I got bloodwork done today. The medical assistant swabbed my arm with alcohol, inserted the needle and drew the blood. When she was done, she realized she forgot to get gauze out so while the needle was in my arm, she opened the gauze package with her teeth and then applied the gauze to my arm after she took out the needle. Now of course I’m worried I got HIV from this and of course it was during an HIV test. 😭
I understand your fear because this is one of my fears when getting blood taken. Your OCD is providing you with all this "evidence" of how that makes sense. If you stop and think everything through, you'll realize that your OCD really is just someone wearing a tin foil hat telling you nonsense. Thought Process: 1. The tech would have to have HIV. There is no evidence to support this. 2. The tech would have to have HIV AND her gum would have to be bleeding when she tore open the package. There is no evidence to support this. 3. She opened the package with her teeth, meaning her teeth would touch the package and most likely not the gauze. There is no evidence to support this, BUT we can take a reasonable guess. 4. If there was blood, there would have to be enough to get into the pinpoint opening of where the blood was drawn. There is no evidence to support this. In conclusion, there is no actual evidence to support you got HIV from this event. This must have been a scary experience, and I think you should report the tech because what she did goes against health code violations. If she did it this time, I'm sure she's done it before. Also, if you ever see something like that again, immediately say something like, "I feel like you are putting my health at risk by doing that. Please have someone else get a gauze, etc." Hope this helps!
It would have been exposed to the air as well. HIV typically dies very quickly upon contact with air.
@Anonymous Thank you for writing this out. This has had me gripped all day.
@Catlove9 - Of course! I have the same fear, so I've had to talk myself through it a lot of times!
I’d freak out
I used to have this same kind of OCD, I would spend hours on an HIV hotline worried about it. But from research I’ve done you cannot get HIV this way.
I work with a lot of hiv customers. It’s extremely unnerving. Scary actually the thoughts go wild. Trying to fight it but some days are just bad. I know I must fight it but a lot of times I can’t. Also on top of it my boss makes fun of me for washing my hands and sanitizing a lot. He really is not a nice person. Same guy who pees doesn’t wash his hands and touches the pills.
I would be freaked out as well. You are not alone.
I get you I have issues with blood too. But when I read others stories I can definitely sense the OCD speaking to you. The best thing you can do is to let the anxiety wash over you anddo nothing else: no analyzing, no googling, no reassurance seeking, no reporting of the tech.
He’s a pharmacist who dispenses medication. He doesn’t wash his hands but makes fun of me cause I do. That’s not appropriate.
@Anonymous You need to report him! That is disgusting!
She should be fired
I have said things to my other pharmacist and the dirty ones denies it cause he is a bad person. Hey Atleast I wash my hands even if it’s too much!
Omg my cousin gets hiv cold sores and hes 16 Ive know him his whole life but since I started my ocd journey I now fear eating at his house cause the ocd tells me I’m gonna catch it buy using the utensils in his house… you Just have to let the thoughts wander
@Kinnn777 Do you mean HSV?
Do you mean HPV? Like the herpes simplex virus?
This fear keeps coming back and it’s to the point I cry and what to panic. I no longer talk to the man simply because I wanted to move on and find something meaningful to have with someone (relationship wise). I still keep fearing I need to go get my blood checked. Thoughts like “what if I have it and don’t know it and give to someone?” “What if that urine test I took months ago didn’t work” I got tested for stds but it came back negative. They took a urine test but google says you have to have your blood drawn!! I’m so scared. My mind tells me “you have HIV” and then a sense of peace comes and scares me even more!!!
I had blood work done for a test I was having a couple weeks ago. The phlebotomist hit my vein weird, my arm bled a lot, but eventually stopped. My arm is still sore several days later. The following week I had my bronchoscopy. The nurse used the same arm that was already sore to put in the IV for the meds. My arm started hurting, swelling and burning. I told her it hurt really bad but she ignored me; then I was out. It’s been a week and my arm still hurts, and my veins are tight and hard. Couple that with the white stuff all over my face, that nobody from the care team bothered to wipe off- which I didn’t know about until my husband asked me what it was, I got harm from my OCD! At first I chalked it up to the white stuff on my face was bad bedside manners. Now, I keep thinking that my doctors and everyone associated with the clinics are trying to harm me. This morning I had an incident with the fryer oven while toasting my bagel. I asked my husband about it and he says he didn’t notice anything. I was down to the last few bites of my bagel, and suddenly started feeling loopy. I spit it out and threw the rest away. After sitting awhile thinking of the doctors and phlebotomist etc… it dawned on me that it was my OCD telling me people were trying to harm me. I don’t know how to get over the fact that my arm hurts really bad and my doctor completely ignores my health concerns. I’ve been nauseous for the past two weeks or so - there is definitely something wrong! I think when they find out that you have OCD and/or Anxiety, they treat you differently, as if you’re making up the symptoms. I most certainly haven’t felt heard! My husband always says, what’s wrong now? It’s such a horrible feeling to hear him say that. Is this what you call Harm? Or is it associated with Harm? I’m not sure if this is triggering or not. I hope not.
In September I had unprotected oral sex. I haven’t had sex in five years because even before that I was so ashamed and worried about sex. I finally did it and then a few weeks later while I was at work I started to be very itchy all in my underwear area like up to my butt. I didnt see any blisters or anything but when I googled it, herpes came up. Eventually I thought maybe it was the new underwear I bought and it went away after I stopped wearing them. However it’s returned twice, mostly when I’m really worried about herpes. I know this makes little sense because I don’t thinking about it would cause an outbreak but, either way I’m really nervous to go get tested because I heard there’s a high false positive rate and if I get a positive there’s a huge chance I will just become a recluse and never speak to anyone again. I already have so much trauma with sex, vaginismus, etc. I can’t imagine telling anyone I have herpes and then they 1) don’t want to be with me 2) now know this and could tell anyone they want Even if I don’t have it I was reading it could be asymptomatic and 80% of people who have it don’t even know, so now I’m worried I will get it no matter what sex I have. I can barely handle staying alive with just OCD but now with social stigma with herpes I will feel like I can not even live a normal life. I am already freaking out about it and don’t know what to do. I am worried to go get tested and it saying I have it, and then I’m worried to not and potentially spread it, I’m not even having sex with anyone right now so it’s not like I would. But I’m worried I will forget to wash my hands and touch something and someone else will touch it and then get it. I’m just having a really bad time.
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