My ear got cut while getting a haircut

[salesrep2005]

Dr. I got a haircut yesterday and the girl clipped my ear with the electric clippers - The kind they use to buzz your hair low.  I felt it right away but didn't think much of it until later on when I noticed a small patch of clotted blood. It's hard to estimate size but it's rather small on the back and top of the ear. The salon is a high turnover type of place with regards to customers so there was another customer who got his harcut just a few minutes before me. In the past they typically spray the clippers with some type of cleaner and I notice the smell.  I was off guard this time and didn't notice that smell so I'm thinking it didn't happen. My concern is if the previous customer also got cut ( this girl was sort of reckless ) and she didn't clean the instrument could I be at a risk for HIV or any other type of disease such as hepatitis.  Guess I'm assuming there was a high probability of wet blood on the instrument. I hope I'm over reacting but literally couldn't sleep at all last night thinking about this. I don't think I can wait for three months for testing as I will continue to build this episode up in my head that I could have been infected.  Thanks for your time and feedback.

[salesrep2005]

Dear Dr. ,
Of course you were correct and the HIV test was negative. Referring back to my original question would hepatitis also be of minor concern or is that a whole different animal in itself ?  My family doctor didn't seem overly concerned about it but did say if anything was caught in an episode such as this that hepatitis would be the culprit. I'm not sure if you can answer this or if I should refer it to the hepatitis forum which I will gladly make a donation to pose the question. I'm looking forward to putting this all behind me and you greatly assited me in getting me to that point. Thanks once again for your expertise, reassurance, and time you put into this forum.

[salesrep2005]

Dr. Thank you

[H. Hunter Handsfield, M.D.]

No realistic risk; don't worry about it.  Nobody every caught HIV in a barber's chair.  That you didn't see or smell disinfectant doesn't give a clue that it wasn't used.  For you to have HIV, you have to string together a bunch of circumstances:  No disinfectant, prevous customer with HIV, previous customer cut, blade not even wiped off, wet blood on blade.  Each of those things is a low probability event, and the odds they all happened are astronomically low. Could they have happened?  Sure.  You also might get hit by a meteor.

I recommend against HIV testing, unless you otherwise are sexually active or at risk--in which case you ought to be tested once a year anyway.  But not because of this event.  But if you go ahead to calm your anxiety,  you don't need to wait 3 months; 6 weeks is plenty.  Search this forum for many discussions of "time to positive HIV test".

Good luck--  HHH, MD