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Blood Exposure
Hi everyone,
I posted this question for the doctor to answer as well but I was hoping you could also assess my situation and let me know of my risk? Thank you so much! Here's my question:
Recently I was at the plastic surgeon's office to get a small mole removed from my back. After the surgeon finished the surgery, he left and a couple minutes later his assistant came back to clean up my back and put the bandage over my stitches. However, while the Dr was working on me, the assistant was in the other room setting up the other patient (i.e. setting up the tools, applying iodine, etc). I noticed that the assistant had stuff on his gloves when he came back (it looked like iodine) and he did not change them from the other patient. I even asked him "that's not blood, right?" and he was like "no, no of course not". However, I am still worried - what if it was blood. What if some blood from the anesthesia shot from the other patient got on his gloves when he was applying the iodine? Or what if the doctor quickly asked him to grab a couple of tools that had blood on them after he was finished using them on the surgery of the other patient. Would the virus be able to survive on his gloves and then be transmitted to me through my open wound? Would my wound still be considered open if it was stitched up?
I posted this question for the doctor to answer as well but I was hoping you could also assess my situation and let me know of my risk? Thank you so much! Here's my question:
Recently I was at the plastic surgeon's office to get a small mole removed from my back. After the surgeon finished the surgery, he left and a couple minutes later his assistant came back to clean up my back and put the bandage over my stitches. However, while the Dr was working on me, the assistant was in the other room setting up the other patient (i.e. setting up the tools, applying iodine, etc). I noticed that the assistant had stuff on his gloves when he came back (it looked like iodine) and he did not change them from the other patient. I even asked him "that's not blood, right?" and he was like "no, no of course not". However, I am still worried - what if it was blood. What if some blood from the anesthesia shot from the other patient got on his gloves when he was applying the iodine? Or what if the doctor quickly asked him to grab a couple of tools that had blood on them after he was finished using them on the surgery of the other patient. Would the virus be able to survive on his gloves and then be transmitted to me through my open wound? Would my wound still be considered open if it was stitched up?
Move on there is nothing more to explain, you've posted in the expert forum, this forum and AidsMeds.
I am sorry for my question - but I would appreciate if anyone could help me understand why this would not be an exposure if the assistant's gloves had blood on them? I am a very analytical person and I am trying to get over this, but it is hard for me to do so without understanding why exactly this would not expose me (assuming the gloves had blood on them)? I would really appreciate it if someone could explain it to me. Sorry again, I promise to stop posting!
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Hi Teak, Sorry to be annoying, but can you please explain why? I am struggling to understand. There was probably only 15 seconds between the time the assistant could have touched the other patient's blood and then touched my open would that had just been stitched up? Isn't that blood to blood exposure with a deep wound?
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