My friend was using a needle for sewing her clothes. She then pricked herself with it but blood never came out. 15-20minutes later, i use the same needle and i accidentally pricked myself and little amount of blood came out. My friend's HIV status is unknown. I do go for check up after every 3months and Glory be to God i always come out negative but since this incident happen, i'm scared and worried. Would there be any possibility that i would be infected? And how long does a virus survive outside the body considering the fact there was no any visible fluid/blood on the needle. Please help me.

Hi The good news HIV begins to die once it leaves the body and is unable to infect. So if indeed there were a blood on the needle it was unable to infect 15 minutes later. Also there would have to be a significan amount of blood on the needle, meaning visible. The liklihood of HIV transmission through this experience is highly unlikely. For your continued testing, are you putting yourself in situations that warrant testing? The testing guidelines for HIV are to be initially tested at 3 weeks post exposure and then again at 90 days and as long as there are no other exposures during this time the test results are conclusive.

Be well and stay safe, Shannon