HIV from Earring?

Around a month to a month 1/2 ago I purchased a brand new silver stud earring at a jewelry store.  I already had my ear pierced, so all I needed was the earring itself.  Stupidly enough, I didn't clean or disinfect the earring with rubbing alcohol before putting it in my year, and instead put it on immediately after purchasing it.  Now, the jewelry store that I bought the earring is actually quite reputable, and I doubt they'd sell merchandise that has been tried on by god knows how many other people first.  At the same time though, you can never be too sure.

What worries me really is the fact that it has actually gotten infected/irritated a couple of times since I bought it (redness, soreness).  I'm not sure if this is due to a potential allergic reaction to silver, or if I need to be a little more dilligent in my efforts to maintain the cleanliness of my piercing.  In any case, it worried me a little bit.

Lets say (hypothetically) that the earring may have been tried on by someone else before I bought it, should I have reason to worry about a potential HIV infection?  I've been told by other people that there is no reason to worry about it, and that even the chances that it was actually tried on by anyone else before (let alone a HIV+ person) is virtually zero.  Of course, I'd like to get a bit more feedback on this nevertheless.  

Thanks!

[Teak]

MOVE ON. You've been coming here long enough to know that at no time were you at risk of contracting HIV from a pair of ear rings.

[baggio10]

I guess some people don't forget a user name very easily :P