Stupid thing to do, but is it an exposure?

[Sj2809]

I recently attended a large rave where I consumed ectasy, amazingly that's probably not the dumbest thing i did. Whilst high I accidentally dropped the last of my pills into the toilet bowl where I promptly retrieved it, from memory i think i rinsed it. I then stored it in a resealable bag and consumed it half an hour or so later. Very very stupid I know and very much out of character for me.

The toilets had been very busy that night with lots of people queued up to use them,. I also noticed a small scab on my hand the following evening which may have been an open wound at the time. The water appeared to have been flushed but there was "brownage" in parts of the bowl and who knows what may have actually been in the water.

Is there any real risk from putting a cut hand into a public toilet bowl, or from consuming the pill? If a person to use the toilet before me had HIV, could enough blood still be present in the water to cause any real harm?

My doctor assured me that I would be fine and my biggest risk was an upset stomach etc and if I were to get that I would know about it by now. He said I could have testing for HIV to put me at ease if i wished but he didnt think it would be necessary. Any help would be very greatly appreciated!!

Sincerely S.j.

[Sj2809]

Yeah it's not something I would ever plan on doing it again. It's very relieving to confirm that the risk of HIV isn't an issue! Whilst there is so much useful information on the internet, a lot of it can instill paranoia etc, as is evident by many of the queries people have such as mine. Ironically, I have read you're better off drinking from a public toilet than consuming ice cubes in a lot of venues!

Thanks for your help everyone! =)

[snippets69]

HIV becomes unable to infect literally within seconds once it's outside the body.  You have nothing to worry about regarding HIV.

I wouldn't concern yourself with worrying about Hep either.

Also, try not to feel so bad about the whole situation.  Sounds like this isn't a common theme for you, so use it as a learning experience and move on.

[Sj2809]

There were "trace amounts" of feces, though i think they didnt come into direct contact with the pill, and they certainly didnt come into contact with the cut on my hand (though it would have been close). I guess I'll just have to hope i dont wind up with hep. I feel like such a retard for doing what I did.. I feel like some sort of a junky =(

Also, given what you have said, it appears it really is impossible to contract HIV from toilets/seats/toilet water, even in extreme comtact examples such as mine, which im sure is quite relieving for many. That being said though, is there any even rough idea as to how long HIV is capable of surviving in those conditions? I'm sure even if it could survive for "a length of time" it would be highly diluted anyway and pose minimnal risk.

[snippets69]

Even if there was a risk for Hep A/B you're too late.  Those need to be taken long before exposure.  That being said, though there is a slight risk for Hep A/B, it's minimal... I assume the toilet wasn't full of feces and blood when you put your hand in it.

For HIV - ZERO risk here Sunny already said.  

[Sj2809]

Would there still be no risk even if the feces in the water contained blood? Also, should I consider Hep A+B immunisation etc?

I'm sure like most people, waking up the next day only to realise you have done something like this creates considerable concern, though im sure I am just paranoid. So much so its been getting the better of me. Should I even bother getting tested anyway just in case or is there no chance?