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Health care workers - be that medical doctors, nursing staff or other support personnel - run the risk of being infected, and because of their employment environment should even be more careful and should demand that correct protocol be followed and maintained.
Should a health care worker be exposed to the HIV virus post exposure prophylaxis (PEP) drugs should be taken within 3 hours or no later than 24 - 48 hours after exposure.
Depending on the circumstances a 2 or 3 drug regimen is normally followed for a four week period.
This also applies to percutaneous exposure (needle stick injury) as well as mucocutaneous exposure (transmission by means of mucous membrane and/or skin) - although the transmission danger is less through mucocutaneous exposure.
Some factors may increase the risk of infection with a needle stick injury, such as a deep injury, with a hollow bore needle, when the sharp instrument is contaminated with blood.
After a percutaneous injury bleeding should be increased by pressing around the parameter of the injury (but do not to press on the injury site) and should be done under running water.
With mucocutaneous injury where contact occurs with broken skin or mucous membranes it is suggested to wash the area well with soap and water and if the eyes are involved to wash and irrigate the eyes well.
Some simple guidelines
There are some guidelines that health care professionals can follow to help prevent the spread of infections, such as:
In all circumstances wear gloves and goggles when handling blood and other body fluids and assume that all patients are potentially infectious. Always wash your hands after contact with blood or body fluids. Handle needles or any sharp objects with care. Cover any cuts, open wounds or other abrasions (no matter how small) with a waterproof plaster. If blood spills occur mop it up with paper towels while wearing gloves and wash the areas with a strong detergent or a solution made from sodium dichloroisocyanurate or alternatively use a 1% solution of sodium hypochlorite or should any of these not be available use diluted household bleach.
Questions that you were to afraid to ask
Please remember - if you have any question regarding your health, or are concerned about the possibility of having this disease, please discuss it with your health practitioner.
Laboratory testing is still the preferable way to test for HIV infection, since it is done in a clinical setting, but should you be concerned about your status after reading any of the facts about HIV infection you could look at our Aids home test kit which is a quick "Rapid" type of test to do initial screening and to ascertain the presence of antibodies. For more on information, please click here.
Our home test kits
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