Expert: Terry B - 12/9/2006

Question
Recently I read an article that nurse coming in contact with body fluids of an aids patient with hands and under the nails got hiv.She did not had any open cuts. The diagnosis was that she got it through the fingernails as fingernails had minor lesions and one can get infection through it.  I had sex with a sex worker and I did fingering 3 times with my two finger. Am I at risk of getting hiv? I had no cuts on my finger.

Answer
Dear Ravi:

Peace.  

There are several citations of HIV transmissions that occur without more traditional exposures and risks, in no small part because they are so rare (therefore of greater interest to publishers).  While unclear as to whether your fingering of the sex worker was the only contact you had with his/her fluids, the risk, as described, is small but not non-existing.  

Some of the factors to be considered are the quality of your barriers (intact skin, mucous membranes) and their enhancements (e.g. latex barriers), the amount of skin or mucous membranes exposed(i.e. area), the amount of fluid to which you are exposed, the number of times you are exposed, the duration of the exposure, and the amount of virus in the infected person's fluids.

When talking about risk we speak of "relative risk" - the only sure way of not contracting HIV is not to come into any contact with the blood, breastmilk, semen, vaginal secretions or interior bodily fluids (as might be encountered in surgical procedures) of a person infected.

Thus, abstinence is promoted as the first and most effective means of preventing HIV transmission, followed my monogamy with a monogamous partner, and thirdly by enhancement of the body's natural barrier to disease by means of condoms other latex devices.

I hope this helps.

Sincerely,

Terry