Expert: Terry B - 3/25/2009

Question
I had an encounter last week that has scared me a lot. I visited one of my relatives who is HIV+.
She was cooking food for us. While preparing the food she cut the index finger of her right hand with a knife and started bleeding. She sucked the blood with her mouth and continued preparing the food.

She then proceeded to make a bread Sandwhich. She was toasting the sandwhich in a frying pan and she used her right hand many times to flip the Sandwhich. She then put it on a plate and offered me. I did not think much of it and ate the Sandwhiches (about 4 in all).

Earlier that day I had peeled off some of the skin from my lips with my teeth(I think it also bled a little) and they were hurting. I do not know why I started thinking about this incident, but the more I think about it the more worried I become. I am worried because there is a good probability that fresh blood could have come in contact with the Sanwhich and I ate it almost immediately afterwards. And then again, the skin on my lips was hurting.

Please help me with this scenario and whether I should test for this and pardon me if I seem to be rude.
Thanks for helping me.

Answer
Dear PeaceJ:

Namaste.  Many people become especially concerned about exposures to blood when they know a person is HIV infected - it's not unusual, and doesn't seem rude if you have a legitimate question.  The amount of blood to which you would have been exposed, if any, would have been tiny, and it seems there was cooking involved, and the chances of that tiny (if any) amount of blood contacting the exact place on your lip where you'd lost skin earlier... well, I think the chances are remote to none.

IF your mouth was actively bleeding; or if it were an open lesion, if there were significant amounts of blood from your relative on the sandwich, enough that you'd surely notice - then I would think some slight risk.  HIV is not easily transmitted, and you weren't sharing needles and equipment while injecting drugs.

I don't think you are at real risk, though for your peace of mind, you could wait five weeks, protect yourself from the fluids (blood, semen, vaginal secretions) of others, and protect others from your fluids, and be tested.  I don't think it necessary.

Just my considered opinion.

Best to you and yours, again, Namaste.

Terry