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Spit and venereal diseases.

I've also been crippled by the thought that whenever people speak a spittle, sometimes an actual one and sometimes possibly imagined, manages to land on the surface of my eye. Would this by any chance lead to contracting a disease if they are carriers of one?
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Avatar universal
Ok i was doing fine but know it all came rushing back. Because exactely 2,5 weeks after the blood drawing i started getting these migraines and runny nose and sore throath. I know it could be due to the weather but in combination with the migraines i never had this before.....
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1699033 tn?1514113133
Well, it doesn't just happen over night.  I obviously saw a therapist, both a psychologist and a psychiatrist and also I took medication.  I also learned CBT which I think is the crucial for any person suffering from OCD.  I had many years med free but now I am back on meds and I do use my CBT when I have panic attacks or actually to prevent panic attacks.  I just want you to know that there are therapies out there that are really helpful and have given me my life back.  Take care.  
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Avatar universal
Once again thank you for your answer. I myself am sometimes thinking about exposing myself to these situations so that i can concur this irrational fear but i think it will just make it worse. I find you really brave for sitting in an aids clinic and even working in the lab and donating blood. Although i know the transmissionroutes i now also know my ocd mind. And even if i calm myself theres always that what if you dont have ocd and this is a warning an there the whole the cylce begins. Just a never ending battle. Testing is also really scary because you may get a false positive. But someday ill get there. And i also have the craziest thought that by thinking about you can get it.
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1699033 tn?1514113133
My HIV anxiety came from the fact that I worked with it in a laboratory setting.  My job was to quantitate the amount of HIV that was produced in the production facility.  People around me were in my opinion very careless with the virus, i.e., carrying it to me in tubes without even wearing gloves.  So needless to say, having OCD, I freaked out and quit my job.  I got another one at a University and when I was having a lot of HIV OCD issues I went to see a psychologist.  I had to sit in an AIDS clinic for a few weeks on my lunch hour as exposure therapy and I was finally able to let it go.  I now donate blood...I have given a few gallons of blood over the years.  I sit down right after someone else was sitting there.  I have seen a nurse take off the gauze on my own arm and find that the needle hole hadn't sealed and blood came out.  I have seen a bag of blood go all over a service table.  But you know what...nobody is getting HIV.  It just isn't a transmission route.  Now of course these scenarios are very rare.  Every time I donate, my blood gets tested so I have been tested countless times.  I donate, I walk away, and never give it a second thought.  

Getting active HIV into your body is a very difficult process and even when you for instance get a needle stick with HIV positive fluids, you have less than a 1 percent cance of seroconverting to HIV positive...actually it is 0.3 percent...so that just goes to show you how hard it is to get.  

You have absolutely nothing to worry about.  
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Avatar universal
Thnx JGF25 is appreciate your answer. I totally agree with all. And indeed this is a no risk situation but once its outside the body theory just is something that isnt 100% sure. Those little triggers just make it worse. Do you pay carefull attention to the procedure or arent you that freaked out about contracting it in a medical setting. And also testing is something id rather not do. But The de-worriying of the mind is also something that takes a lot of time. A month back  after my second negative result i was still thinking about hiv because my mind was so obsessed about it. Its hard to erase it from your memory so you see it everywhere. How mant times did you test or how long have you been having hiv ocd?
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1699033 tn?1514113133
I actually had my blood drawn yesterday.  I know that anything that might be there, and that is a big, big IF, is non-infectious and so I know that I have nothing to worry about.  Once it is out of the body it is dead.  So....you do need to listen to Nursegirl and start treating the OCD otherwise if it isn't this, it will probably be something else.  Better to learn how to let things go than to sit there and ruminate about it.  If you do test, and you see the worriedworry has tested 10 times even without risk situations, you will find yourself in the same boat.  When does it end?  When do you finally realize that these are no-risk situations and testing is not necessary?  You realize this when you get treatment.  
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Avatar universal
I only have mild anxieties about medical exposures or things like bathrooms, etc. My main trigger has always been sex, even though I am straight and always use protection. I have been tested about 10 times for no-risk sexual things. I also had some troubling experiences in my life that I thought could have led to exposures through sharing bathrooms, showers etc, but there were other underlying things in those cases and it was a unique and again very troubling situation for me. This alcohol thing is new for me, and a lesson in not drinking to excess anymore. I am just so thankful that things have all turned out so well for me, and I think I am under tremendous pressure from remembering past mistakes and feeling like something bad is going to happen to me now.
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Avatar universal
I totally agree with you nursegirl but i dont have the money for it. And i know everyone is telling me no risk but my mind somehow creates a risk and i cannot live with this uncertainity. Im so upset that i had to draw my blood i didnt even want it i was doing well for a month but its back. The funny thing is i started the testing based on nothing just random. Im thinking if i should test or not. I just want to go back to that day and see the girl grab a new cotton and move on. Why cant i be normal like other people who draw there blood regularly without even looking at the needle being opened or the cotton being grabbed or the gloves being worn etc. I sometimes just wish i was a bit dumber than i am now and care less about these things. I read a lot of post of people here who are terrfied of contracting hiv through doorknobs toilets food etc. Thats something i dont understand and find silly but strange enough i dont find own thoughts silly. But im scared ill be heading that way soon. By the way worriedworry are you also affraid of reused needle or getting hiv during blood draw? Like do you pay attention to what the nurse is doing? Or are you only affraid of it if youre drunk and dont remember things?
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Avatar universal
Personally, I am going to test. It doesnt cost anything and it will help me get over the issue that I am having. However, i hope that by talking you through your issues I can help you get over the anxiety to get you to your next test. I am having major issues right now with many different forms of anxiety, feeling like things from my past are going to come back to haunt me or feeling generalized anxiety about things in the past. Unfortunately I made some mistakes in my past and am having a hard time getting over them. Unfortunately we live in a world where you can be punished so severely for a single mistake, and even though I havent been punished, having put myself at risk for that kind of tragedy haunts me. I hope my responses have helped you realize you do not have anything to worry about. You shouldn't need to test, but if you are planning on a test I suggest a free rapid oral antibody test at your local HIV clinic. That way there is no issue with blood draw. Test at 3 months for a conclusive result.
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480448 tn?1426948538
because my mind gets really creative if i dont see it with my own eyes .

