Please Help im freaking out

[Eddie954]

Im a Police officer, and the other day I had arrestted a drug user who had bled on my handcuff. After drpping him off at jail I got back my cuffs and sprayed them down with Lysol then wiped them down with Viraguard Antiseptic Wipes (says effective for Hep) Then after the I viewed no visable blood.  Aprox 24hrs later  Next shift,I rinsed them off and when i went to dry them off I used a hand blow dryer in a public bath room, which was pointed up, and spray some of the dripping water from the cuffs back into my face and eyes. I am very scared I might have got a tiny amount of miroscopic blood in my eyes. Please HElp!  There was no visable boold and if there was it would have been dried up.

[mommaglow]

DO THE TESTING- DO IT ON WORKS INSURANCE!!!!! I am a dialysis technician, who got splashed with a Hep C patients blood, thinking what are the odds it's a million to one, a few months later on my second test sure unough I tested positive for Hep C. Yes it may be a one in a millio chance but you never know get tested follow up, and if they tell you to do profalactic tx- THEN DO IT!!! And follow up with it. I did not and noone told me the second test was posative- 2 years later I found out during a state audit ( they wanted to know if I was done with tx- iagion my suprise)- Serious there is a less than 1% chance that you got anything but better safe than sorry.

[Rockerforlife]

IM a secret agent working for the gestapo.

[medicmommy]

Having worked beside police officers from different realms and having an idea how their minds work, I seriously doubt this fellow is a career officer...he may be a reserve or security guard, but I greatly doubt he is more than that...So, IF he is, and is not a troll, he has probably been told that exposure to hep C means you die a slow, horrible death. This kind of paranoia is common in the public service fields (law enforcement, EMS, even hospital care) because of the minimal information they're given...they are told plainly, it's something you don't want to get because it kills you and there is no treatment. Period. It's no wonder the stigma of hep c being a contaminant and a "dirty" disease is alive and well...But that's another thread...:)                          
I know, even as a paramedic, I came here because I needed to educate myself more. The information I was given barely scratched the surface of what I really needed to know...So, maybe this guy is legit, or maybe he is just trying to satisfy a need for attention...At the least, newcomers who read our posts may glean something that could help them...                                                                 ~melinda

[jmjm530]

Magnum: Why would a police officer with unlimited paid for health insurance and quick access to any emergency room be asking this board these questions?
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Couldn't that same question be asked for all of us?
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CO: Well, the thought was nice I suppose :)

[Marcia2202]

ROFL

[Trish77]

So .... before we answer any questions from people, we should ask what their financial situation is to determine if they're hard up enough to deserve support from all of us or ask for the money upfront if they've got good health insurance before we help someone who's better off?  We've got medics and nurses in here ... same thing?  Tell them to take a hike?  As we've seen many times on these boards, having access to doctors doesn't mean you get proper care and the right answers.

So much for "doesn't matter how you got it, we're all in this together".  Reverse discrimination is still discrimination.  

[Magnum]

Why would a police officer with unlimited paid for health insurance and quick access to any emergency room be asking this board these questions? Is there NO doctor who can examine him immediately and tell him all he needs to know?

Perhaps he feels we know more than doctors. So in essence, we should be billing him for our replies. We, who he apparently feels know more than doctors, should then charge more than doctors. Otherwise... it's up to you.

Magnum

[hippygem]

It is documented that a Policeman contracted Hepatitis C whilst apprehending a person, the policeman was punched once in the face, blood was spilt from both people (fist to teeth), and the policeman now has the hepatitis C.

: Gastroenterology. 2000 Aug;119(2):507-11.

[CoWriter]

"and now a cloak of responsibility to be worn out into the world to insure it's a better place for all. "

All right...I confess...I'm a dreamer...LOL

[Trinity4]

Jim,
Read all his posts - STD forum -  Kevlar Gloves? (2 posts)  Handshakes? (2 posts)  Hepc forum (4 posts)  Admits he is phobic?  It's the tone of the posts -  why doesn't he understand when people give their honest advise.  Maybe he can OCD on this forum or any forum for that matter but I wouldn't want him around me if there were an assault issue because it appears he would be too preoccupied with possible exposure to contagious diseases.  That's not normal for someone in law enforcement.  They are taught about those things before going into that line of work -  my brother was a cop.  Very knowledgeable about transmission of disease and he was a small town cop -  not Miami with major drug issues.  So, I'd say this guy is the one with the problem.  
Trinity

[ADESI]

perhaps it would be less stressful for the officer if the beating
would stop while the handcuffs are on

[jmjm530]

Whoops make that twice that poor Eddie posted before he no doubt retreated to the safety of the streets and criminals :)  So how many times did you post -- or Rocker -- or CO -- or Me. LOL

[jmjm530]

If OCD was contraindicated here for posting we would hv a lot of blank spaces :) Also I only saw one post -- not repeated posts on the same question. Many new posters have posted  the same question in both forums and I blame that on a confusing forum format.

[Trinity4]

If you read his other posts, he clearly admits he is obsessing about catching diseases.  That is not our fault, he has the problem. He was told on all accounts by others very clearly and concisely there was no need to worry.  He is either unwilling or unable to accept that advise.  So there is no other alternative than to be brutally honest with him
Trinity

[jmjm530]

Perhaps this is a good opportunity for you to learn about hepatitis C and help us spread awareness by educating your co-workers.
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Yes, posting a simple question on MH requires both sophisticated knowledge of the disease;  letters of recommendation to prove you a real, a psychological work up that most here could not pass;  and now a cloak of responsibility to be worn out into the world to insure it's a better place for all.

Given that most people know next to nothing about Hep C, sometimes I wonder why more of these types of questions aren't posted :)

Officer, get out your club and mace (and spanky clean cuffs) cause you are going to need it here. LOL.

[CoWriter]

Perhaps this is a good opportunity for you to learn about hepatitis C and help us spread awareness by educating your co-workers.

[Trinity4]

Even if this guy isn't a troll, he's paranoid and seems to be in the wrong line of work.  I read his others posts.  Scratch from a handshake and worried about contracting an STD?  He needs to find a safer career.  If indeed he is a police officer, he has a higher risk of coming in contact with contagious disease.  I mentioned that on another one of his posts -  obviously not everyone agrees.  I don't think he's as naive as some think.
Trinity

[CockSparrow]

I agree
CS

[comeagain]

This is the first thread he has write in another exactly the same here after this one.

[comeagain]

This is most likely a troll dont you understand that, who likely is it that a police officer
freaks out for such a thing.
He has already been writing exactly the same in another thread and got very good answers.

Check his profile he has been writing in the same to other forums aswell either hes a froad or he has OCD.

ca

[CoWriter]

He mentioned that the man he arrested was a "drug user".  I have heard hepatologists say that IV drug users are usually Hep C positive by the time they've been using drugs for one year.  

[Jakied]

ask for a test on the perp.  Chances are he is neg and you have NO worries.

Even if he is pos, which i doubt, the chance of tranmission from what you described

is almost -0-.

[Trinity4]

Mr. Police Officer, hepc is not the only disease you should be concerned about if you think transmission was possible.  (Very unlikely in your case)  HepA, HepB, HIV, you don't need blood to blood contact to become infected with those.  
You are a police officer and more likely to come in contact with blood than the ordinary person.  Familiarize yourself with the mode of transmission for contagious diseases rather than freak out when you are in situations where blood contact is possible.
Trinity

[Rockerforlife]

like i said  999999999%