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Dr. Andrew Rynne
MD
Dr. Andrew Rynne

Family Physician

Exp 50 years

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Used Public Bathroom. Worried About HIV Infection

I removed my pants in a public bathroom because I was worried after the crotch of my thong touched the outer-toilet seat. My pants touched the bathroom floor, then made contact with my foot. I then put my pants back on (w/ no underwear) and might have rubbed my foot on the crotch of my pants. I didn t check the floor to see if anything was on it. I was on my period and not wearing a tampon/pad, so I began to leak a little. I then went to the bathroom about an hour later, wiped myself and stuck a tampon in. I am worried that I may have got HIV on my pants from the floor, then on my foot and rubbed it against the crotch of my pants, placing the virus on the outside/inner lining of my vagina. What worries me is that because I was menstruating, I might have kept the virus alive on the outside/inner lining of my vagina, which I then pushed back up inside me when inserting my tampon. Please help, I am freaking out! How likely was it that their was the virus on the public bathroom floor? Am I right that if the virus was on my vagina and made contact with my blood, it would have been kept alive, or would enough air have contacted it? If kept alive, how likely would it be that I got infected because I pushed up my own blood with the virus in it near my cervix? Thanks!
Tue, 6 Aug 2013
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General & Family Physician 's  Response
Hello dear,

HIV infection is spread through body fluids & not through floor and cloth materials.
The HIV virus cannot survive for a longer time outside the body.
It is highly vulnerable and any harsh condition will denature it.
So it is not possible for anybody to get the infection through this way.

However, to relieve your concerns, you can get certain tests done like p24 assay or PCR for HIV.
These tests become positive within a week and are almost 100 % sensitive.
Even the presence of a single virus in the body can be detected by PCR.
So, if this test comes negative, you can be sure that you are safe.

Wishing you a good health.
Take care.
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General & Family Physician Dr. Nehal Mehta's  Response
hello,
thank you for using healthcare magic,
no need to worry .. HIV does not spread by any vehicle like cloths .. it spread by body fliud like semen , vaginal fluid , blood and serum.. one of these if enters your your body then only you can get infected like intercourse with infected person or spilling blood of infected person on your wound etc..beside this hiv doesnt even survive in enviorment so no need to worry...
take care..
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Used Public Bathroom. Worried About HIV Infection

Hello dear, HIV infection is spread through body fluids & not through floor and cloth materials. The HIV virus cannot survive for a longer time outside the body. It is highly vulnerable and any harsh condition will denature it. So it is not possible for anybody to get the infection through this way. However, to relieve your concerns, you can get certain tests done like p24 assay or PCR for HIV. These tests become positive within a week and are almost 100 % sensitive. Even the presence of a single virus in the body can be detected by PCR. So, if this test comes negative, you can be sure that you are safe. Wishing you a good health. Take care.