HIV Concern - Should I get PEP?

[dm880]

Hi guys so here's my situation

Yesterday I was in town doing a bit of shopping and a homeless guy who had been walking around starts speaking to me and my girlfriend. He was fairly friendly but obviously high on some kind of drug from the way he was stumbling around.

As he spoke to us, I noticed bits of spit were spraying from his mouth. I have a dry skin condition and as a result my hands have lots of cracks and cuts over them.

Now here's my question

The guy is homeless and is more than likely a drug user. He could therefore have HIV. He may also more than likely have gingivitis (gum disease) and therefore have lots of cuts/blood in his mouth. Could some of the spray of his saliva reached one of the many cuts on my hand.... in other words, could I have got infected from this? I know saliva alone cannot infect but I have read that if there is blood in the mouth then this can carry the HIV virus. Please help as I feel like Im going a bit crazy

Thanks
D

[Cerilia]

Could I have HIV?

No no no..... I'd say it would be almost impossible to contract HIV from that encounter. Add to that the mere chances or possibilities of this guy happening to have HIV, and then chances of him passing the virus to you through a droplet of saliva are staggering.

I think you've got more chance of winning the lottery 2x in a row than you having HIV!

[Fishmanpa]

Hi dm,

I have to say it was interesting reading your train of thought but I can't see in any way shape or form that would be hazardous to your health.

Positive thoughts

[dm880]

Thank you for your responses.

Just to confirm, you do not think it'd be beneficial for me to speak to a medical professional? The 72 hour time frame of PEP medication scares me a lot and what happened yesterday is something I can't stop thinking about. Would a tiny droplet of blood-contaminated saliva be able to transmit on a tiny cut on my hand?

[Cerilia]

No I dont advise you see a GP or health professional. If you need some from of qualified answer you can call any number of FREE aids/hiv advice lines. They have health pros and nurses that can answer any HIV related question....

I think if I was you, I'd worry more about crossing the road than a HIV infection from that encounter.

[Phuzella]

Maybe I can put it in perspective for you. My husband died of primary liver cancer brought about by undiagnosed hepatitis C. For it to cause the cancer he must have had it for at least 20 to 30 years.
I was married to him for 35 years and in that time I've lost count of the times I tended to him after he'd cut himself etc. I used to get very bad excema on my hands with broken skin.
After he died and we found out about the hep, I was tested and I don't have it.
OK HIV and Hep C, different viruses, but virtually the same transmission routes.
Stop worrying:)

---------- Post added at 18:08 ---------- Previous post was at 18:06 ----------

And if me talking about hep c is a HA trigger for anyone, it's now treatable :)

[puzzledlass]

Hiv is not that easy to catch. My cousin married a man with Aids, has been intimate with him for the last 18-20 years - she does not have Hiv or Aids.

Also, think about the number of nurses who would treat patients with HIV, they would see heaps of blood and be way more at risk than someone like yourself, yet how many times have you heard of a nurse contracting Aids from a patient? I've not heard of one single occasion.

---------- Post added at 09:24 ---------- Previous post was at 09:23 ----------

Addition to my above post, of course they use protection - safe sex everyone!

I only know of a few ways it can be contracted, sexual contact, sharing of infected needles and in very rare cases a blood transfusion (in this day and age doubt that would happen though)

[Andy699]

Contracting HIV in that way is impossible. Even with the most risky behaviour (unprotected sex) the chance of contracting HIV is about 1 in 200. It's a hard disease to catch. I'm gay and I had unprotected sex in December last year. I took PEP the next day and the side effects from the drug were horrible. So my advice is try not to worry and in a few weeks if you're still worried get a HIV postal test :)

---------- Post added at 00:27 ---------- Previous post was at 00:25 ----------

And plus, if you did explain that situation to medical profs then there's no way they'd give you PEP. The drugs are really expensive and they are only prescribed to those most at risk

[dm880]

Thanks for your responses guys. Feeling slightly less concerned but still keep replaying the scenario in my head. Thanks for your support