Hi. I don't know whether anyone can help
me but I am 17 years old and live in
australia. I go to school and work part
time in a supermarket. I have been
wondering for a while now but sometimes I
serve people on the checkout and you
notice that they have cuts or sores on
them. You have to take their money from
them and therefore are coming into contact
with their hands. I don't always know if
I have a cut on me or not as I can get
scratched by picking up things and
scanning them. Also, just wondering can
you catch hiv/aids from a person
scratching you as they give you the money?
Sometimes the cuts/sores also appear to
be as if they have had skin cancers cut
off as they have quite a few of them on
their arms. Other times it just appears
as if they have cuts on their arms. Does
anyone know if I can catch hiv/aids from
handing them their shopping bags and
taking money from them? Any help would
be appreciated. Thanks.
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damien123
New User, Becoming EHEALTHy
Joined: 17 Mar 2005 Posts: 24 Location: Aus
No Posted: 04-06-05 06:04am
No you cant - I believe it has to be a
substantial amount passed across and
something like a scratch would not spread
it.
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Finess150
Experienced User , Rather EHEALTHy
Joined: 09 Apr 2005 Posts: 191 Location: Kent, UK
Thanks: 1
Thanked:0
Don't Worry Posted: 04-09-05 07:39am
Hiv is not a magic jumping virus and
cannot be passed to someone through
everyday contact. Unless you have
unprotected sex with your customers, share
needles with them or drink their
breastmilk, or if substantial amount of
their blood goes directly into your
bloodstream (and I fail to see how this
could occur in the situation you describe)
you will not become infected with hiv.
Now stop worrying.
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mistherd13
Experienced User , Rather EHEALTHy
Joined: 09 Oct 2004 Posts: 52 Location: Jacksonville, Florida
Yeah... Sorta Posted: 04-29-05 18:06pm
I don't believe that a substantial amount
if required. You just need the body
fluids of an infected individual to come
into contact with an open blood vessel in
an uninfected person for transmission to
occur. This can result whether ten viral
bodies are transmitted or if thousands are
(comparing the size of viruses, just a
drop of a fluid can contain millions).
The passage of contaminated body fluids to
the bloodstream of an uninfected
individual inevitably leads to infection.
In the us, those most at risk are
non-heterosexual males, iv drug users and
their heterosexual partners, and
prostitutes. In the us at least, it is
not as much of a problem as, for instance,
hepatitis. Being in australia, many of
the "plagues" the world suffers are either
not found or not so common where you are,
since it's an island and thereby rather
isolated. Based upon my knowledge of the
virus and comparing australia with the
demography of the us as far as the virus
is concerned, I don't think there is much
of a problem with it over there.
Basically, even the likelihood of you
getting the virus through more direct
contact is very low (~1-3% for
heterosexual intercourse, for example).
Basically, no worries concerning your
work-related activities thus far.:)
some good, recent news is that scientists
are now believing that, once the hiv virus
attaches to the cd4 cell (one of the two
types of t cells that make up part of your
cell-mediated immune reponse) it undergoes
a conformational change. If this is the
case indeed, a new direction of research
will be able to ensue to determine a way
to make the virus susceptible to the
current vaccines, or to develop a new
vaccine to act against the
newly-identified structure. 49 volunteers
are about to be involved in research in
china.
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Finess150
Experienced User , Rather EHEALTHy
Joined: 09 Apr 2005 Posts: 191 Location: Kent, UK
Thanks: 1
Thanked:0
Supermarket Posted: 04-29-05 19:53pm
I'm sorry but that response indicates an
ignorance of how hiv can be transmitted.
The scenario described by the original
poster is in no way feasible for becoming
infected. If people could become infected
by dealing with the public, hiv would be
wiping out the population in billions. We
cannot think of this virus in terms of the
multitude of scenarios eg. I shook hands
with someone who has hiv just after he
sneezed etc. We must simply be aware that
it is transmitted sexually and
intrevenously, through open wounds and
mucous membranes. It is not an airborne
virus, so cannot be breathed in. Nor can
it survive outside of the body for any
more than perhaps a minute. Nor will it
be able to jump into someone's body.
Please remember this.
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mistherd13
Experienced User , Rather EHEALTHy
Joined: 09 Oct 2004 Posts: 52 Location: Jacksonville, Florida
Call Yourself a person! Posted: 04-30-05 00:17am
You're calling me ignorant? You're
calling what my microbiology book says
ignorant? What my professor with her
doctorate and years of knowledge behind
her ignorant? Furthermore what hundreds
of other scientists say ignorant? Okay,
genius! Let's just ignore everything/one
else and listen solely to you.
If you were able to get past your
arrogance and perhaps your own ignorance,
you would realize that I did in fact claim
that the original poster's scenario was
not plausible:
"basically, no worries concerning your
work-related activities thus far.:)"
did I say anything about hiv being
transmitted through the air? Not by any
stretch of the imagination--except
apparently yours.
There's nothing wrong with anything that I
said. The facts are plainly facts, while
I delineateded my conjectures just as
clearly. I suggest going back and
rereading people's posts before you attack
their responses. And bullsh*t you're
sorry.
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Good Advise
Experienced User , Rather EHEALTHy
Joined: 30 Apr 2005 Posts: 105
Slow Down! Posted: 04-30-05 06:13am
You don't have hiv from what you
described. Hiv doesn't go looking for
you. Keep that in mind. I respect your
fears because it is a scarey concept and
you're only 17. However, you are on the
right track and you are conscience of hiv.
This is a positive for you in your life.
It's the best positive which will keep
you negative. Do you get what i'm
saying?
Since 1985, the ttransmission of hiv has
been studied, not by dummies. It's a
science. If you've had unprotected sex
in your past, write me back. If not,
keep condoms with you and go on and get
your education, career, and live a happy
life. Keep it in the back of your mind,
but don't live through hiv. Simply
protect yourself sexually and you'll be
fine.
Look, it's not common nowadays for people
to have questions regarding hiv
transmission. Too much money has already
been invested to teach people. You do
have some knowledge about hiv, I at least
believe or hope. However, what you have
is fear of hiv that is best resolved by
discussion. Don't get into conversations
with individuals you you feel are
insulting you. Just ignore the negative
and stay positive (strange irony). Find
your network and trust it.
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Shannix
New User, Becoming EHEALTHy
Joined: 30 Apr 2005 Posts: 26 Location: Colorado
Posted: 05-01-05 11:39am
Here are a couple of web sites to check
out how hiv/aids is transmitted:
