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Just got pricked by a used fit!!!

pisspotnrock

pisspotnrock

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I was at work just before and using the public toilets when I noticed a bunch of wet paper towls in the sink so i grabbed them to chuck in the bin only to relise after pickin it up, some inconsiderate CUNT wrapped their used fit in paper towels!! (there was a fuckn waste disposal bin right next to it!! :X ) it was used and it fuckn pricked me on my thumb. Although it got me, it didn't cause me to bleed and there is no obvious puncture mark on my thumb but I don't think that matters?

Anyway, I'm at the hospital now waitin for a blood test but I just want everyone's opinions on the chances of being infected and what I could possibly be infected with... I know hep c and HIV are an option but what else? The pharmacist told me blood born viruses last ~1 hour in the fit which is a bit of peace at mind but I'm still worried shitless...

I'll come back online n update ya's once all the tests have been done.. Thanks
 
Chances are you're going to be fine but its still a fucked/stressful situation. i think the HIV tests have to be done again in a few months? so it may be a long wait.

But like i said its a pretty low chance of catching anything. so all you can do is wait it out and try not to dwell on it too much. (WAY easier said than done)
 
dont hiv tests take like a while to come back? Only cos i get tested every once in a blue moon cos of sex and I think I recall the doc telling me the hiv one comes back after the rest, not too sure tho, maybe they have some newer technology there.

Anyway hope all is good and that's bad form when people do that, especially when there was a fit bin there! :(
 
If you didn't draw blood and there's no puncture marks I'd say you'll be ok, it is a good idea to get tested as a precaution and to put your mind at rest.

What an absolute cunt of a thing to do though, what a low life piece of shit whoever left it there
 
^ Yeah, you have to wait 3 months for the HIV IIRC one as sometimes the antibodies take awhile to show up.

Fuck pisspotnrock, what a shit situation. I'm really sorry to hear that happened to you, esp when you were trying to do the right thing and clean up some other fuck's mess! Fingers crossed you'll be fine, I think you will be. HIV isn't very hardy and is much harder to catch than something like Hep C, which might be a small consolation, but there's treatments for Hep C, and a lot of people clear the virus naturally anyway. Hopefully that wont be something you need to worry about anyway, though.
 
That sucks mate :(

The chances of contracting an infection from a needlestick injury in which the needle has been used by someone known to have the infection are approximately: 30% for hep B, 3% for hep C, 0.3% for HIV.

The risk is real, but you have to keep in mind that these are assuming that a) the needle was used recently by someone with a blood-borne infection, and b) the needle punctured your skin. Overall, the chance you have contracted anything is very low. You did the right thing going straight to the hospital though - aside from testing they may administer what's known as post-exposure prophylaxis (PEP), depending on their protocol.

mister said:
If you didn't draw blood and there's no puncture marks I'd say you'll be ok
Click to expand...

You can still get infected without drawing blood and puncture marks can be very difficult to see.

footscrazy said:
^ Yeah, you have to wait 3 months for the HIV IIRC one as sometimes the antibodies take awhile to show up.
Click to expand...

Yep, because the HIV test is looking for antibodies only there is a window after which you will need to be retested to be sure you don't have it.
 
thank you all so much for the quick responses/kind words/concern...

doctor said it will take roughly 48 hours to get the initial results from my first blood test back (which will pretty much clear me of hep B + C [LUCKLY I'm 99% sure I've had a vaccination for hep B, Im finding that out now]) and ill have to go for another one if four weeks for HIV and then another in 3 months (for HIV) just to be certain but I have been reassured by the doctor that there is a very, very low chance of infection although not completely ruled out...

the fit was deffinatly used recently (as in today) because I know as a fact the cleaners clean the toilets daily, around 7am so it had to have been within 8 hours of me being pricked (which does worry me a bit) but hopfully it was sitting there for longer than an hour

The chances of contracting an infection from a needlestick injury in which the needle has been used by someone known to have the infection are approximately: 30% for hep B, 3% for hep C, 0.3% for HIV.
Click to expand...

those statistics are very re-assuring.. thanks for diggin them up DM :)

guess this also serves as a reminder to all IV users reading this to dispose of ALL of your injecting paraphernalia (fits, spoons, filters.. whatever) properly and thoroughly... as soon as I use a syringe, regardless of where I am or what situation Im in, I always put it straight in one of those black 'pen-shaped' disposal units that come in fit-packs so it can never be used or openly exposed again.. I suggest you all do the same :)

and now we play the waiting game :( ill be sure to keep you all updated with the results..
 
