Risk assesment

[wonchito]

Dear Doctor,

I´m from Ecuador-Southamerica, so sorry for my english, I will try my best to explain my concerns. I like to swim every day and I do it in a public swimming pool. Last thuersday as every day I went there to swim. When I was finish I go to take a shower. At the shower, on the floor I saw a used sanitary pad with menstrual blood on it. I guess it was from one of the women who where swimming when I arrived to the swimming pool. My feet were naked (I was just wearing beach slippers but the skin of both my feet was naked) and I had a cut on the thumb of my left foot, close to the nail. The cut was from monday night that means around 50 hours old. When I had the cut it bleeded quite a lot but it was not big, on thuersday it was on the healing process and of course not bleeding at all. Well, at the shower I let the water run, but decided not to take the shower because of the sanitary pad. What worries me is that when water was running some of it hit hard the floor and made my legs and feet wet, so some of the menstrual blood from the sanitary pad may have had mixed with the water on the floor and got into my 50 hours old cut. I remember I saw the blood only on the sanitary pad, but some of it may have mixed with the water...

Is there any HIV risk, considering the 50 hours old cut on my foot?

I´m married and have one little daughter. I´m worried about the risk of this situation as I do not want to put my wife at risk specially now that we are trying for a second child. Should I avoid unprotected sex with her to keep her safe?. I´m a loyal husband, never had sex outside my marriage, I take good care of myself but this situation worries me a bit and I need some expert advice.

Sorry Doctor for my bad english but I guess you can understand the situation and what worries me. Sorry if this is a silly question but I prefer to ask an expert rather than searching the internet.

Many thanks,

Daniel

[wonchito]

Doctor, just wanted to say thank you for your comments, expert advice and patience. The job you are doing here is just wonderful...

[Edward W Hook, MD]

This was no risk either. You need to stop worrying.  No risk means just that- no risk.  

Time for this thread to end. EWH

[wonchito]

Many thanks for your answer. Yor comments have been very helpful and I feel OK now. Doctor, just to let this thoughts go and to close this chapter in my life, I would like to ask you a last question. After leaving the shower at the swimming pool, I changed my clothes and thought that it will be a good idea to throw away the menstrual pad so nobody else finds it in the shower. I rolled a small magazine and made something like a paper stick that i used to carefully pick up the menstrual pad and throw it to the trash. I picked it carefully avoiding any contact with my skin.  I was a bit worry some mentrual blood may have got into my eye but it was just a crazy thought as I did not squeeze the pad or something like that and also because I never felt anything in my eye.

Just wanted to ask if there is any risk in having done that, I mean pickng up the pad with the paper stick and throwing it to the trash. Well Doctor, many thanks for your answer and for helping me to go back to my normal life.

[Edward W Hook, MD]

Welcome to our Forum. There is no risk for HIV from the exposure that you describe.  To begin with, there is no reason to think that the menstrual pad you describe was from a person with HIV.  Even if it was, there is still no risk. After 50 hours your foot wound had sealed off and would not be vulnerable to infection with HIV. In addition, HIV dies quickly on exposure to the environment and is killed when mixed with pure water.

To summarize, there is no risk for HIV from the events you describe.  You do not need testing and do not need to worry about having sex with your wife.  

I hope my comments are helpful to you.  EWH