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Worries regarding an injection
Dear Sir,I am from India and this is regarding an injection I took from a doctor while I was down with fever,I am not sure of the quality of the syringe\needle.I asked him whether it is a new one or not,he confirmed it is a new one,and he uses 2 needles ,one for drawing one for injection.All I remember is he pushing the air bubble out of the syringe with some of the medicine just before injecting,Even if the syringe\needle is a reused one ,used on an hiv person,will this action of pumping out air kill any virus left in the syringe, I know I am highly hypochondriac w.r.t this,but when I browse the net ,I see WHO saying 9pct of new infection in South Asia is through this route,this makes me scared of being unlucky.I am afraid to go for testing again as I am worried on the same again,Is this purely irrational thinking.Should I worry at all.The Doctor is a registered govt doctor ,who provides house calls when ever asked for,He came to my place.Because he came with his kit,I did not check the status of needle.
MEDICAL PROFESSIONAL
Welcome to the forum.
The doctor used a new needle, not previously used in another person. Hence there is no risk you could have acquired HIV.
It is pointless to speculate on nonsensical "what if" questions. Since a new needle was used, why worry about whether it could have been a risk otherwise? I am skeptical that WHO says that 9% of all HIV infections in South Asia occurred by use of used needles in doctors' offices. But even if that were true, it obviously doesn't apply to your doctor and the injection he gave you.
My advice is to accept the realities here and stop worrying about it.
Regards-- HHH, MD
The doctor used a new needle, not previously used in another person. Hence there is no risk you could have acquired HIV.
It is pointless to speculate on nonsensical "what if" questions. Since a new needle was used, why worry about whether it could have been a risk otherwise? I am skeptical that WHO says that 9% of all HIV infections in South Asia occurred by use of used needles in doctors' offices. But even if that were true, it obviously doesn't apply to your doctor and the injection he gave you.
My advice is to accept the realities here and stop worrying about it.
Regards-- HHH, MD
MEDICAL PROFESSIONAL
Irrational fear of contagion sometimes is an early sign of serious mental health disability. If the same feelings affect your day to day life -- for example, fear of shaking hands, touching doorknobs, and otherwise interfering with normal existence -- I would suggest professional counseling. (For an excellent example where such symptoms can lead, rent "The Aviator", the film biography of Howard Hughes. And a terrific movie, by the way.)
Dear Sir,Thanks for the prompt reply,All this stems from an irrational fear of getting diseases,since i did not see the needle being brand new,I saw it when he fixed it in the syringe,I got this feeling
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