That is shitty luck PissPotnRocks, I do know how you feel it's a fucking scary thing to happen. I've had similar events occur at work (3 in total) however only 2 were exposure to positive blood, both for hep C. I had 3 lots of testing done after the initial event. The initial test was conducted at the ED department and this is more to ensure you don't have any transmittable blood born disease. The first was 1 month after the initial incident and I went to a community pathology collection centre and got bled out. Another test 3 months later and another at 6 months to be safe. My sex life was almost non-existant during this period for obvious reasons. Needle-stick injurys are never fun but being caused by a fuckwit who does not clean up after themselves is just to fucked up!

I would not be to concerned as it seems to me it did not go deep enough to enable transmission of pathogens as the skins epidermus contains no blood vessels. If you did see blood you'd squeeze the wound and wash, wash, wash it and then give it another wash just to be safe. The main virus I'd be worried about is hep B and that kicks around far longer than HIV or hep C. It can betransmitted via almost any body fluid such as spit, shit and blood. There are immunoglobulin and anti viral drugs available that will resolve the infection about 95% of cases, some may take more extensive treatment over a longer period of time. Hep B is treatable and curable. Heb B is very contagous and is a rugged virus able to withstand the environment external of the host for some time.

Hiv is not common in Australia and the majority of infected individuals are younger homosexual men. HIV is the least concern I would have if I got a sharps injury again (99% chance I will, it's a risk that is part of the job). HIV is almost instantly destroyed outside of the host body but can linger in bits of blood such as a those found on a used sharp (fit). The moment the blood starts to cool and coagulate the the virus is finished. Someone posted a percentage of transmissions that seems to reflect the chances, hell I know a guy who got atrial blood squirted in his eye's during a procedure in the early 90's and he is not infected and coped literally an eye full. If youd gone deep and it (the fit) was already bloody I'd be far more concerned. Percentages don't reflect one of incidents that involve variables outside of the particular research models data collection procedure. In normal english: If you got stabbed by a fit full of fresh HIV laden blood your chances of being infected skyrocket!

Hep C is more viable for longer periods in the environment external to the host compared to HIV. Hep C is more of a concern as there are 200 000 infected individuals in Australia, mostly among IV drug users. It is not as transmittable as B and can only be transmitted via blood and from dim memory a few other body fluids (spit). Hep C has a 50 to 80 percent cure rate but for the poor individuals with bad enough luck it's a very painful way to die. It is also interesting that only humans and chimps are able to be infected with hep c. Animal testing and vaccine development during the 50's and 60's? A great many of our cousins were used to develop and produce vaccines etc.

Hep C infection is dependent on direct contact transmission with infected body fluids. If your finger was not bleeding and there was no visable wound good chance nothing got transmitted. I'd do the full 3 check ups at 1 month 3-4 months and final test at or after 6 months. Play it safe and use a condom for a few months as well. I would not be able to live with myself if I had infected someone I cared for with one or more of these diseases. This will be a scary life event and I wish you all the best for the next few months. After the 3-4 month test comes back negative I'd be confident you have nothing to worry about but still would follow it up with the 6 month screen just incase. I've had a number of friends and collegues who have had similar events occur and none of them have aquired any of the diseases outlined. Good luck mate I'm sure you have nothing to be concerned about.
 
Hi pisspotnrock

I have had the exact same thing happen to me.

I am so sorry to hear that this has happened.

I received a needle stick injury from a syringe that was used only a few hours previously by someone with Hep C.

It went just deep enough to draw a little blood.

I did try to bleed the area but it was hard to produce blood as the wound was so small, almost invisible.

Thank everything I can think of, I was stuck with a needle which was visibly contaminated with blood from a known Hep C carrier and I did not contract it.



