Hello Doctor,
I have an obsessive mind and this has caused me some intense anxiety for these past two days. So I was at work and was cutting a loaf of bread and sliced into my hand by accident, by no means a large cut just a half inch long slice about 2x the width of a paper cut so pretty small and thin. It bled out a bit but a put paper towel on it for about 10-15min and it stopped. After that 10-15min I went to the bathroom to wash it out again, I noticed that at the sink I was using that there was dried bloody bogies (nasal mucous) on the side of the rim of the sink from somebody, and I know I did not touch it with either hand and by no means rubbed my slice wound on it. But having an obsessive mind my heart began racing as I thought of potential worst case scenarios that the blood was HIV positive and somehow when I was washing my hands splashed water on the bogies and then rehydrated them and somehow had the infected water splash back on my wound, infecting me. Or if the person prior (worst case scenario) had been HIV positive had sneezed and bloody microscopic mucous was on the faucets or on the sink and then those microscopic blood spots infected me. I checked the faucets and could not see any blood or anything. The bogies looked dry but I have no way of knowing for how long the blood had dried out, and online I find differing claims about how long it takes for the HIV to die in dried blood. OR and this is just completely OCD of me, if in fact I had touched with my other hand and then rubbed it in my wound when washing my hands, it but I am pretty positive I didn't touch it, but anyway I find myself being driven crazy by this as you can probably tell. I hate feeling like this and wish I did not have to come to forum to find peace of mind, but online I find so many differing claims about how long it takes HIV to die in dried blood. I did switch sinks right away after I noticed the blood. Let me know if i need a test please! Thank you.
