more confident having him in your home.  But in the meantime, please treat him with respect and kindness; he undoubtely needs that kind of support, and not to be treated as a pariah.  (I think that word originates in India, yes?  But I think the original context was social, not medical.)

[chandravanshi]

thanks a ton for replying doctor,

my question to erase all my worries and knowledge

this same guy and his wife had been working in my kitchen too

so my question is
even if i got a scratch or a cut from something which had his blood on it or
his fresh cut with blood got rubbed with fresh cut on my body?

is there is no risk.
isn't it a direct blood exposure?

[H. Hunter Handsfield, M.D.]

Even with a high viral load, you were not at risk.  HIV isn't transmitted without direct blood or sexual exposure.  The man's wife is obviously at very high risk, but you are not.  Please try not to worry about it.

[chandravanshi]

respected dr.hhh,

thanks a lot for your prompt reply.

The guy who massaged me himself did not know that he was hiv positive till last week as he is an illitrate person and never had any treatment or medicine.

i dont know exactly what stage is he on but he was quiet sick for some months and his wife told me his viral load is very high.
i hope he not taking treatment increases my risk of catching hiv from massage.

thanks a ton

[H. Hunter Handsfield, M.D.]

Welcome to the forum.

HIV has never been transmitted by massage.  Your situation is different than most of the innumerable massage-related questions on the forum, because you apparently know that the masseur has HIV.  (I'll take that information at face value, but I would urge you to not make such assumptions based on rumor.)

Anyway, his HIV status makes no difference.  HIV cannot be transmitted by massage, regardless of cuts or skin injuries you may have.  And in any case, if the guy really has overt AIDS, then probably he is on anti-HIV drugs -- which are now known to make people non-infectious, even for their unprotected sex partners.  (See the first blog in Today's Pulse at the right side of this page.)  And sharing a drinking glass also is zero risk.  The household members of HIV infected persons never catch HIV, even after several years of using the same kitchens, toilets, etc and despite sharing eating utensils etc.  HIV is not spread that way.

So you definitely do not need testing, and there is no reason to avoid massage parlors in the future (as long as you don't have unprotected sex as part of the "massage"!)

Regards--  HHH, MD