HIV and disclosure...

[slycat]

Yes i think U need to tell people u have it if ur gonna be working 'closely' with them.

Here's what happened...i got a contract job at a bank and this dude was recommended as my assistant.
I said fine even though i could handle it all, they said he needed the $. This is a cabling, routing, software/hardware
job so we'll be running some cables, opening up PCs, adding components, installing drivers...etc.
Now a few hrs into the job he cuts himself on one of the steel cases and he's bleeding..kinda oozing.
Trying to be nice, i look at it, try to help him dress it and such...clean up the mess on the PC. No biggie..
We then finished the job and left.

Couple days later i meet another guy who held the contract, got my payment...we started chatting...howzit going..
and he fvckin tells me that 'assistant' has HIV+...muthafvck...thanks for telling me now asshat. I spend the next
2hrs recollecting did i have any cuts, did i touch the blood...where?...how?...etc. I think thats fvcked up.
Now i realize why he was giving me a kinda strange look when i was offering to help him clean up his cut. How can
u be such an asswipe?...I mean i would have politely declined even if i didn't want to disclose my condition. This is just
wrong. It not safe for me, and the person who owns that PC. I don't think we even really cleaned up the PC properly.
Jeez whats the matta with some people... :|

 

[rgwalt]

I wouldn't ever offer to help someone I didn't know with a cut. He should have said something though...

R

 

[Spoooon]

He should have said something. But I agree, I wouldn't be so "hands on" dressing the wound of a stranger.

 

[StageLeft]

Although I can understand your worry fact is you had virtually no risk of getting HIV even in that scenario.

 

[zixxer]

virtually no risk is still crazy.

even a .01% chance.. that .01% could have been stopped.


i would be pissed, personally.

 

[slycat]

Originally posted by: Skoorb
Although I can understand your worry fact is you had virtually no risk of getting HIV even in that scenario.

virtually?...virtually my ass. i cut my fingers all the time..small tiny nicks...coz i work so much with PCs.
They're small cuts so i dun even give a crap and forget about them in 5minutes.
Damn old steel cases/servers..etc. My open wound touching his fresh blood and can u still say virtually risk-free?

i was just trying to be nice....jeez, i'm taught to help peeps out...guess i'll stop being a nosy nicety from now on.

 

[Farbio]

then, as part of your business, always carry a first aid kit in your tools, including multiple pairs of latex exam gloves, and you can comply with the first and most important part of universal precautions

 

[pyonir]

Originally posted by: rgwalt
I wouldn't ever offer to help someone I didn't know with a cut. He should have said something though...

R

 

[prvteye2003]

well, then you're an idiot anyway. You should've worn gloves or not bothered to help in the first place. And no, he doesn't have to say anything. That is his right. I've worked as a medic for 7 years and the patients that I've taken care don't even has to disclose that information to me. Again, it's their right under the current laws.

 

[Farbio]

prvteye is correct on that one....having worked in an er and in a medical/psych facility now, they don't even have to disclose it if they don't want to before undergoing major surgery. keep gloves in your toolboxes, its an easy and small item to pack

 

[slycat]

i'm just saying i'm not like a 'afraid of blood' kinda person and have always been
comfortable around injuries etc...i guess i need to change.

 

[crisp82]

Have you considered getting tested to be on the safe side?

 

[43st]

Originally posted by: slycat
i'm just saying i'm not like a 'afraid of blood' kinda person and have always been
comfortable around injuries etc...i guess i need to change.

Uh... no. Just put a couple pair of latex gloves in your tool box.

 

[slycat]

Originally posted by: crisp82
Have you considered getting tested to be on the safe side?

don't these things have an incubation period?...might come out -ve now but might be +ve later.

 

[Ludacris]

That is pretty jacked up. You should call him and tell him that wasn't cool at all. Also, to be on the safe side, you probably need to go get yourself checked just to put away any doubts in your head.

 

[DainBramaged]

I used to have AIDS but I gave it away.

 

[brxndxn]

I agree about him being an asshat. So what.. he has aids and will probby die from it. Why the hell shouldn't he tell you as a precaution?!

For anyone that has repaired computers on a daily basis, you know that you get cut ALL the time. It's common to have a few new cuts every day from replacing computer parts. The damn edges on cases are never rounded.

Seriously, that is NOT cool. I would definitely call the place you contracted for and ask to clean the PC properly.

Also, virtually no risk... fvck that. It's a life-ending disease. A nice warning could prevent a possible mistake that helps end another person's life.

