HIV and AIDS Forum - Is Disease Transmission Through a Paper Cut Likely?

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Q: Is Disease Transmission Through a Paper Cut Likely?

asked by: Explosionsinthesky on February 12th, 2007

New User

I have a quick question about the possibility for hiv/aids transmission that I haven't been able to get off of my mind. A few days ago while my school was hosting its annual debate/forensics tournament I was handing out awards and shaking the hands of the individuals who had placed in the top rankings. After having finished the awards I looked down at my hand and I had blood on it. Even more disturbing, the blood was directly on the part of my hand which had sustained a paper cut about 2-3 hours earlier. I have no idea whose blood it was that got onto my hand but now i'm worrying myself sick over the possibility of having contracted some kind of blood-bourne illness, such as hiv/aids. My question then is this; what are the chances that I could have contracted some kind of disease? The paper cut wasn't very deep and bled minimally when it was sustained. What should my course of action be? I'm extremely confused and I am fairly worried. Any help would be well appreciated. Thank you.

Replies(3)

Llewellyn

replied on February 12th, 2007

Extremely eHealthy

There is a possibility of transmission anytime that you come into contact with blood, semen, vaginal discharge, or breast milk.

Your chances of having hiv/aids from the situation you described is not all that likely, but it is still possible.

You can always take a test so that you can stop wondering and finally know.

Explosionsinthesky

replied on February 12th, 2007

New User

It happened only a few days ago, is it wise to go get tested now?

Llewellyn

replied on February 13th, 2007

Extremely eHealthy

No, hiv does not show up on tests right away. You can talk to a doctor about how soon he or she can test you.

"to find out when you should be tested, discuss it with your testing site staff or personal physician. The tests commonly used to detect hiv infection actually look for antibodies produced by your body to fight hiv. Most people will develop detectable antibodies within 3 months after infection, the average being 20 days. In rare cases, it can take 6-12 months. During the time between exposure and the test, it is important to avoid any behavior that might result in exposure to blood, semen, or vaginal secretions."
http://www.Hivtest.Org/subindex.Cfm?Fuseac tion=faq#8

so if you test negative the first time, you might want to wait six months and test again.

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