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Misleading Information about risks!!!!
Dear Doctors,
I am a little worried about something that happened recently with me. I went for some regular blood work at a highly reputable hospital lab in my country (third world). When the phlebotomist was drawing blood he pulled the plunger of the syringe too much so then he pushed it a little bit back to stay on par on how the blood was filling in teh syringe. After drwaing blood, the guy placed the bandage without removing the paper wholly from the edges which I removed myself and discraded in the garbage bin where these guys disposed off their gloves, used cotton balls, packageing meterials etc. I finished up and when I was leaving the hospital, I saw a poster saying always request a new syringe to save yourself from diseases.
After seeing the poster I looked over the internet and information has made me scared a bit. I am afraid that if there was any dried blood in teh neddle, it got injected in me. The syringe was clean but I am afarid of the needle. I have read conflicting statmements on teh internet. Some say blood clots in needles after a while and hence any virus present in it would be dead whereas others say viruses remain alive in dired blood for long periods of time. In addition I am also afarid taht when I touched that garbage bin, I might be at risk from some blood on the garbage bin cap. My fingers are all ok but I do bite my nails and there was a small scab (a day or two old) on one of my fingers.
All this information has made me worried and we dont have any knowlegable doctors here on this subject and hecne I am wiritng to you since my knowledge of this subject is limited.
So my questions are:
1. If the needle had any minor dried/clotted blood in left after teh sterlization process and if it got injected in me, am i at risk of HIV, HCV or HBV?
2. Am I in any risk of HIV, HCV or HBV from touching teh garbage bin top?
I am sorry if my questions sound silly but I just got worried and hoping for your expert advise on my situation.
I am a little worried about something that happened recently with me. I went for some regular blood work at a highly reputable hospital lab in my country (third world). When the phlebotomist was drawing blood he pulled the plunger of the syringe too much so then he pushed it a little bit back to stay on par on how the blood was filling in teh syringe. After drwaing blood, the guy placed the bandage without removing the paper wholly from the edges which I removed myself and discraded in the garbage bin where these guys disposed off their gloves, used cotton balls, packageing meterials etc. I finished up and when I was leaving the hospital, I saw a poster saying always request a new syringe to save yourself from diseases.
After seeing the poster I looked over the internet and information has made me scared a bit. I am afraid that if there was any dried blood in teh neddle, it got injected in me. The syringe was clean but I am afarid of the needle. I have read conflicting statmements on teh internet. Some say blood clots in needles after a while and hence any virus present in it would be dead whereas others say viruses remain alive in dired blood for long periods of time. In addition I am also afarid taht when I touched that garbage bin, I might be at risk from some blood on the garbage bin cap. My fingers are all ok but I do bite my nails and there was a small scab (a day or two old) on one of my fingers.
All this information has made me worried and we dont have any knowlegable doctors here on this subject and hecne I am wiritng to you since my knowledge of this subject is limited.
So my questions are:
1. If the needle had any minor dried/clotted blood in left after teh sterlization process and if it got injected in me, am i at risk of HIV, HCV or HBV?
2. Am I in any risk of HIV, HCV or HBV from touching teh garbage bin top?
I am sorry if my questions sound silly but I just got worried and hoping for your expert advise on my situation.
Again thanks for the reply and I apologize for the for my silliness.
You put my mind at ease. God bless you.
You put my mind at ease. God bless you.
MEDICAL PROFESSIONAL
You are barking up the wrong tree. Neither HIV nor other viruses can survive sterilization; if a needle is resused and sterilized between uses, there is no risk even if blood remains in the needle.
Everybody is supposed to be immunized against HBV, especially in developing countries. On that basis, you should of course be immunized. But not because of the blood drawing experience you have described.
It is nonsense that HBV vaccination causes false positive HIV test results. There are NO known medical conditions that make HIV tests false positive.
All your concerns have no basis in scientific reality. It's time to stop asking. I won't have any more comments or advice.
Everybody is supposed to be immunized against HBV, especially in developing countries. On that basis, you should of course be immunized. But not because of the blood drawing experience you have described.