So yeah I want to back up those reassuring figures about the low likelihood of contracting a blood born virus via a needle-stick injury. Needstick injury is a very different situation from say using that fit you found in the public toilet to have a shot with, maybe that's obvious to some but it wasn't to me at the time. The emotion I felt the instant I realised what I had just happened was just so intense it hurt physically and it stayed that way until I got my 3 month test results back. I mean I knew the guy was a carrier, the damn fool put his used and un-capped syringe back into the pharmacist paper bag that contained new/clean sharps, the sharp was fricken poking through the bag 8( Makes me so fucking angry when people don't at least render their fits harmless by melting the sharp out with a lighter if they have to ditch it so as not to risk being caught with it.

Also for what it's worth;

I knew a girl who's mother had Hep C and she told be she had pricked herself a few times on her mother's discarded needles, (strewn around the living room :( ) but never contacted Hep C herself.
 
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pisspotrock: that fucking sucks. sorry to hear that mate.

I believe new generation HIV tests can detect antibodies a month after exposure, but obviously you would have to go back to make sure.

I had a shitty situation in Panama city where a junkie coke dealer shook my hand and it was covered in blood. I had a few small cuts on my hand so had to wait for for test results for a few months - fortunately clear of everything.

mate, the chances of you catching something are miniscule (particularly HIV which is the scary one). So try not to let worrying about it consume you.
 
that is heavy!

workers compensation claim?

all the best, fingers crossed for ya dude!!
 
This happened to my Dad when he was windsurfing. A needle washed up onto his board and pricked him. He didn't catch anything though, luckily.

All the best!!

EDIT: I'm pretty sure you'll have a long wait as HIV takes at least a month to become detectable.
 
Ahh man sorry to hear that, the odds are with you though, like u mentioned it did not puncture the skin. Blood born viruses and the alike usually have to be blood to blood contact meaning the virus has to enter your blood stream. Now for one the needle may not of even had any blood on it, two the person may not of even had anything that can be contracted and third of all like u mentioned above it did not puncture you. Did it prick you through the paper towel? That might of acted as a little barrier too. Try not to stress about it, from what i know tests for HIV takes about 3 months to come back. It is undetectable virtually in the first few months so Im no really sure why some others mentioned 1 month. These sort of viruses take a little while to show up in tests. All the best dude and fingers crossed that everything will be fine. The most important thing is not stressing as that can wear you down dramatically.
 
PSS: You should research some anti-viral drugs and be taking them religiously right now.

I'll tell you a little story: I once went to India and accidently took Effexor and Tramadol together which put me in a coma and on life support. For some reason my father thought having such rudimentary medical care over there that I was at risk of contracting a blood-borne-disease. SO when I got back to Melbourne he went to hospital (he's a doctor) and purchased the latest anti-viral drug which cost >$800 from memory. BUT $800 isn't a lot considering what the consequences may be.

This drug will make you feel epically rotten, but once again, it's worth it to stop you contracting any of the viral diseases.

So yeah definitely ask a doctor (preferrably a very competent one) about this!!

GOOD LUCK!
 
I wish you all the best pisspotnrock. Hope all works out for you mate.

Unfortunately this is nothing new. People are so irresponsible it makes me sick and angry.
 
I would definitely be taking PEP(Post-Exposure Prophylaxis) if I were you. Its most commonly used for gay guys who have had a condom break or had a regrettably unsafe sexual encounter. If you take it between the time of the injury and 72 hours later it has an 80% chance of clearing the virus before it makes your body its home. You take it for about a month and while it might make you feel a bit shit for awhile it is definitely something worth doing, ASAP though of course. Most sexual health clinics give it out(think its free here in NSW whereas most other states it costs, correct me if im wrong)

Hope all goes well for you mate, good luck :-) Ive had similar instances where I thought I contracted something but im fine as far as I know so dont worry until you have the facts. :-)
 
I really hate reading these stories, it gives all of us drug users a bad name, especially those who IV themselves.

How fucking hard is it to dispose of the syringe in a sharps container? They're all over the place. At the absolute least why not put a cap on it? They come with the damn needles for christs sake :X It's just lazy and irresponsible on so many levels, and it's 'after' you have your shot, so there's no excuse about being desperate or whatever.

Leaving it in a bathroom wrapped in tissues... fucking hell.
 
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