Ok... The virus that is believed to be the cause of HIV and AIDS is highly vulnerable to oxygen. This is to say, that if it is exposed to too much oxygen, it breaks down.
As well, there are no known cases where a person came into external contact with a possible vector for transmission, then hours later (after washing their hands), touched themselves and had the virus transmitted.
Relax. I believe that if you talk to medical professionals, they will tell you the same thing... That the HIV virus only survives breakdown within FRESH bodily fluids... Otherwise, imagine the extreme risks that would be taken by police officers investigating a crime scene (not just the CSI guys, but the first officers on the scene...), or what have you.
If you have concerns about whether your hand-washing technique is sufficient to actually clean your hands, do the following:
1. Use the hottest water you can stand running over your hands (and don't try to prove you are tough and get yourself scalded) when washing.
2. Use plenty of soap (don't get suckered into buying anti-bacterial soap, it doesn't get you any cleaner, and can contribute to the creation of anti-biotic resistant strains of bacteria, by dumping those anti-bacterial substances into the water source).
3. Develop and learn a hand rubbing method that gets between your fingers, along your fingernails and lightly up your wrists (you're not a surgeon, don't think you need to scrub with a brush up to your elbows), making sure you are paying attention to scrubbing your whole hand on BOTH hands.
4. Don't just go - rub rub, rinse... Done! Continue the scrubbing described above for the length of time it takes to sing (in your head please, you don't need people around you thinking you're crazy) 'Twinkle Twinkle Little Star'. This is enough time to let the soap do it's job lifting dirt, oils and bacteria off the surface of your skin.
5. Thoroughly rinse (with that HOT water, remember), dry with a fresh towel, or at least one you know you have used alone after such washings, or with a fresh paper towel or blower if in a public restroom.
With all that you should be fine. But to re-iterate, the odds of you being exposed to a functional HIV virus HOURS after the contact is functionally 0%. Relax, you're fine. And you really need to go to your local hospital and ask for information about the HIV virus. They should have plenty of information you can have about how it's transmitted, how it's NOT transmitted, and how to protect yourself. Don't let paranoia about it turn you into a compulsive hand washer, that's terrified of contact with any non-disinfected surface.
I hope you take some comfort from this, and be a little more cautions of condoms in the future... Not so much for HIV, as much as, well... The YUCK factor... (^_^)
Good luck, and have a great day!
As well, there are no known cases where a person came into external contact with a possible vector for transmission, then hours later (after washing their hands), touched themselves and had the virus transmitted.
Relax. I believe that if you talk to medical professionals, they will tell you the same thing... That the HIV virus only survives breakdown within FRESH bodily fluids... Otherwise, imagine the extreme risks that would be taken by police officers investigating a crime scene (not just the CSI guys, but the first officers on the scene...), or what have you.
If you have concerns about whether your hand-washing technique is sufficient to actually clean your hands, do the following:
1. Use the hottest water you can stand running over your hands (and don't try to prove you are tough and get yourself scalded) when washing.
2. Use plenty of soap (don't get suckered into buying anti-bacterial soap, it doesn't get you any cleaner, and can contribute to the creation of anti-biotic resistant strains of bacteria, by dumping those anti-bacterial substances into the water source).
3. Develop and learn a hand rubbing method that gets between your fingers, along your fingernails and lightly up your wrists (you're not a surgeon, don't think you need to scrub with a brush up to your elbows), making sure you are paying attention to scrubbing your whole hand on BOTH hands.
4. Don't just go - rub rub, rinse... Done! Continue the scrubbing described above for the length of time it takes to sing (in your head please, you don't need people around you thinking you're crazy) 'Twinkle Twinkle Little Star'. This is enough time to let the soap do it's job lifting dirt, oils and bacteria off the surface of your skin.
5. Thoroughly rinse (with that HOT water, remember), dry with a fresh towel, or at least one you know you have used alone after such washings, or with a fresh paper towel or blower if in a public restroom.
With all that you should be fine. But to re-iterate, the odds of you being exposed to a functional HIV virus HOURS after the contact is functionally 0%. Relax, you're fine. And you really need to go to your local hospital and ask for information about the HIV virus. They should have plenty of information you can have about how it's transmitted, how it's NOT transmitted, and how to protect yourself. Don't let paranoia about it turn you into a compulsive hand washer, that's terrified of contact with any non-disinfected surface.
I hope you take some comfort from this, and be a little more cautions of condoms in the future... Not so much for HIV, as much as, well... The YUCK factor... (^_^)
Good luck, and have a great day!
