Aa
HIV outside
Dr.EWH.
My knowledge from this web site told me that HIV cannot be transmitted outside hosts. But today I faced a situation that made me not sure about the risk. Please help me.
I went to a mini-mart, near my home, to buy some snack and drinks. When I came back home (3 minutes from the mini-mart), I was picked by a sewing pin in my home. Then I clean my wound with alcohol immediately.
But the bad luck is after cleaning my wound, I noticed some blood on my cloth, my wound didn't have a lot of blood like that so I investigated where it came from and found that it came from the snack package. So my hand may be dirty of blood before the pin picked too. and the second bad luck was I touch the blood on snack package on the same finger that was picked by the pin while investigation. (The cashier was cut by the edge of snack package.) The blood on the edge of snack package was not dry that time.
My question is...
1. Could I get HIV from blood on snack package and 3 minutes later I was pick by the pin?
2. 3 minutes and wet blood and pin pick... Is it long enough that HIV will be inactive.
3. Do I have to get HIV test?
Note: blood on snack bag is only a drop of blood (about 0.5 mm.)
My knowledge from this web site told me that HIV cannot be transmitted outside hosts. But today I faced a situation that made me not sure about the risk. Please help me.
I went to a mini-mart, near my home, to buy some snack and drinks. When I came back home (3 minutes from the mini-mart), I was picked by a sewing pin in my home. Then I clean my wound with alcohol immediately.
But the bad luck is after cleaning my wound, I noticed some blood on my cloth, my wound didn't have a lot of blood like that so I investigated where it came from and found that it came from the snack package. So my hand may be dirty of blood before the pin picked too. and the second bad luck was I touch the blood on snack package on the same finger that was picked by the pin while investigation. (The cashier was cut by the edge of snack package.) The blood on the edge of snack package was not dry that time.
My question is...
1. Could I get HIV from blood on snack package and 3 minutes later I was pick by the pin?
2. 3 minutes and wet blood and pin pick... Is it long enough that HIV will be inactive.
3. Do I have to get HIV test?
Note: blood on snack bag is only a drop of blood (about 0.5 mm.)
MEDICAL PROFESSIONAL
Welcome back to the Forum. I'm pleased to be able to tell you with complete confidence that there is no risk for HIV from the exposure you describe and no need for testing. I'll go straight to your questions:
1. No, HIV on the snack food package would have died due to exposure to the environment before you stuck yourself with the pin. the exposure to the air and lower than body temperature are the reason the virus would die.
2. See above. This is the same question. There are no minute-by-minute studies of how long it takes HIV to die but there have been thousands and thousands of exposures of the sort you describe and no one has ever gotten HIV in that way.
3. No, there is no need for HIV testing related to this exposure. EWH
1. No, HIV on the snack food package would have died due to exposure to the environment before you stuck yourself with the pin. the exposure to the air and lower than body temperature are the reason the virus would die.
2. See above. This is the same question. There are no minute-by-minute studies of how long it takes HIV to die but there have been thousands and thousands of exposures of the sort you describe and no one has ever gotten HIV in that way.
3. No, there is no need for HIV testing related to this exposure. EWH
MEDICAL PROFESSIONAL
Glad to help. EWH
Thank you so much for your respond. Now I can smile again...
You are reading content posted in the HIV - Prevention Forum
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.
