I am a nurse and something happened about 2 years ago that is really bothering me. I was talking out a mans IV who was HIV + and was not wearing gloves( was in rush stupid move) So I got some of his blood on my skin and under my nail. I washed the area and poured on alchol. I saw no breaks in the skin and everyone told me it was fine. But I can't get it out of my mind. I have not been tested for HIV. Can the HIV be transmitted from blood under the nail. Please Help!!!

Thanks,

Scared Nurse

Hello Scared Nurse,

You've been scared for two years!?! As a nurse, you should be well versed in universal precautions to prevent the spread of bloodborne diseases, such as HIV and hepatitis. You should also be well aware that when you have an occupational exposure, or even a potential occupational exposure, you report the incident, file an incident report and get the appropriate evaluation and/or treatment necessary. Right??? Following this protocol would have saved you two years of totally unnecessary worry!

I would rate your HIV risk as nonexistent based on the limited information provided. However, as always, if you are worried, a simple HIV rapid test would give you an accurate and definitive result in just 20 minutes. Why worry for two years when you've had these other options readily available to you?

Dr. Bob