If you don't start addressing the OCD, you'll get to the point where you will begin questioning scenarios you DID watch closely.  Rather than spending your time convincing yourself you don't have an HIV risk (which you don't)...why not start getting some help?
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Avatar universal
Ow and another question; can hiv be reactivated after it leaves the human body? So like if you have a droplet of hiv blood and it is inactive and you add blood that is hiv- can you activate it?
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Avatar universal
Thanks again for your answer en comforting words. I really am overthinking all of  this. I know that every fool can tape on a cotton but yeah you cannot be sure enough with hiv. Its sad to say but i really need 200% certainity when it comes to transmission of hiv. Most probably ill test again to make sure or do you find it unecessary? I also called the clinic they told me no body tested positive that day but then the what if they lied comes up. And im having headaches for a couple of days almost 2 weeks after the blood draw and a swolen eye. Does this have a link with hiv? I mean headaches are common but right two weeks after the blood draw sounds really fishy. And yes ive read your story it is really a sad one. Youre doing much better as i can see and as an outsider i can say that there was no risk and it is all ocd but i know that im freaking out in my own case whilst this is also ocd. And may i ask if youre planning on getting tested  or just working on your ocd? Testing really relieves but i guess for me i learned that from now on ill watch the needle being opened and that the cotton is new because my mind gets really creative if i dont see it with my own eyes
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Avatar universal
no. even if that impossible scenario happened it is impossible there would have been enough blood or fresh enough blood to infect you.
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Avatar universal
Yes i really need help. But what i mean is that like what if the patient before me got a cotton on his arm and dropped it by accident before the nurse could tape it on to the arm. And in a hurry she grabbed a new cotton for his arm and later on she thought that the one that was accidentally dropped was a new cotton and put that one on my arm? Is this possible for hiv transmission if the cotton had absorbed hiv blood?
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Avatar universal
This scenario is impossible. Cotton swabs are taped to the patient with a bandage and then leave with the patient. There is no reason for there to be a used swab in the room. You may need to seek professional help if you cannot get over these concerns.
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Yes i know i dont have to worry about anything but still i do. Its just so annoying that i didnt pay attentiion to where she took the cotton from. Do the cottons lie seperately in a box? Someone drawing blood always prepares by grabbing the items that are supposed to be used before callin in the patient right? The fact that she was an intern really is worriying me what if she didnt put the cotton right and it fell and she grabbed a new one and mistakenly gave me the contamined on?
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Avatar universal
There is no chance of getting hiv from a blood draw in a medical setting. Even interns have been rigorously trained and follow the standards that prevent this from happening. You have nothing ot worry about.
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Avatar universal
Thank you for you elaborated answer. Yes im battling this fear since april. First the whole needle reused thing destroyed me mentally. Got tested after waiting 5 months and was relieved. Two weeks ago had to draw my blood. An intern had to do it couldnt find my vein called in a experienced nurse he asked her for a needle she gave him one out of a sealed pack. He drew the blood and put cotton on it and tape. She handed those things to him. What if the cotton had hiv blood iof the patient before me. I noticed a strange looking weird guy in the waiting room. What if he was in before me. Pff im having headaches now is this some signal??
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Avatar universal
It may be 30 seconds, it may be a minute, but there is no sense splitting hairs. HIV is very quickly denatured outside the body unless it is protected by the environment of a hypodermic needle. As for blood on a cotton swab coming into contact with a needle stick: Did you see the person get their blood on the cotton? If not the blood was probablynot on there long enough to remain infectious. Also, the smaller the volume of blood the faster it denatures. A drop of blood dispersed in a cotton swab would be almost instantly denatured. A needle prick would also generally not be the kind of open wound that would be receptive to infection because it instantly begins sealing itself and fighting any infectious agents in the area. Remember, injection with a dirty needle only carries a 1% chance of infection. It sounds as if you are having anxiety about a blood draw in a medical setting. Remember, there is no chance of getting HIV in this environment. The mandated standards that are in place prevent them from reusing any equiptment, needle, bandage or cotton swab that could transmit the virus to you. They are hypervigilant to prevent contamination in a medical environment.
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Avatar universal
Hello worriedworry how are you so sure of the fact that hiv blood can only live 30 sec max outside the body? Some say it can live minutes. And what if it is absorbed by cotton is it active for anytime longer? What do you say of my risk if blood on cotton comes in contact with my needleprick spot? The blood would be there aproxemately 3 min?
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Avatar universal
The environment inside a needle protects the virus, so the blood maintains infectiousness inside a needle and thats why you should never share needles.
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Avatar universal
Thank you very much. Also, you said that the blood is infectious only for 30 seconds outside the temp. of the body, would it be so even if inside a needle for the time duration? Really appreciate the response.
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Avatar universal
Diseases like the common cold or influenza can be transmitted by airborne saliva. Venereal diseases cannot, or else everyone would have them. HIV is transmitted by blood through sexual contact or intravaneous needles. If the blood leaves the regulated temperature and environment of the body for more than 30 seconds it is denaturated and no longer infectious. You generally can't get these diseases even from coming into contact with a pool of blood, let alone a tiny drop of spittle.
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