Given Injection To A Child Without Gloves. Noticed Blood On Hand. Washes With Antiseptic. What Are The Chances Of Having HIV?

Posted on Wed, 25 Jul 2012

Wed, 25 Jul 2012 Answered on

Mon, 13 Aug 2012 Last reviewed on

Question : Today I gave one little child an injection without gloves and I used cotton to clean a small drop of blood that just came out.In my other hand,I noticed a really small cut,but it was not bleeding at the time.Afterwards,I immediately used antiseptic to wash my hands.Supposing the child is HIV positive,what are the chances of contracting the virus and when is the right time to get tested?

Answered by Dr. Aparna Kohli (23 minutes later)

Hi XXXXXX
Thanks for writing in.
Even if the child was HIV positive, what you had was a mild exposure. The exact chances of transmission are not known. The chances of transmission in percutaneous exposure ( where you are actually stuck by an infected needle) would be 0.3%. So it would be lower than that.
Before the PEP is started, we would need to do a baseline rapid HIV testing. As of now, I would suggest that you see a physician and talk about post exposure prophylaxis. We would need to give zidovudine and lamivudine. This would be given for 4 weeks. This would strongly reduce the chances of getting infected.
Subsequent testing needs to be done at 3 months and 6 months.
I hope I have addressed your concerns.
Let me know if you have any questions.
Regards

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Above answer was peer-reviewed by : Dr. Chakravarthy Mazumdar