Aa
Simple answer needed
Went to dinner last night with some friends. The waiter was talking to me and accidently spit in my eyes. i have read that saliva poses no risk, but I have no clue if there was blood in the spit. I have been concerned all night now. On the way out, and the reason I am concerned is because one of the girls I was with said" he is a really nice guy, he always waits on us. I heard he was hiv positive." I am not one to freak out so I am shocked by my concern.
Dr.Hook,
I understand and thank you for not deleting my question, it really helped to hear what you had to say. The ONLY reason I became concerned is that he is positive and very open about it. He lives with his partner near one of the people I was with. I guess he was just recently diagnosed. I have a homosexual brother in law and I just want you to know that I am not one of these people who worries about this, usually. Unfortunatley I checked out other websites, like the body and cdc before I came to you and some of the things they said made me nervous. I also read about that Dallas police officer who had someone spit in his face and they prosecuted the guy. I felt it hit my eye, and I am sure you are right it was probably a small amount. If you feel there is no need for testing then I completely trust you as I know you are an expert in your field. I hope I didn't offend you with the question.
I understand and thank you for not deleting my question, it really helped to hear what you had to say. The ONLY reason I became concerned is that he is positive and very open about it. He lives with his partner near one of the people I was with. I guess he was just recently diagnosed. I have a homosexual brother in law and I just want you to know that I am not one of these people who worries about this, usually. Unfortunatley I checked out other websites, like the body and cdc before I came to you and some of the things they said made me nervous. I also read about that Dallas police officer who had someone spit in his face and they prosecuted the guy. I felt it hit my eye, and I am sure you are right it was probably a small amount. If you feel there is no need for testing then I completely trust you as I know you are an expert in your field. I hope I didn't offend you with the question.
MEDICAL PROFESSIONAL
Here on the Forum we have the option of deleting questions with no basis in fact an no educational value. I considered deleting this question. Instead, I will provide a single comment in response. There is absolutely no risk for HIV from this event (I will not call it an exposure, it was not). You do not know that this person has HIV and even if he did, the event carries no risk. Saliva, with or without blood in it, is not infectious, particularly in terms of superficial contacts. Furthermore, while you may have felt that the waiter may have "accidently spit" in your eye, the fact is that the blink is among the fastest reflexes in humans and as such it is unlikely that anything actually got into your eye and, if it did, it was blinked out of the way very quickly.
Bottom line, the event you describe is nothing to worry about. You do not need testing of any sort. I hope my comment will help you to move forward. EWH
Bottom line, the event you describe is nothing to worry about. You do not need testing of any sort. I hope my comment will help you to move forward. EWH
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