HIV Handshake small cut NEW QUESTION

can someone here please help me. I am kind of confused about something. I am in no way trying to be out of line hope i can get some help. Ok, teak says that HIV does not survive or maintain infectiousness outside of its host and i also read this on the cdc website. ok.. i had mentioned earlier about my handshake back on jan 21 where i had a tiny superficial cut that was 1-2 days old. i shhok the hand of a gay barber for no more than 2 seconds. i never noticed any blood or fluid on his hand. and i am not 100% sure my cut finger made any contct with his.. but lets say just in case he was bleeding and that is IF he had been bleedng or had a cut. ok.. would the potential blood on his cut or hand been non infectious? i can fully appreciate the cdc viewpoint being that blood or semen on an environmental surface being non infectious, but what about if there was blood on someones hand?? would that count as an environmental surface? does just the point of the possibly infectious blood being exposed to the environment render it non infectious? please please pease help me. i know i suffer from anxiety but if i could just get an explanation or proof that the blood being exposed to the environment would render it non infectious, i would be fine. please someone help me. i am distraught over this. i was only trying to be nice by shaking this mans hand. i just forgot i had a small non bleeding cut on my finger. thank you so much for your help. i just dont believe i can wait til the 3 month mark to test for this incident. dr.hook told me it was non risk. thanks!

[Vance2335]

You want the 100% proof, well there is no 100% when it is not infectious. So you either take the word of a Dr who has been doing this for over 30 years or you don't.

I will give it a shot but I don't think in your anxiety driven mind it will make much of a difference.

HIV is unable to reproduce and infect outside of the body. This is because HIV is quickly deactivated by air and other enviromental sources. Also a little amount of any fluid is not a risk because it is not going to contain enough of the virus to cause an infection. Also because infections happen in certain areas and with certain cells. A cut on the hand does nto provide the necessary cells and does not give a pathway to the blood stream for infection. It is superficial.

For a risk with blood for an example you would need a very large and very fresh cut. One where you would not worry about anything other then getting to the hospital.

This might be the best answer you are going to get and if you can't accept it, then you can't but this forum is not a place for you anymore because we have tried to give you reassurance and the Dr gave you assurance but if you can't accpet it, therapy is the best place to work on your anxiety.

[Vance2335]

Ok, so Dr.Hook told you no risk and you come posting here and you will believe what we will say over one of the most well respected Dr's in the field?

This foum gets most of it's information from Dr.Hook and Dr.HHH. Nothing we are going to say is going to be any different.

See a therapist for your anxiety concerns because clearly that is what is going on.

Oh and to assume that someone has HIV because he is gay is offensive to people with HIV and gay people as well.

[robertjohns]

thanks for your reply. i just dont uinderstand why no one can answer if there were to happen to have been blood on someones skin would it still be considered the same as blood being on an environmental surface or not. i honestly dont think you all know either. it makes no sense to me as to how blood on someones wound could be considered non infectious if it were still on its hosts body. Does the blood lose its infectious state after it comes out into the environment? I can see blood being non infectious on a door knob, door handle, etc. the cdc website just says that hiv cannot be infectious once it is outside of its host. it doesnt say anything about if the blood still on the wound is infectious, well, when does it lose its infectious state? i just wish someone could give an exact answer. I was ready to give all of this up this last saturday night after reading teaks Lizzie Lou's posts, nursegirls journals, the cdc website in regards to hiv not being in an infectious state outside its host. but after i started to think about it, my question is "when is it non infectious anymore?" if i just knew that if there had been any blood on this mans it would not have been infectious at all, i would be fine. i could let this go. yes, Dr Bob at thebody.com, Dr Hook, Dr Handsfield and others say small cuts on peoples hands are nothing to be worried about in regards to HIV risk during a handshake. nursegirl also says the same thing. I want to believe all this so much and move on. really I do. if someone could just give me some sort of website that states out 100% proof about my questions in regard to when blood becomes non infectious outside its host and the blood still being on a wound, would be fine. I really appreciate this forum so much, it has helped me a lot. Oh and for the record, I am a bisexual male. so, no.. i am not trying to be biased towards gays or bisexuals. thanks again so much for your help. I hope someone can show me some kind of proof about when HIV iis non infectious in blood away from its host. have a great day!