 

[StageLeft]

Originally posted by: slycat

Originally posted by: Skoorb
Although I can understand your worry fact is you had virtually no risk of getting HIV even in that scenario.

virtually?...virtually my ass. i cut my fingers all the time..small tiny nicks...coz i work so much with PCs.
They're small cuts so i dun even give a crap and forget about them in 5minutes.
Damn old steel cases/servers..etc. My open wound touching his fresh blood and can u still say virtually risk-free?

i was just trying to be nice....jeez, i'm taught to help peeps out...guess i'll stop being a nosy nicety from now on.

Nonetheless unless you both cut yourselves and start rubbing your open wounds next to each other you have almost no chance of getting anything.

In this situation he should have said something - especially with you doing his wounds, but I can still understand why it's something you don't need to disclose. I'm sure that if you explained this to a doctor he'd only give you an HIV test to ease your mind if you asked - I doubt he/she would recommend one.

Also, virtually no risk... fvck that. It's a life-ending disease. A nice warning could prevent a possible mistake that helps end another person's life.

Our lives are full of risks. If it's almost impossible for him to get HIV in this way - and I think it is (though I'm no expert) - I don't see it's really worth getting too worked up over. Now, I would possibly be upset myself in his situation, but I don't see it as a huge deal.

 

[prvteye2003]

yes, it is virtually impossible for him to get it this way. As far as getting tested, anytime I had ever suspected a possible needle stick or blood/body fluids in my eyes, nose, mouth, we were advised to get tested. The test though takes six months to complete. You get tested after the incident, then in a month, then at 3 months, then at 6 months. At least that was what was recommended to us at the time. True, there is an incubation period for HIV. It can be anywhere from 6 weeks or 6 months. ALWAYS WEAR GLOVES WHEN HANDLING ANOTHER PERSONS BODILY FLUIDS OR DON'T HANDLE THEM!

 

[Hubris]

Originally posted by: slycat
Yes i think U need to tell people u have it if ur gonna be working 'closely' with them.

Here's what happened...i got a contract job at a bank and this dude was recommended as my assistant.
I said fine even though i could handle it all, they said he needed the $. This is a cabling, routing, software/hardware
job so we'll be running some cables, opening up PCs, adding components, installing drivers...etc.
Now a few hrs into the job he cuts himself on one of the steel cases and he's bleeding..kinda oozing.
Trying to be nice, i look at it, try to help him dress it and such...clean up the mess on the PC. No biggie..
We then finished the job and left.

Couple days later i meet another guy who held the contract, got my payment...we started chatting...howzit going..
and he fvckin tells me that 'assistant' has HIV+...muthafvck...thanks for telling me now asshat. I spend the next
2hrs recollecting did i have any cuts, did i touch the blood...where?...how?...etc. I think thats fvcked up.
Now i realize why he was giving me a kinda strange look when i was offering to help him clean up his cut. How can
u be such an asswipe?...I mean i would have politely declined even if i didn't want to disclose my condition. This is just
wrong. It not safe for me, and the person who owns that PC. I don't think we even really cleaned up the PC properly.
Jeez whats the matta with some people... :|

HIV lasts VERY little outside the body. Yor chance of catching is practically nil. I WOULD be worried about Hep B, though. Might wanna confront him and ask him if he had Hep B. You also have to realize that the info you got could have been wrong. If he JUST has HIV then he didn't tell you because he probably knows way more about it than you and knows infection chances.

 

[911paramedic]

Originally posted by: prvteye2003
yes, it is virtually impossible for him to get it this way.

 

[DT4K]

He probably should have told you.
But you should always treat all blood as potentially infectious.
Apparently your employer either seriously failed in their obligation to train you properly, or you just ignored what you were taught.
I believe bloodborne pathogens training is required by OSHA.
You should ALWAYS avoid contact with any blood or bodily fluids.

 

[Viperoni]

I get an average of one small scrape/cut everyday I got to work... then again, I do shipping/receiving, PC technician and CSR duties.
He definetely should have said something.

 

[geno]

Originally posted by: Skoorb
Although I can understand your worry fact is you had virtually no risk of getting HIV even in that scenario.

What? That's not even the point! The point is, he should've known about the guy's condition before offering to help. If I have something that'll be guaranteed to kill you, I'll make damn sure you know it if I'm spilling blood around the workplace.

 

[prvteye2003]

Originally posted by: Viperoni
I get an average of one small scrape/cut everyday I got to work... then again, I do shipping/receiving, PC technician and CSR duties.
He definetely should have said something.

Maybe he should have said something but people in society today look at people with HIV/AIDS as outcast and somewhat fear them....obviously. These people that have this live with this thought everyday of their lives and accordingly I"m sure are reluctant to tell anybody for fear of retaliation of losing jobs, family, friends, being made fun of, picked on, even their lives are at stake because of people hating the notion of a person being homosexual or a drug user/abuser. The point is that these people don't have to tell you anything because it's their right, by law.