in the hospital

hello people. i have very special question. in a few days i am going to the hospital to deliver a baby.. in my country when they are checking the bleeding they use one piece of pincers for checking the menstrual pads of all women without any desinfection. well i dont know, is there a risk of acquiring hiv if they touch my pad with the pincers? and especially because, i will have a fresh wound on my vagina.... and hm i dont know, what if blood on a pad gets in contact with the blood on pincers? does hiv survive and multiple in this situation? and, hmm, if the blood on pincers gets in contact with my wound through the pad? i want to ask them not to give me the pad back but... they usually do not care bout such requests...:(

please help me. i am very nervous about that... thank you.

[Teak]

There is no risk of contracting HIV in the situation you have asked.

[ichiban1]

You dont have to worry at all if the pincers used was clean /dry ie not having blood of another woman.. hiv  is a very weak virus.. it does not survive in open air for very long.. even if disinfectant was not used.. air dries and kills HIV..

[zdienka]

just to be sure..

even if they are used pad by pad? i mean, it is during the great doktor´s round, so there is no time for blood to dry out... (so ichiban1 answer is not good for me i suppose...)

really thankful for your answer, i do appreciate it so much...

[ichiban1]

Teak is the last word on this case.

[JeanClaude]

As Teak has said, there is NO RISK of HIV from what you describe. We in the Medical field are sworn to protect our patients' health. The physicians I am quainted with would NEVER put someone at risk for HIV. The hospital is the last place you should be concerned about being infected with HIV regardless of the sophistication of the country in which you live. Move on with your life and your new family.

-JC-