Expert: John Thai, M.D. - 5/22/2010

Question
first, thank you for having the time to read my question...
i am a kind, thoughtful, generous person people say...i have 2 kids a 4 years old boy and a 2 years old girl. and i am in 30 years old. i work as a hair stylist, one of the thing i fear most is working and touching people's scalps all day, person after person after person...sometimes i get clients that has a little zit or wound that sometimes bleed blood or pink blood off of it. it digusts me sometimes, and that i have been stop doing it because i came to realize that "hey, people have hang nails and what if the broken skin on the hang nails somehow come in contact with the blood, etc of the clients." you're an expert, and i wonder if you can give me some comfort words that would keep me doing what i am doing with out being fear all the time, i know it sounds silly but worrying too much isn't healthy either...thank you for your time, and wish you a pleasant day with family and friends. thank you!

Answer
you cannot contract hiv by touching an hiv+ person. there needs to be contact with hiv+ blood. i can dip my hands into a bowl of blood infected with hiv... yet i will not get infected. however, if there is an open lesion - open cut, wound, ulcer, etc, then there is a possibility.

if you cut yourself, then i suggest you bandage it well before working on another client.