Does HIV die during a fingerstick?

[erika17]

Hello there,

I am a lab tech at a healthcare center. I constantly work with blood samples and practice proper protection during testing (gloves and goggles). I have begun performing finger sticks (lance finger and milk blood into tube) to collect capillary blood from patients for a study. One of the patients was HIV positive, and I was wondering if the virus could have died during the fingerstick.

I am slightly paranoid despite  gloves and completely intact skin, but in addition, I am curious as to how well the virus could have survived during the collection.

Thanks all for your responses!

[erika17]

Thanks everyone!

[nursegirl6572]

That's not really a question appropriate for this forum.

Is the study abotu HIV?  If not, the question is irrelevant.  If it IS, I'm sure proper procedure is being followed to ensure that the sample is preserved.

[erika17]

Thank you for responding. I am no longer asking about risk, I am asking a different question. Different people say different things about HIV surviving after exposure to air. I was wondering how much of it dies during the exposure to air in a fingerstick, while collecting it into a tube. Some places screen with fingersticks, so I am under the impression that it doesn't die (or at least not all of it).

[joggen]

You're not at risk because you didn't collect the HIV + patient's blood in a syringe and inject it in your vein. That is the ONLY way you could have been at risk.Your concerns are simply a product of anxiety resulting from working with HIV + blood and have no basis in the real world.

[erika17]

Thank you for the response. I am pretty sure I had very little contact if any with the blood. But the real question is: during the fingerstick, the blood drops are exposed to the air prior to putting them in a tube, I was wondering if anyone had any info. on if the virus could survive after being exposed to air for ~30 seconds. The blood was not dried in this time, just exposed on the surface.

Thanks again for inputting!

[LIZZIE LOU]

you've had NO risk