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Capillary tube incident (HIV)
Hello DR HHH,
I went to get a STD checkup fot the first time (it came back negative), however what I noticed was the procedure the nurse did: she used a thin small hollow capillary tube to collect my blood sample (after being pricked by a single use lancet), but the capillary tubes were all over the place (and she didint change gloves) and I think I noticed they were not clean and could have got tiny blood on or inside from handling them from blood of others.
My question is what is the risk if one of the hollow capillary tubes (she used on me to extract the sample) with leftover HIV infected blood (imperceptible) and then she used the same one to collect my blood from the finger *****. 1.Would this be enough route for transmission or am I worrying needlessly (keeping in mind the capillary tube was HOLLOW) ?? I am worried because someone elses blood could have come into contact with mine from the *****. 2.would you need a lot of HIV bloos to come into contacto in order for transmission to ocurr? I am asking because they say that blood in very small amounts is very infectious and I had an open bleeding ***** wound.
I know this sounds like anxiety driven but I need to know what the risk would be given if blood was present.
A second part concern is the following: If it is true that "enough" amount of blood is needed to infect and a deep enough wound is required, then why is it that in an anal sex senario, only small amounts of blood and tiny rips are enough for transmission to ocurr? (and yet in other scenarios large amounts are needed, as tehy say with a fresh deep wound)
Please assess me on what to do and if testing is warranted.
THANK YOU SO MUCH.
I went to get a STD checkup fot the first time (it came back negative), however what I noticed was the procedure the nurse did: she used a thin small hollow capillary tube to collect my blood sample (after being pricked by a single use lancet), but the capillary tubes were all over the place (and she didint change gloves) and I think I noticed they were not clean and could have got tiny blood on or inside from handling them from blood of others.
My question is what is the risk if one of the hollow capillary tubes (she used on me to extract the sample) with leftover HIV infected blood (imperceptible) and then she used the same one to collect my blood from the finger *****. 1.Would this be enough route for transmission or am I worrying needlessly (keeping in mind the capillary tube was HOLLOW) ?? I am worried because someone elses blood could have come into contact with mine from the *****. 2.would you need a lot of HIV bloos to come into contacto in order for transmission to ocurr? I am asking because they say that blood in very small amounts is very infectious and I had an open bleeding ***** wound.
I know this sounds like anxiety driven but I need to know what the risk would be given if blood was present.
A second part concern is the following: If it is true that "enough" amount of blood is needed to infect and a deep enough wound is required, then why is it that in an anal sex senario, only small amounts of blood and tiny rips are enough for transmission to ocurr? (and yet in other scenarios large amounts are needed, as tehy say with a fresh deep wound)
Please assess me on what to do and if testing is warranted.
THANK YOU SO MUCH.
ok, thank you for your answer and Im sorry, its the anxiety.
Regards
Regards
MEDICAL PROFESSIONAL
Your concerns are irrational and I deleted your follow-up comments. THE CAPILLARY TUBE WAS NOT USED ON A PREVIOUS PATIENT; ASSUMING IT WAS IS PARANOID NONSENSE. AND EVEN IF THAT HAD BEEN DONE AND THE CAPILLARY TUBE WERE FILLED WITH ANOTHER PERSON'S BLOOD, IT WOULD NOT POSSIBLE TO CATCH HIV IN THIS MANNER. Any more of this and the entirel thrread will be deleted without futher reply. The same will happen if you try to repost the same question on the HIV forum. You have lost your chance.
MEDICAL PROFESSIONAL
Welcome. But unfortunately, this forum is limited to non-HIV STD questions; see the opening statement at the top of the forum page, and in the first (Disclaimer) message.
Nobody has ever been known to catch HIV during the blood test procedure, at least not since the mid-1980s, when once in a while in developing countries some blood might have been drawn through needles previously used on other patients.. The test kits are designed to prevent it and those designs are excellent. It is not logical that the test personnel would re-use the same capillary tube to test consecutive patients. And if for some reason that happened, absence of visible blood is a strong indication that there was insufficient contamination to transmit HIV.
You're not going to be the first person in the world in over 20 years to catch HIV through a testing procedure.
For any more information or discussion, you'll have to re-post your question in the HIV Prevention and Safe Sex forum. But I suggest you not spend the posting fee. The reply will be no different.
HHH, MD
Nobody has ever been known to catch HIV during the blood test procedure, at least not since the mid-1980s, when once in a while in developing countries some blood might have been drawn through needles previously used on other patients.. The test kits are designed to prevent it and those designs are excellent. It is not logical that the test personnel would re-use the same capillary tube to test consecutive patients. And if for some reason that happened, absence of visible blood is a strong indication that there was insufficient contamination to transmit HIV.
You're not going to be the first person in the world in over 20 years to catch HIV through a testing procedure.
For any more information or discussion, you'll have to re-post your question in the HIV Prevention and Safe Sex forum. But I suggest you not spend the posting fee. The reply will be no different.
HHH, MD
You are reading content posted in the STDs Forum
Herpes spreads by oral, vaginal and anal sex.
Herpes sores blister, then burst, scab and heal.
STIs are the most common cause of genital sores.
Millions of people are diagnosed with STDs in the U.S. each year.
STDs can't be transmitted by casual contact, like hugging or touching.
Syphilis is an STD that is transmitted by oral, genital and anal sex.