[Vance2335]

You want the 100% proof, well there is no 100% when it is not infectious. So you either take the word of a Dr who has been doing this for over 30 years or you don't.

I will give it a shot but I don't think in your anxiety driven mind it will make much of a difference.

HIV is unable to reproduce and infect outside of the body. This is because HIV is quickly deactivated by air and other enviromental sources. Also a little amount of any fluid is not a risk because it is not going to contain enough of the virus to cause an infection. Also because infections happen in certain areas and with certain cells. A cut on the hand does nto provide the necessary cells and does not give a pathway to the blood stream for infection. It is superficial.

For a risk with blood for an example you would need a very large and very fresh cut. One where you would not worry about anything other then getting to the hospital.

This might be the best answer you are going to get and if you can't accept it, then you can't but this forum is not a place for you anymore because we have tried to give you reassurance and the Dr gave you assurance but if you can't accpet it, therapy is the best place to work on your anxiety.

[robertjohns]

ok, this makes so much sense buddy! I really appreciate this so much. Finally, an indepth answer other than just a one liner..You have made my day 100%. So knowing what you told me, I guess the doctors know this as well and that is why they all say handshakes are not a risk for HIV. I just wish a doctor would thoroughly explain this stuff just as you have. I believe everything you have stated. Answer one thing for me.... why do the doctors not feel the need to explain these issues with people in as much depth as you have? The lady at the local CDC office told me pretty much no risk, she said it might be remote if even that. I know that I didnt see anything on this mans hand such as blood or other fluids, I am just inclined to always look at each and every possibility so that I can be prepared. I guess the "what if's" and I know that isnt healthy. I have shook hands for years and years with tiny cut places on my hands.. I am a blue collar type guy. So, I always have cut places on my hands at any given time. It was just this time I guess I thought the man could possibly have something due his orientation and it scared me. of course no one knows what anyones orientation really is...or if they even have HIV. Vance buddy, thanks so much for your help. I feel 100% better now. I will not bother you all on this forum anymore. have a great day!

[Vance2335]

Wel the Dr's and us have limited amount of time to answer things based on the number of questions we get, so it is often difficult to write in detail like above. But also it is kind of given that something like this is accpted that it is not a risk because in 30 years it has never happened.

[robertjohns]

thanks again buddy. i appreciate you so much... i still feel much better. I have finally accepted that this situation has happened. Just for peace of mind, I will be going back to the AIDS clinic near my home and getting a Rapid HIV test on April 15, 2011. and yes, the testers at that clinic are HIV positive.. see, I am not a person full of discrimination. 3 of my last times that I was tested were by HIV Positive people. and I never freaked out.. they put on gloves, pricked my finger and run the test, and we shook hands afterward.. LOL! funny thing, I dont even know if I had cut places on my hands or not when I shook their hands, I probably did.. I do lots of work with my hands and have cuts quite frequently.. Anyway, getting the negative test result will put all this to an end. It never hurts to be tested correct?? again.. the anxiety has subsided to normal levels for me. I have my mind made up and I am waiting for my 72 days to countdown.. I guess my focus will be put towards handing Uncle Sam a big chunk of money for Federal Income taxes. LOL! Oh and one more thing.. I always pay for my HIV Rapid tests.. I realize that there are many people who cant afford paying for them, so I always shell out about $40-$50 for my tests just as a donation to the testing center. Oh yeah, I will close by saying this...I know all of this has been silly on my part and I just want it over with. I know you all say a handshake is no risk..and I do believe it. I believe every thing that the doctors and all of you on here have told me. So, I am ready to move on. If I have offended anyone at all on this forum, I apologize. I used to be wild and have had my fun in earlier days.. thats what scares me, thats why I have chosen to be celibate until I find that right person. Anyway, I know my result will be undoubtedly be negative. thanks! ps. i will not be back on the forum.. as I have searched the internet and have gotten all the answers I need. I will check back to read if any of you reply further to this thread, but I will not start any new topics.. I have exhausted all avenues with this and have the answers I need. I am moving on, looking forward to my negative result in April. thanks!

[LIZZIE LOU]

T.M.I.

[robertjohns]

sorry.. I apologize...