Expert: Terry B - 7/17/2007

Question
Question
Dear Terry, can you please further explain whats a broken skin? skin where its expose to blood or what?

thanks

Answer
Dear Aaron:

Peace and all good things to you.  Skin and mucous membranes are our bodies' first defense against pathogens (germs).  In the course of time, trauma and disease cause breaks in that defense.  A sore, scratch, or cut that oozing fluid would be considered "open" - generally meaning a pathogen could have access to the bloodstream. This is why injection equipment is so effective in transmitting HIV among injection drug users. This is also why diagnosis and treatment of sexually transmitted infections (which often create such "breaks" in the form of warts and internal open lesions) is so important.

I hope this clarifies and assists you in reducing your risk and understanding HIV/AIDS.

The very best to you and yours.

Terry

--FOLLOW UP QUESTION--

Dear Terry, Thank you for your prompt reply but i have a follow up question, i have been very paranoid with this for the pass 50 Days. I was having sex with a prostitute but of course i was protected. Before that i was fingering her but as i come to know that between my index finger and fingernail(where the skin n nail is attached, hope you get where i mean) there's a tear/break skin(maybe due to lack of some vitamins or i accidentally tear it in another activity) but there's no sign of any blood, i didn't hurt my finger while fingering it happen way before. When the vaginal fluid get in touch with that skin it felt a little pain n irritated. It happens when i am washing my hand too.

1) According to the scenario above, what are the chances of me contracting HIV if she's HIV +ve? is that consider as a broken skin?
2) what are the chances of me contracting HIV if my skin is actually open wounded(same like the above scenario) and got in touch with her vagina fluid? I read some of your posting you even said it also depending on how contagious the virus load is on the vagina fluid.

Thanks Alot

Answer
Dear Aaron:

Peace again.  It sounds like you have an area of irritation that might indicate a break in the skin although if no blood was present, the chances are smaller.  

If she is infected with HIV, the concentration of the virus in her fluids would be highest immediately after infection (before the body can partially suppress the virus) or late stage disease (when her body can no longer partially suppress the virus).  

I haven't seen any research that focuses exclusively on digital stimulation ("fingering") as a risk, but given the general thickness of skin on the hands and fingers, it might be less than exposing other parts to these fluids.

I would guess that the risk is small but significant if she is infected, for your peace of mind I would recommend you see a health provider or voluntary counseling and testing site.  I think you would be more comfortable with knowing rather than speculating - I certainly would.  It's not that difficult to do and the relief afterwards far outweighs the anxiety beforehand.

The very best to you and your loved ones.

Terry

--FOLLOW UP QUESTION--

Thanks again Terry, cant express my appreaciation to your prompt response and valuable answer. How long would you recommend i would go for a test? It's almost 2 months now. 4 months is sufficient? or preferrable 6 months?

Thanks

Answer
Dear Aaron:

Peace.  From what I am hearing from people around the world, many testing sites offer a combination of tests for HIV in one package.  

The most reliable and commonly used is called the ELISA - it looks for any antibodies similar to those produced by HIV and reacts if there is anything close - also referred to as a highly sensitive test - meaning it will pick up anything close to HIV antibodies. In cases where the ELISA is reactive, a second test, the Western Blot, is applied to the same sample of blood to determine if it is actually HIV or something else - a highly specific test - used to determine whether it is HIV antibody that is present.   For most people, this will produce reliable results anytime after six weeks from exposure, six months recommended for the greatest reliability.   

Some testing sites also include a p24 antigen test - more sensitive than the ELISA and often able to pick up HIV infection within a few days of exposure.  One difficulty with this test is that about 10% of results are "false positive" meaning they suggest presence of HIV when it is not there.  This, as you can imagine, causes undue anxiety.

I hope this helps; the information is available in greater depth at a counseling and testing site, or preferably with your health care provider.

All the best to you and yours.

Terry