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About Mark Behar
Expertise
Almost any question or concern about sexually transmitted infections, abnormal Pap smears, anal cytology (anal "Pap smears"), gay men's health issues.
There is no such thing as “d/d free” or “clean” (free of infection), so why do so many of us deceive ourselves into thinking that some people are indeed totally free from a potentially infectious disease, like HIV, herpes, hepatitis, syphilis, chlamydia, warts, gonorrhea, etc., just because they say so? Clinical laboratory tests are not perfect, and having a “negative” or “nonreactive” test does not mean that a person is free from infection. Perhaps at the moment the test was taken, the person was uninfected; or, perhaps, the test wasn’t sensitive enough to detect presence of the infection. There is really no way that anyone can determine that they are truly “disease free,” and there are over a hundred of infectious conditions that can be spread without your knowing anything.
Rather than trying to “prescreen” or “serosort” a potential sex-mate with deceptive questions that are impossible to know by today’s technologies, a wiser option may be to consider everyone infected with something, and either use appropriate protective measures (“safer sex”), or accept the responsibility and conseqences of possibly “catching” something from someone who’s hotter than expected (pun intended!).
There is much research that supports the contention that an HIV positive person reliably taking HIV medications, and having an undetectable viral load, presents a lower risk for transmission of HIV than people who may think or say they are HIV negative, but are not. Food for thought!
Experience
Family Practice PA since 1981;
Volunteer Clinician for Brady East STD (BESTD) Clinic, Milwaukee, since 1977; answer STD questions submitted to their web site.
Professionally lectured at national and regional Physician Assistant and Nurse Practitioner conferences, and at national gay & lesbian health conferences on topics including HIV/AIDS, herpes, hepatitis, STDs, human papilloma virus (the cause of venereal warts), abnormal Pap smears, gay and lesbian health issues, among others.
Organizations
Distinguished Fellow, American Academy of Physician Assistants; Co-Founder, Lesbian, Bisexual, & Gay Physician Assistant Caucus of the American Academy of Physician Assistants, Inc.;
Wisconsin Academy of Physician Assistants;
Florida Academy of Physician Assistants;
American Society of Colposcopy and Cervical Pathology (ASCCP)
Publications
Journal of the American Academy of Physician Assistants (JAPA)
Education/Credentials
Physician Assistant Certified, since 1982;
Masters in Physician Assistant Studies;
Colposcopy Recognition Award, American Society of Colposcopy and Cervical Pathology (ASCCP);
Awards and Honors
Colposcopy Recognition Award (CRA), from the American Association of Colposcopy and Cervical Pathology
Past/Present Clients
Brady East STD Clinic, Milwaukee, WI
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You are here: Experts > Teens > Health for Teens > Sexually Transmitted Diseases > hiv.....please help me.
Expert: Mark Behar
Date: 10/10/2008
Subject: hiv.....please help me.
Question
hi ! I handshaked with a homless dirty guy 5 days ago. I guess he has hiv positive. I had a very tiny little small cut. it was a hangnail. It was tiny. I am concerned, if the homeless guy had a cut and during the handshake if his cut made contact with my cut, do u think can i have hiv?. for your info, after i done the handshkae I never saw any blood in my hand at all. Do you think if he had any dry blood or plasma ( a clear fluid from body after a cut or wound) in his hand and during the handshake if my wound get touched by those liquids, could i be hiv ? when should i take hiv test, the incident happen 5days ago. please help me. thanks. Sir I need your help, please help me. I am so worried.
Answer
Hello Mohammad,
You have nothing to worry about. If HIV were that easy to spread, a whole lot more people would be HIV infected from such inconsequential contact! It is a testiment to how difficult it is to get HIV infected.
The most likely way to get HIV infected, is from unprotected anal or vaginal intercourse with an HIV infected person, shared needles from drug use, or from blood transfusions with infected blood.
Good luck! And don't worry!
--mark
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