It is nonsense that HBV vaccination causes false positive HIV test results. There are NO known medical conditions that make HIV tests false positive.
All your concerns have no basis in scientific reality. It's time to stop asking. I won't have any more comments or advice.
Thanks you doctor for the reply.
My concern was not of needle reuse but more of needle after sterlization and any minor blood spec left in the neddle. Woudl teh virus survive in this case. My information is when teh blood clots or become dry, the virus dies in amatter of hours or days not in weeks as teh internet mentions. In this case after sterlization the syringe and needle would have come in circulation lets say in a couple of weeks or month or so. By the way I saw him take the syringe out of teh packaging myself. So teh syringe was perfectly clean as i saw it.
Also aside from this, after reading all teh information on the internet, I am going to get vaccinated from HBV. but it says that HBV vaccinatiosn has produce false positive HIV results in the past. Is this true?
Thank you in advance
My concern was not of needle reuse but more of needle after sterlization and any minor blood spec left in the neddle. Woudl teh virus survive in this case. My information is when teh blood clots or become dry, the virus dies in amatter of hours or days not in weeks as teh internet mentions. In this case after sterlization the syringe and needle would have come in circulation lets say in a couple of weeks or month or so. By the way I saw him take the syringe out of teh packaging myself. So teh syringe was perfectly clean as i saw it.
Also aside from this, after reading all teh information on the internet, I am going to get vaccinated from HBV. but it says that HBV vaccinatiosn has produce false positive HIV results in the past. Is this true?
Thank you in advance
MEDICAL PROFESSIONAL
It doesn't matter. See above.
MEDICAL PROFESSIONAL
Welcome to the forum.
Even in the least developed countries, needles are rarely if ever re-used. You could check with the clinic and ask -- but I'm sure they'll tell you that they use only new needles on every patient and discard all needles after that single use. So I really don't think you need to worry -- and it's a waste of time searching the web or other sources about how long blood-borne viruses can survive in used needles.
I would also bet that if you check with public health authorities in your country, or with HIV/AIDS experts, they will tell you there have been no cases of HIV or hepatitis transmission from having blood drawn (at least not in the last 20 years), and probably very few if any cases that could not be attributed to unsafe sex or other obvious risks, like drug users sharing needles.
To your specific questions:
1) IF such blood were left behind, there could be a risk. However, as just discussed, I'm sure that didn't happen.
2) There is absolutely no risk from touching the garbage can lid. HIV and hepatitis are NEVER transmitted from contact with a contaminated environment. The people who live in the same house has HIV infected never catch the virus even after many years of sharing the same kitchens, toilets, eating utensils, and so on.
So you definitely are not at risk. No worries, no need for testing, and if you have a regular sex partner, you can safely continue normal relations.
Best wishes-- HHH, MD
Even in the least developed countries, needles are rarely if ever re-used. You could check with the clinic and ask -- but I'm sure they'll tell you that they use only new needles on every patient and discard all needles after that single use. So I really don't think you need to worry -- and it's a waste of time searching the web or other sources about how long blood-borne viruses can survive in used needles.
I would also bet that if you check with public health authorities in your country, or with HIV/AIDS experts, they will tell you there have been no cases of HIV or hepatitis transmission from having blood drawn (at least not in the last 20 years), and probably very few if any cases that could not be attributed to unsafe sex or other obvious risks, like drug users sharing needles.
To your specific questions:
1) IF such blood were left behind, there could be a risk. However, as just discussed, I'm sure that didn't happen.
2) There is absolutely no risk from touching the garbage can lid. HIV and hepatitis are NEVER transmitted from contact with a contaminated environment. The people who live in the same house has HIV infected never catch the virus even after many years of sharing the same kitchens, toilets, eating utensils, and so on.
So you definitely are not at risk. No worries, no need for testing, and if you have a regular sex partner, you can safely continue normal relations.
Best wishes-- HHH, MD
On the internet the information is that HIV can live in a needle for 30 days, HCV for 60 and HBV for 7 whereas others say a day for HIV, 4 for HCV and 7 for HBV. I dont know if this means retaining intectiuosness or just being alive or being detectable.
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