low risk but ARS symptons

[salesrep2005]

My question got deleted by Dr. H but it's still on my mind so I wanted to ak out here. Please don't bash me on this - I know it's not a common concern and may people have more serious issues but I do thank you all ahead of time. I shook hands with someone who had adhesive tape covering a cut/blister on their hand. I did not see any type of blood/fluid afterwards or notice any types of cuts on my hand - Is there ANY chance of transmission from this type of scenario ? I GOT A SERIOUS HEADACHE, UNLIKE ANYONE I HAD BEFORE FOR SEVERAL DAYS ON THE TOP OF THE HEAD, PERFECT TIMING FOR INITIAL INFECTION REACTION - COULD THIS BE ARS AND DR. stated he wasn't sure what was going on but gave me an atibiotic? I have no particular reason to believe this individual is infected but also like I said just don't know. I had serious risk factors in the past for HIV but have tested negative for them even up until last week. I may have devleoped an extreme phobia to HIV and need to work on that but in the meantime I would appreciate any type of feedback. I need some type of closure and ability to move forward after all these years with worrying about HIV.
P.S. Thanks to the forum members who have reffered me here and also provided much appreciated feedback in the past, You know who you are ! Best wishes for all.

[Teak]

You do not get HIV from shaking hands with someone, bandages or not.

[Xhost]

C,

I think you know the answer to your question. In case you don't, here it is: there is no chance, not one in a million, one in a billion or one in a trillion, that you acquired HIV from the scenario that you described. No way, no how, it just doesn't happen this way, has never happened this way and NEVER will happen this way.

I also think you know what is driving you to be worried about this situation: HIV phobia (you said it yourself). You said that you had, at one time, had a risky encounter. Without knowing the details of that encounter, hard for me to say how risky it truly was. But what I do know is this: if you are predisposed to worry about things like this, many, many things that really aren't very risky can be very scary indeed.

Any phobia can come and go on its own, or last a lifetime. You can be born with a predisposition to general phobic behavior, or you can develop specific phobias based on events in your life. Whichever category you fall into, it is important to recognize when a certain phobia is interfering with you ability to lead a happy and fulfilling life. A simple fear of spiders is one thing, being afraid to touch anyone, or to engage in intimacy, is quite another.

If you feel that you fall into the latter category, you may want to consider getting professional help. And that's not a knock on you - plenty of people suffer from irrational fears, and it can take a certain amount of guts to admit that you both need help in getting over them, and then seeking out and getting that help.

Now, of course, not sure that you fall into this category. If not, ignore me, I'm used to it ;-). But, if you think you might, and you haven't done so already, you might consider making an appointment with a therapist. The good news is that most phobias and OCD related issues (such as hypochondria - not saying you suffer from this, just throwing it out there as an FYI) are readily treatable.

So, just to summarize, no, there was absolutely no risk of contracting HIV in the encounter that you described. So, put that  thought right out of your mind.

Take care.