HIV from staple in the wall

[Sleepy946]

Hello, I’ve dealt with severe OCD for a while with a lot of things. HIV being one of them. I’ve pretty much gotten to the point where I can live a normal life without worrying about things or obsessing over things. Well I was at a restaurant earlier and was sitting in the booth next to the wall. Well I moved my arm at one point and felt something scrape my arm. It was a staple(I believe) that was smashed into the wall but the end of it was sticking out. It wasn’t a regular staple it was more of a heavy duty staple. I looked at my arm and and it was like where you scratch yourself with dry skin. Left like a whitish mark. I don’t believe it made me bleed but that’s what I’m afraid of. It was at the back of my arm and I couldn’t really see it and I was with other people so I didn’t want to keep looking at it. I poured some water on a napkin and wiped off my arm where it scraped me. I got home and I can’t really find where it scraped me. I’m just worried about if someone else were sitting in the booth before me and cut their arm on it before I did. I just have the nervous feeling in my stomach that I can’t shake right now.

[GuitarRox]

This does sound like ocd. It's okay to post here a couple of times by the way and it has been awhile so we will help!  In just about all posts here, the risks of how one gets HIV are given.  They include:  having unprotected vaginal or oral sex or sharing IV drug needles.  IV drug needles are not needle sticks.  They involve injection, plunging action.  Not like getting poked or stuck by a sharp object like a staple.  Now, it probably won't float to keep asking this question since they have rules about posting here, so you need to internalize that.  Talk back to your OCD and remind it that you know the risks and unless it is one of the three things I just mentioned, it is not a risk.  Air inactivates hiv. Anxiety disorders like ocd ARE treatable.  If you have suffered this for a long time and based on your posts, I'd guess you have.  You would best be served by working with a psychiatric professional to overcome it.  

[Paxiled]

You might look into the anxiety forum, but this actually doesn't sound like OCD, it sounds more like anxiety and possibly phobias.  Only importance is the therapy is different.

[AnxiousNoMore]

Seek therapy because you already know all you need to realize you had no risk. Only non-sex risk is sharing hollow needles that you use to inject with, and there wasn't any hollow needle attached to the staple. It is unfortunate that you are fixated on a disease that you have no risk for to the point that you think it is all around you when in fact it is NOWHERE near you since you don't use shared hollow needles.
https://www.medhelp.org/posts/HIV-Prevention/HIV-risk-from-door-handle/show/3062463
https://www.medhelp.org/posts/HIV-Prevention/HIV-risk-or-irrational-thinking/show/2984489

[Sleepy946]

Thanks for your quick response as always. I moved on from it until yesterday. Exactly 12 days later, I came down with a stomach bug. Stomach pain, diarrhea, vomiting. Couldn’t drink anything. This happened Thursday evening. I don’t believe I had a fever because I periodically checked my temperature. 24 hours later I just had fatigue and just felt really bad. 48 hours later (now) I still have fatigue but don’t feel as bad and Don’t really have much of an appetite. Now I’m worried again because I saw where a doctor on one of the forums said ARS begins 10-14 days after infection and I got sick 12 days after. Some background, my wife came down with something similar 2 days prior to me getting sick. I guess just a stomach bug? It’s just the timing is messing with my mind so much! What if someone jammed a needle in from the other side of the wall?? I try not to get worked up about things like this but these things seem to always happen to me..

[AnxiousNoMore]

hiv doctors can't diagnose from symptoms so no one here pays attention to them - and you shouldn't either. The first step to peace is to stop gogling cold turkey because there is no useful diagnostic there, so the more you continue the more anxious you will get. Seek therapy because this is just an hiv prevention forum and your problem has nothing to do with hiv.