I was at my university yesterday and used one of the restrooms, then realized there was blood under the seat and that it may have gotten on the toilet paper I used. This was something I had kind of a phobia of for a long time...I finally got tested for HIV/STIs about a year and a half ago when I got into a relationship with my current partner, and haven't really worried about it since as everything came back negative for both of us.
I went to the student health center a few hours later, and talked to two different doctors there. Both of them said they considered it such a low-risk exposure that they wouldn't recommend post-exposure prophylaxis, but after I spent about half an hour panicking and hyperventilating in their office, suggested I get tested just for peace of mind (we have clinics near here that can test for HIV a week after exposure), not because they think I'm likely to have caught anything. Even that's not 100% accurate though. I won't know for sure if I caught anything for six months, and even then, tests sometimes give false negatives.
PEP is effective for 72 hours after exposure, so I could still go back and change my mind and decide to do it. I feel like I'm being stupid by NOT insisting on the PEP even though it has a bunch of horrible side effects (liver toxicity, blood issues, generally feeling terrible) and is supposedly not medically necessary, and that I'm going to regret not doing it if I end up having HIV. Has anyone else been in a situation like this? What did you end up doing?
I'm also frustrated and feel like I should just stop leaving the house altogether. What's the point anymore? All that happens is that I just get into ridiculous, dangerous situations no matter how careful I am and how hard I try to avoid them. I'm going to be the first person in history ever to have caught HIV from a toilet seat. I hate this.
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