QuestionQUESTION: I am 27 weeks and 3 days pregnant and had to go to Labor and Delivery today for a fall. I stayed for 4-5 hours. I try and always check the seat of the toilet before I use it - the first time I went I checked and saw nothing (blood products) so I sat on the seat. The second time I was in such a hurry I didn't look but figured it was clean since it had been clean before. The third time I was getting ready to be discharged and had to go back to the bathroom. I saw a very light stain on the seat of the toilet but wasn't quite sure. I stood to go to the bathroom - however I needed to wipe the seat afterwards so I got a wet paper towel and wiped where the stain was and up after myself (urine). The stain left.
It was very light pink/brown and since it was Labor and Delivery; I can assume that it was a blood product caused by bleeding from another patient in there.
I washed my hands with soap and water and then used purell in my room.
I have a few questions:
1. could this be an exposure for HIV?
2. I MIGHT have sat on the stain
3. and I wiped it up after I was finished urinating -
I am very upset - I just had an HIV test mandated by my state at 28 weeks pregnant - should I have another done? and how long do I have to wait? I am so worried for my unborn child.
How long does HIV live outside the body? No one was in the bathroom directly before me as in I was waiting on them to come out; however I have no idea when the stain was left.
ANSWER: Skin is an excellent barrier against viral infections. Plus, virus' don't last very long sitting on a toilet seat, plus the percentage of HIV infected people is so low that there is no way you have been infected.
Hormones and pregnancy produce a lot of different emotions and it is easy to get sidetracked on specific worries like this..... You are gonna be fine.
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QUESTION: I appreciate your answer. yes this is making me CRAZY!!!! So I apologize in advance for asking one more question and going back through everything in my head.
My husband brought up one more thing - I stood to urinate so my urine could have hit the stain which might or might have not been dry and bounced up.
Could that cause exposure.
I did not see it when I made my second trip to the bathroom and sat on the seat - but it could have been there.
But it was DEFINITELY there on my 3rd trip and I stood to pee and some of my urine hit the seat - which is why I had to wipe the seat with a wet paper towel afterwards.
My OB just said I could call L & D and see if they would release any information to me... not very helpful. I guess I am being crazy but I'm just so mad at myself for not just going to another bathroom but I couldn't wait. And I probably peed right on it.
AnswerYour OB is wrong.... you will not get useful information thru that avenue. It is easy for me to say, but there is just no way that you got infected thru this kind of exposure.
The best you are going to be able to do is to get re-tested in about 6 weeks to get additional peace of mind, but these virus' are very wimpy and hard to transmit. With all the sexual activity that goes on, if it were easy to transmit like a common cold or the flu, then everyone would have it but since it is so hard to transmit, the rates of infection are still very very small.
