transmission through cut

[rameshva]

hello doctor,

i have recently started working in a pathology laboratory with my brother as he owns the laboratory.
today while performing a test i accidently touched blood ( 3 drops approximately) of an hiv positive person while performing the test as i was not wearing my gloves at that time.

i took blood from that person just 5 minutes before and he looked very sick.

immediately after touching blood i washed my hand with water but saw a cut on my finger which happened 15 minutes prior to this incident as i peeled off my skin since i bite my nails and while peeling off the skin somehow there was  bleeding on my finger actually i peeled off too much of my skin.

i would also like to mention when i touched blood at that time my cut was not bleeding as i pressed to check if any blood was coming out.

now i am too scared what if blood would have entered my body through that cut?

[Edward W Hook, MD]

You are asking the same question repeatedly.   It  does not change the asnwer

If 3 to 4 hiv postive bloods drops which are outside body for 3 minutes approximately come in contact with a 10 to 15 minutes old small cut in my finger which has stopped bleeding...
Is it a concern or risk to worry about?  
NO!

Can I move on without getting tested for this event? .
YES!

EWH

[rameshva]

Dear doctor,
These events have happened unfortunately.I will consider your advice for counselling but here where I live doctors have no knowledge at all about hiv transmission and I rely on ur advice to know the modes of transmission.
My only question is which u can answer directly is
If 3 to 4 hiv postive bloods drops which are outside body for 3 minutes approximately come in contact with a 10 to 15 minutes old small cut in my finger which has stopped bleeding...
Is it a concern or risk to worry about?
Can I move on without getting tested for this event?

[Edward W Hook, MD]

We are pleased to have you visit the Forum but we have little tolerance for clients who fabricate exposures.  In your case, I note the you started asking questions based on a supposed pin prick from a person with HIV and subsequently, when assured that this was not a risk (which I agree with), modified your question regarding a knife wound from a person known to have HIV.  That was over three weeks ago.  Today you ask another question, this time relied to touching HIV infected blood.  

All of this may have happened, but I doubt it.  If it did, while touching HIV infected blood is, in theory, a possible source of HIV infection, the truth is that in reality it is not a concern, particularly if the drop of blood had been out of the patient and any from the patient for more than a few minutes.  Biting your nails and a possible cut on your finger does not change this- still virtually no risk and therefore no reason for concern, no reason for testing, and no reason for PEP.

Your repeated questions however do suggest that you have fears of HIV that are out of proportion to the risk.  Perhaps you should discuss these fears with a trained professional. EWH