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Cleaning Inner Cannula Of HIV Positive Patient. Some Fluid Sprinkled In Eye. Am I At Any Serious Risk?
Question: Hi, I'm a nurse and the other day I was taking care of an HIV positive patient. He had a tracheostomy and I was cleaning his inner cannula. I took it out and walked to the bathroom. I was cleaning the cannula with hydrogen peroxide and Normal Saline. As I was using a pipe cleaning brush that they give us at work, some fluid sprinkled by my eye. I dont remember it getting into my eye and I dont remember seeing any visible blood in his secretions. His secretions were white and thick. Please let me know if i'm at risk, I'm terrified.
Hi,
Welcome to XXXXXXX
Saliva generally doesn't contain HIV, but it can be present in bronchial secretions.
Though chances of transmission in your case are poor, but there is risk.
You should wash your eyes and surrounding area thoroughly with water and consult a Skin & VD Specialist at your earliest.
You should get HIV tested after 3 & 6 months.
Thank you for posting your query. Hope you found my response to your query informative and helpful.
If you have further concerns in this regard, I would be happy to discuss those with you as well.
With good wishes,
Welcome to XXXXXXX
Saliva generally doesn't contain HIV, but it can be present in bronchial secretions.
Though chances of transmission in your case are poor, but there is risk.
You should wash your eyes and surrounding area thoroughly with water and consult a Skin & VD Specialist at your earliest.
You should get HIV tested after 3 & 6 months.
Thank you for posting your query. Hope you found my response to your query informative and helpful.
If you have further concerns in this regard, I would be happy to discuss those with you as well.
With good wishes,
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Above answer was peer-reviewed by :
Dr. Chakravarthy Mazumdar
Answered by
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