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Can HIV survive in an Oraquick buffer solution?
I know, I have asked other questions before but please be patient with me. I am having terrible anxiety, not because I want to, but because I simply am uninformed and am TRYING to learn as much as I can.
Do you know if HIV would be able to remain infectious in a buffer solution? I recently took a test and may have spilled a little bit of the solution on my fingers. After taking the test, I spilled the remaining of the solution out and a small amount may have gotten on my fingers. I do not remember if I had any cuts but if I did they would have been superficial. I think? I also do not know if I touched my mouth/eyes/nose after this. I just didn't think much of it at the time. I keep wondering if there was any infected blood in the solution would the virus be killed by the chemicals?
The chemicals in the buffer solution are: The test tube solution contained approximately 1 ml of a buffered solution containing polymers and antimicrobial agents. The solution contains the following chemicals: sodium phosphate dibasic, sodium phosphate monobasic, ProClin 950, Polyvinylpryrrolidone, Triton X-100, Sodium Chloride & Sodium Hydroxide".
Please let me know as I am not very familiar with science! Thanks! Sorry to bother you but this test is driving me insane. I fear there could have been blood on the pad, blood on the solution. Since it's a test to detect antibodies and has antigens, scientifically speaking, the solution allows for the binding of both and adjusts to different pH levels. I know that people give answers such as "HIV can't live outside the body" but based on what I have read, it's not so black and white. Under certain conditions, given that the temperature and pH levels are right, it could survive. I'm not sure if it would live in this solution if it were contaminated. Sorry, I know this sounds too much to you or anyone here but I'm seriously losing my mind!! I feel as though I have possibly infected myself through taking these tests and it's causing me to feel more scared than when I actually had unprotected sex. Ironic huh? Maybe because I knew the people I had unprotected sex with had tested and didn't have anything. Guys, could these tests have infected me? Please give me a detailed response. If you aren't familiar with the ingredients and do not know whether HIV would be able to remain infectious inside them, please do not comment.
Do you know if HIV would be able to remain infectious in a buffer solution? I recently took a test and may have spilled a little bit of the solution on my fingers. After taking the test, I spilled the remaining of the solution out and a small amount may have gotten on my fingers. I do not remember if I had any cuts but if I did they would have been superficial. I think? I also do not know if I touched my mouth/eyes/nose after this. I just didn't think much of it at the time. I keep wondering if there was any infected blood in the solution would the virus be killed by the chemicals?
The chemicals in the buffer solution are: The test tube solution contained approximately 1 ml of a buffered solution containing polymers and antimicrobial agents. The solution contains the following chemicals: sodium phosphate dibasic, sodium phosphate monobasic, ProClin 950, Polyvinylpryrrolidone, Triton X-100, Sodium Chloride & Sodium Hydroxide".
Please let me know as I am not very familiar with science! Thanks! Sorry to bother you but this test is driving me insane. I fear there could have been blood on the pad, blood on the solution. Since it's a test to detect antibodies and has antigens, scientifically speaking, the solution allows for the binding of both and adjusts to different pH levels. I know that people give answers such as "HIV can't live outside the body" but based on what I have read, it's not so black and white. Under certain conditions, given that the temperature and pH levels are right, it could survive. I'm not sure if it would live in this solution if it were contaminated. Sorry, I know this sounds too much to you or anyone here but I'm seriously losing my mind!! I feel as though I have possibly infected myself through taking these tests and it's causing me to feel more scared than when I actually had unprotected sex. Ironic huh? Maybe because I knew the people I had unprotected sex with had tested and didn't have anything. Guys, could these tests have infected me? Please give me a detailed response. If you aren't familiar with the ingredients and do not know whether HIV would be able to remain infectious inside them, please do not comment.
Hello, I'm an anxious person too and I've been were you are.
What I'm going to tell you fits more into the anxiety forum, but here it goes.
It's a good thing that you want to be informed, but it turns out that you're steeping in an endless circle. You look for certainty so you get for more information to calm down, the more you know the more posible worst case scenarios you figure and then you get more even more anxious, then you look for even more information to try to calm you down and the circle continues as the perfect snow ball.
Ironically it's not the lack of knowledge what makes you anxious but the excess of it, you have to accept the fact that you don't have HIV and break that cicle, I'm sure the anxiety forum will help you more than the HIV forum right now.
Having what I said in mind I won't answer anymore of your questions about your HIV incident because instead of helping you I'm harming you.
Sorry for the long post, I wish you the best.
What I'm going to tell you fits more into the anxiety forum, but here it goes.
It's a good thing that you want to be informed, but it turns out that you're steeping in an endless circle. You look for certainty so you get for more information to calm down, the more you know the more posible worst case scenarios you figure and then you get more even more anxious, then you look for even more information to try to calm you down and the circle continues as the perfect snow ball.
Ironically it's not the lack of knowledge what makes you anxious but the excess of it, you have to accept the fact that you don't have HIV and break that cicle, I'm sure the anxiety forum will help you more than the HIV forum right now.
Having what I said in mind I won't answer anymore of your questions about your HIV incident because instead of helping you I'm harming you.
Sorry for the long post, I wish you the best.
You can't get infected by a test.
First of all, the test does not contain the live virus which causes infection. The manufacturers of these tests would not be able to package tests containing live virus because it wouldn't be possible for it to survive.
Since the virus is so fragile and cannot replicate outside of very specific and controlled conditions outside a living host, then it would never survive being packaged, sitting on a shelf for who knows how long, bought by someone and stuck on a shelf in someone's home for who knows how long and then used.
Truly it's not physically possible for you to get infected by a test.
First of all, the test does not contain the live virus which causes infection. The manufacturers of these tests would not be able to package tests containing live virus because it wouldn't be possible for it to survive.
Since the virus is so fragile and cannot replicate outside of very specific and controlled conditions outside a living host, then it would never survive being packaged, sitting on a shelf for who knows how long, bought by someone and stuck on a shelf in someone's home for who knows how long and then used.
Truly it's not physically possible for you to get infected by a test.
1 Comments
Thank you Chima. I understand it can't replicate outside the body but this is a very particular solution that allows for the binding of antibodies and antigens. Of course I do not think the manufacturers are supposed to put the virus in the test. I fear that someone might have, whether it was someone who bought the test and returned it or even someone at the manufacturer. Would the ingredients in the solution preserve the virus?
Also, I wanted to add that on the ORASURE website, they say that ANYTHING that comes in contact with blood (the lancet, test tube, test stick, the straw to collect the blood) should be treated as INFECTIOUS material and thrown away in the biohazard container. It goes into detail on how to decontaminate the table and I don't know, it just makes it sound very scary. Are these just universal precautions? Just HOW fragile is HIV outside of the body? Please do not be mean to me. I want to move past this.
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