sneezing incident hiv infection risk with cold sores at outer lips/mouth

[hamma25122018]

Hi experts,

Last week I went hospital to get treated for cold sores at my outer lips and mouth area. While waiting for the call by doc I went to public toilet. When I about to open the door there was a man about to come out from the door and started to sneeze twice and I could feel his sneezing somehow touched my face and cold sores at outer lips and mouth area. I am very scared and nervous(severe anxiety) because my cold sores were bleeding during that time and would like to know whether this incident could cause hiv infection. Pls help to guide and advice on this. Thanks alot.

[AnxiousNoMore]

That is a very odd fear. People cough on others all the time which is why we all get colds and flu every year. If they could spread HIV that way then everyone would be infected because unlike a cold, HIV never goes away.

[hamma25122018]

Thanks for the reply AnxiousNoMore. My only fear at this moment is what if the sneezing particles/droplets somehow have blood in it and the particles/droplets landed on or touched the bleeding cold sores. I cannot get rid of this fear. Any advise on how to get rid of this fear will be very much appreciated. How should I overcome this fear? I can't wait for 12 weeks to get tested.

[AnxiousNoMore]

This answers all of your HIV questions, and if you can think of any more just reread about the 3. You had zero risk therefore  testing is irrelevant to your situation because you had zero risk. HIV is a fragile virus, which is instantly inactivated in air and also in saliva which means it is effectively dead so it can't infect from touching, external rubbing or oral activities. It doesn't matter if you and they were actively bleeding or had cuts at the time either because the HIV is effectively dead.  
Only 3 adult risks are the following:
1. unprotected penetrating vaginal with a penis
2. unprotected penetrating anal sex with a penis
3. sharing hollow needles that you inject with.
The only way to get HIV is if you did one of the 3. The situation you describe is a long way from any of these 3.
Even with blood, lactation, cuts, rashes, burns, etc the air or the saliva does not allow inactivated virus to infect from touching, external rubbing or oral activities. Doctors have calculated the risk from what you describe to be less than that of being hit by a meteor, therefore no one will get HIV from what you did in the next 40 years of your life either. The above HIV science is 40 years old and very well established, so no detail that you can add to your encounter will change it from zero risk.

[hamma25122018]

'The above HIV science is 40 years old and very well established, so no detail that you can add to your encounter will change it from zero risk."
You nailed it!!! Thanks in million!!!

[hamma25122018]

Dear Experts,

I'm not sure whether I should post the following question as a new thread or continue with this thread. Pls help to advice if I need to post this as a new thread.

Question:
I went to a clinic today to perform general screening for LFT /RFT/Glucose/Lipid profile.
During the blood withdrawal, the nurse made a serious error whereby after withdrawing the blood, she filled the tubes with the blood and threw the syringe in a bio hazard dustbin. When she open the dustbin, she touched the dustbin lid and the plastic inside. She was wearing gloves and immediately she grabbed cotton ball using the same gloves all placed in my puncture wound and put plaster on it. I got panicked and asked her to remove the cotton ball and I put the new cotton ball myself as I got the fear her gloves might have blood on it from the dustbin. If there was blood(from other patients) in her gloves after touching the bio hazard dustbin(lid and plastic inside), and she used the same gloves to grab cotton ball and put on my puncture wound, does this pose a hiv infection risk? Pls help to advice. I'm very scared.

[AnxiousNoMore]

Which of the only3 risks for HIV that i listed do you feel that you had? Otherwise you are just making up your own science fiction despite having no medical training,so it is unrealistic for you to believe that could ever become reality.