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questions regarding needles

hello, my friends and I were wondering about various questions regarding needles for our  class and your input would be gladly appreciated. We also would like to spread the knowledge at the same time regarding the said topic as we see many people post about stuff like this. This is all hypothetical by the way. We understand how hiv is spread, mother to child, unprotected sex (either vaginal or anal), and sharing needles, but a lot seems unclear on what exactly would be deemed "sharing" needles. If we can get professional help on this frequent topic of these forums we think it would also put a lot of minds at ease, especially those suffering from OCD of the matter, and there would be a lot less "what if" posts here that seem very ridiculous.

Scenario 1:
A man is walking and accidentally steps on a needle in the street. It was able to pierce his shoe and his skin. It made him bleed. Unaware of PEP options nothing was done about the incident.

We have read these forums very much and appreciate all the work done and need some things clarified. we see that from the general consensus of these forums from those like Teak, Lizzie Lou, nursegirl, vance, etc. that this man wasn't at risk (or was at least an extremely low risk) because he wasn't sharing needles in the first place.

1) is syringe the same thing as needle? and what about hypodermic needles?

2)What does injection mean? Does injection mean PUSHING the contents (blood) inside the syringe (that was drawn up previously) by pressing the button down all the way like a pen AND making sure it hits a vein, or simply inserting a needle into a vein making it bleed but not pushing the contents in?

3)What does infusion mean?

4)Of the occupational needle sticks recorded that led to infection was there a similarity among each incident that led to infection or did they just all fall into that .3% of transmission and just got unlucky?

5)CDC reports that there have been no non-occupational of transmissions documented, and quote call it an "extremely low risk" of infection. for those in an occupational workplace how many of the at least 900,000 or so needlestick injuries that are documented sought after PEP treatment (if you had to guess)? Is the .3% figure we see because of some people seeking treatment or just in general? by the way we are saying .3% because we are seeing this number quoted several times.

6) when talking about blood being trapped in the "bore" of a needle what does that exactly mean? is that at the needle tip or not. So then what would a "hollow-bore" needle be?

7)If even the smallest needle were to somehow find its way into a vein, would the naked eye be able to see a wound a couple hours after the incident?

8)Of ARS symptoms reported following ACTUAL  infection (not probable), the most common seen would probably be fever, enlarged lymph nodes, skin rash in our opinion. Would individuals facing ARS commonly have 1 symptom, or multiple symptoms? The interval from onset of this is generally around 2-4 weeks. People need to understand that if they have a negative test at 12 weeks they cant be getting symptoms of ARS.

9) in your own words what is the main difference from stepping on a needle or accidentally getting a needlestick as opposed to sharing needles?

10)is there a difference between needle stick, a needle pr**k, a cut, minor bleeding, etc etc all involving needles?

11)Any type of needles that are higher risk for transmission? and if so among what types of users frequent them?

12)Last but not least, wouldnt you think a person would scream if a needle were to get under their skin and into a vein? A lot of posts seen are "I think I felt", or "I think someone stabbed me with a needle" when most would dismiss these.

sources:
http://www.cdc.gov/hiv/resources/qa/transmission.htm

http://www.thebody.com/Forums/AIDS/SafeSex/Q196777.html

MANY medhelp forum posts

http://www.medhelp.org/posts/HIV-Prevention/Needle-got-pricked-/show/1279698

http://www.medhelp.org/posts/HIV-Prevention/Needlestick-risk/show/1288738


important info: from the cdc

Have people been infected with HIV from being stuck by needles in non-health care settings?

"No. While it is possible to get infected with HIV if you are stuck with a needle that is contaminated with HIV, there are no documented cases of transmission outside of a health-care setting . . . Discarded needles are sometimes found in the community. These needles are believed to have been discarded by persons who use insulin or inject illicit drugs. Occasionally the public and certain workers (e.g. sanitation workers or housekeeping staff) may sustain needle-stick injuries involving inappropriately discarded needles. Needle-stick injuries can transfer blood and blood-borne pathogens (e.g., hepatitis B, hepatitis C, and HIV), but the risk of transmission is extremely low and there are no documented cases of transmission outside of a health care setting."

Hopefully from the answers posted from experienced members will answer a lot of questions regarding this topic and will contribute to knowledge on prevention. We feel bad of the constant warning messages sent out on this board in many threads on both parts, the moderators and the posters. We feel some of the dismisses and warnings sent out are because of unclear stories with seeming too many contradictions and "what ifs" which automatically will get a no risk diagnosis. On the other hand posters should read the hundreds upon HUNDREDS of posts on the matter and think logically. This topic is an open one for debate as well and hopefully conclusions can be drawn from this. We would also like to thank frequent and experienced posters on this forum such as Teak, lizzie lou, nursegirl, vance, etc. and it is truly a godsend that there's people like you to help out those in distress.

Thanks!
3 Responses
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Avatar universal
So seeing a general message is being given here, can we then pretend that this happened? It would be a great resource to have for other people
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Avatar universal
lol
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Avatar universal
If you believe you have been exposed to HIV and want help to judge your risk, would like advice about HIV testing, or have questions about the effectiveness of condoms or risks associated with specific sexual practices, this is the site for you.
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