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Ask the Experts about Hepatitis and HIV Coinfection
Freaking out!!!!!
Aug 26, 2008
Im a Police officer, and the other day I had arrestted a drug user who had bled on my handcuff. After drpping him off at jail I got back my cuffs and sprayed them down with Lysol then wiped them down with Viraguard Antiseptic Wipes (says effective for Hep) Then after the I viewed no visable blood. Aprox 24hrs later Next shift,I rinsed them off and when i went to dry them off I used a hand blow dryer in a public bath room, which was pointed up, and spray some of the dripping water from the cuffs back into my face and eyes. I am very scared I might have got a tiny amount of miroscopic blood in my eyes. Please HElp! There was no visable boold and if there was it would have been dried up.
No blood sprayed in my eyes just water off the cuffs that might have went over a microscopic amount of blood
Response from Dr. McGovern
This sounds like an extremely low risk exposure. Even if blood got into your eyes it would be very low risk since there are only rare cases of transmission through mucous membranes. I would not suggest testing.
As a general rule though, I always tell workers to go to their Employee Health Service if they are concerned about any exposure on the job. You have the right for full evaluation.
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