Important note: Information in this article was accurate in 2005. The state of the art may have changed since the publication date.Question: I went to my barber to have a haircut, he unintentionally cut me on the forehead with his scissors. Is it possible to acquire HIV from this incident?
Answer: First, it is highly unlikely that the last person who had contact with those scissors had HIV in the first place. Even if a previous client was HIV positive, air drying of the scissors would eliminate a problem, and most barbers store their tools in disinfectants that would eliminate any risk at all.
There are no reported cases in the litterature to even suggest such a route of infection.
Question: Will drinking alcoholic drinks like 5 cans of beer a few hours (5-8 hours) before an HIV TEST affect the result of the test?
Answer: No.
Question: I recently had an ELISA HIV test. The results are as follows:
Patient's Absorbance -- 0.30
Mean Negative Absorbance -- 0.54
Cut-Off > 1.000
Remarks -- Non Reactive
What does this mean? Should I get tested again?
Answer: You did not have HIV antibodies at the time of testing, so you did not have HIV at the time of the last test.
Question: I read in some of your responses that a single act of unprotected sex has a risk factor of 1% or less.. How about sharing of needles?
Answer: Please refer to the following MMWR [Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report] Table which accompanied the article, Antiretroviral Postexposure Prophylaxis After Sexual, Injection-Drug Use, or Other Nonoccupational Exposure to HIV in the United States. The Table indicates the estimated per-act risk for acquisition of HIV, by exposure route.
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