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is there HIV transmission from a used cotton ball from another person
I had hiv testing in a hiv facility, and before i got tested someone went ahead before me. As soon as i sat on the chair to get tested i noticed a cotton ball, i saw a stain on it and i suspect it as a blood stain. After i got pricked on my finger, the medical technician used that cotton ball to wipe my pricked finger and i told him there's a stain... If that cotton ball has really a blood stain used by other the person who went ahead of me, will i get infected by hiv (if he is hiv positive)??? Please educate me more if there's a risk. Thank you!
COMMUNITY LEADER
The only risks for HIV in adults are:
1) Having unprotected anal or vaginal sex, or
2) sharing intravenous needles with IV drug users.
There isn't any other situation that you can think of that would put you at risk for HIV. You cannot get HIV from ANY objects or surfaces - EVEN IF the objects have blood or bodily fluid on them.
There is no "what if" that you can add to this event that would make it a risk for HIV - you had zero risk, and you don't need a test.
1) Having unprotected anal or vaginal sex, or
2) sharing intravenous needles with IV drug users.
There isn't any other situation that you can think of that would put you at risk for HIV. You cannot get HIV from ANY objects or surfaces - EVEN IF the objects have blood or bodily fluid on them.
There is no "what if" that you can add to this event that would make it a risk for HIV - you had zero risk, and you don't need a test.
4 Comments
Hi thank you for your response. I am just wondering in some other articles, states that a person can get infected through an open wound. Would not that count as transmission, like in my case there's a blood on the used cotton ball get to touched and wiped my pricked or open wound finger? Please clarify. Thank you!
A prick from a needle is not an "open wound." An open wound is an actively bleeding gaping wound that requires emergency medical attention to prevent catastrophic blood loss, and that wound would have to come into contact with someone else's wound that also requires emergency medical attention - NOT a cotton ball with a spot of blood.
Forget about this event and anything like it. You were not even close to having a risk for HIV.
Forget about this event and anything like it. You were not even close to having a risk for HIV.
Does this mean, can I have unprotected sex with my partner (both negative from previous test) since the cotton ball with blood is not a risk of getting infected anymore?
Your situation involves personal contact with an object in air (cotton ball covered with blood etc. ). You will be happy to learn that you had no risk, because you can't get hiv from personal contact except unprotected penetrating vaginal or anal with a penis, neither of which you did and you didn't share hollow needles to inject with which is the only other way to acquire hiv - there are ONLY 3 ways to get hiv. Note that 2 of them require a penis and the third requires a hollow injecting shared needle - there are no OTHER ways to get hiv. Analysis of large numbers of infected people over the 40 years of hiv history has proven that people don't get hiv in the way you are worried is a risk.
Hiv is a fragile virus in air or saliva and is effectively instantly dead in either air or saliva so the WORST that could happen is dead virus rubbed you, and obviously anything which is dead cannot live again so you are good. Blood and cuts would not be relevant in your situation since the hiv has become effectively dead, so you don't have to worry about them to be sure that you are safe.
There is no reason for a person to test when they are safe. The advice took into consideration that the other person might be positive, so move on and enjoy life instead of thinking about this non-event. hiv prevention is straightforward since there are only 3 ways you can become infected, so next time you wonder if you had a risk, ask yourself this QUESTION. "Did I do any of the 3?" Then after you say "No, I didn't" you will know that it's time to move on back to your happy life.
No one got hiv from what you did during 40 years of hiv history and no one will get it in the next 40 years of your life either. You can do what you did any time and be safe from hiv.
The other person's status is irrelevant when you have no exposure to live virus.
hiv is not like COvid that is alive in air and surfaces.
Hiv is a fragile virus in air or saliva and is effectively instantly dead in either air or saliva so the WORST that could happen is dead virus rubbed you, and obviously anything which is dead cannot live again so you are good. Blood and cuts would not be relevant in your situation since the hiv has become effectively dead, so you don't have to worry about them to be sure that you are safe.
There is no reason for a person to test when they are safe. The advice took into consideration that the other person might be positive, so move on and enjoy life instead of thinking about this non-event. hiv prevention is straightforward since there are only 3 ways you can become infected, so next time you wonder if you had a risk, ask yourself this QUESTION. "Did I do any of the 3?" Then after you say "No, I didn't" you will know that it's time to move on back to your happy life.
No one got hiv from what you did during 40 years of hiv history and no one will get it in the next 40 years of your life either. You can do what you did any time and be safe from hiv.
The other person's status is irrelevant when you have no exposure to live virus.
hiv is not like COvid that is alive in air and surfaces.
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