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.

[Rockerforlife]

If you are splashed in the eyes, mouth or nose rinse well with water. Go to the nearest hospital emergency department as soon as possible.


http://www.bchealthguide.org/healthfiles/hfile97.stm



If no visable was on the cuffs,,,,the odds are very low...BUT...i would check it out

[Eddie954]

WAsn't blood it was just the water off the cuffs about 24hrs after cleaing them with antisptic wipes

[Rockerforlife]

just a good article you may need for later

http://www.policeone.com/police-products/apparel/gloves/articles/56608-Blood-poisoning-An-officers-worst-nightmare/

[Rockerforlife]

youre ok then...just dont worry about it...but to ease you mind....just go to hospital ...im pretty sure your ok 9999999% sure

[Willy50]

Hey, I would report the occurence to your supervisor.  You might consider getting an antibody test.  That will provide you with a baseline.  IF you have antibodies now..... you may have already had HCV from some past occurence, unbeknownst to you.  IF you have no anti bodies today and get another test in say 3-6 months and you the HAVE antibodies you will probably have proven that you were infected while performing your duties.  

Chances are that you'll be fine.  Many believe that the virus can only survive so long and if you used a cleaner it may have wiped out any remnants of the virus.  It is also quite possible that this fellow you arrested may not have HCV.  If so it would be impossible to pass the virus; right?

For now I would think positively and take a few actions to protect yourself and get to discovering whether you may have been exposed or not.  Odds are you'll be fine.

best wishes,
Willy

[CoWriter]

Hepatitis C is only transmitted blood to blood.  That means if somehow infected blood had gotten into your BLOOD.....not your eyes.

[CoWriter]

Willy...
You KNOW that's not the way Hep C is transmitted.

[Willy50]

Some people think that it IS possible but rare.

http://www.cdc.gov/ncidod/dhqp/pdf/bbp/exp_to_blood.pdf

The odds are very slight but not impossible.
I mentioned (twice) that I thought Eddie would be fine.  
I don't think that it's irresponsible to tell police, first responders or health providers to report possible exposures.  More often than not they will find out that they have been exposed in the past, not the current medical scare.  Most often they find out that all is well.  What is the downside to getting a baseline test and proving all is well?

best,
willy

IF one has HCV it's good to find out so you can take appropriate measures, no?

IF you don't have it it's also great to find that out too.

[jmjm530]

Close to zero.

[Rockerforlife]

like i said  999999999%

[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

[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-.

[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.  

[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

[comeagain]

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

[CockSparrow]

I agree
CS

[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

[CoWriter]

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

[jmjm530]

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

[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]

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.

[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

[ADESI]

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

[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