HIV questions

[quickquestion]

Hello

I recently found out that I fingered a girl that turned out to be HIV positive. I am going through hell trying to remember the status of my fingers at the time... I am bad on my cuticles and have a nervous habit of picking and tearing away at the skin around my fingernails. Does anyone know how fresh a cut has to be for infectious fluid (ie lady partsl fluid) to successfully enter the bloodstream?

Also, does anyone know of any instances of people contracting HIV via fingering?

Am I totally overreacting? Or are my fears legit?

Thanks

[suzanne4, RN]

You need to follow up with your county health department.

[NiobiusSwan]

My advice would be to stop torturing yourself and go get tested. You'll drive yourself crazy if you don't. I think the window of time the virus can go undetected is 6 mo...I may be wrong. Either way, go get tested so you at least have a baseline result, and get retested if you need to. There are places that offer anonymous testing on a sliding scale if you don't want to go to your regular PCP.

[jaimealmostRN]

I agree with the other posters, go get tested. But from your, umm terminology I'm guessing that you are quite young...and we all know how rumors are in high school, etc. Did this girl tell you she had HIV? Did you just hear it from someone else? Either way go get tested and if you did hear this from someone else, think of how this rumor may be affecting her.

[BeachNurse]

Hello

I recently found out that I fingered a girl that turned out to be HIV positive. I am going through hell trying to remember the status of my fingers at the time... I am bad on my cuticles and have a nervous habit of picking and tearing away at the skin around my fingernails. Does anyone know how fresh a cut has to be for infectious fluid (ie lady partsl fluid) to successfully enter the bloodstream?

Also, does anyone know of any instances of people contracting HIV via fingering?

Am I totally overreacting? Or are my fears legit?

Thanks

Any opening in the skin that has contact with bodily fluids is a potential portal of entry for HIV, however, you would have a much higher chance of contracting HIV if the girl was menstruating or had bleeding from the lady parts. Still, if she truly does have HIV (if you could ever know that for a fact) you would definately want to get tested immediately and following the recommended schedule for 6 months. If nothing else, it will help to put your mind at ease.

[traumaRUs, MSN, APRN]

Bottom line is get tested!

[Shotzie]

We tell our patients to go to http://www.thebody.com for information about HIV. It's a great site for healthcare professionals also. There's also a great sit done by John's Hopkins University I just don't remember their site address.

I am constantly amazed at the absolute ignorance and misinformation about HIV there is among healthcare workers and that doesn't even touch the fears, rumors and innuendo that's out there among the general public!!!!