Path: utzoo!attcan!uunet!mailrus!cs.utexas.edu!usc!elroy.jpl.nasa.gov!ucla-cs!dr@cs.columbia.edu From: dr@cs.columbia.edu Newsgroups: sci.med.aids Subject: A few questions Message-ID: <36632@shemp.CS.UCLA.EDU> Date: 29 Jun 90 06:27:11 GMT Sender: news@CS.UCLA.EDU Reply-To: dr@cs.columbia.edu () Organization: Columbia University Department of Computer Science Lines: 72 Approved: phil@wubios.wustl.edu Note: Copyright 1990 by Daniel R. Greening. Permission granted for Note: non-commercial reproduction. Archive-number: 2229 First off, I'm not sure what the purpose of this news group is, but I assume that questions re: AIDS/HIV in general are allowed. If not, sorry! Q1) If AIDS is so fragile that it requires intimate physical contact, and one cannot catch it via food, toliet seats, kissing, etc, how come IV drug users need to worry about infected needles that have been "repackaged". It seems to me that if a needle is sitting out for several days that the virus should be dead????? Summary -- how does AIDS survive in a needle outside of the body? Q2) I've seen reference to safer sex and safe sex. Which term is more appropriate? Obviously, no activity (sexual or otherwise) is completely safe (one can sneeze while driving and drive off a cliff.....), but is sex w/ a condom considered safe (assuming the condom is used correctly)? Q3) Has HIV been isolated in saliva? There seems to be some controversy about this issue. Q4) (final question) Recently I had a check up and had a standard blood test using a standard method of blood withdrawl (I think it's called a vacutainer). Basically, the technician (or doctor) takes a plastic container (cyllindrical (sp?) and tapered at one end) and inserts a needle into the tapered end. Both ends of the needle are sharp. Then, the technician removes the cap on the end of the needle which is sticking out and inserts it into the patient's vein. At this point, he/she presses a "vacuum-filled" test-tube on to the end of the needle which is in the plastic container. The "back-end" of the needle punctures the rubber seal on the test-tube that is maintaining the integrity of the vacuum. Blood is then sucked into the tube. When the tube is filled, the suction action is reduced, and the technician places a gauze pad over the wound and removes the needle. Basically, this procedure seemed to have three major flaws (two based on the actions of the particular technician with whom I dealt). One) The technician used an alcohol swab to clean the skin. Alcohol, although it probably will kill HIV on contact, does not necessarily kill hepatitis. Two) The technician rubbed the swab back and forth, instead of in the spiral motion (from the center outwards) which is standard sterile technique. Three) The technician wore the same pair of gloves for me as he did for the previous (and probably) subsequent victims. It protects him, but not us! Finally, the vacutainer container has been known to fill up with blood. However, these plastic tubes were re-used from patient to patient. How to improve the situation IMHO: 1) train technicians (and doctors/nurses) to put on new gloves with every patient. 2) Use iodine compounds to clean skin before taking blood (I was told that people can develop a sensitivity to iodine-compounds, maybe this is a problem) 3) Clean vacutainer tubes between uses in dilute chlorine bleach. I imagine that many people who draw blood not highly trained nor supervised. Of course I estimate that the potential danger to me, personally, is very low, even if an HIV infected person was immediately before me in line, when applied to an entire population it could be significant. Does anybody out there know of any studies documenting the effectiveness of vacutainers in preventing the spread of blood-borne diseases from patient to patient? Thanks for the information, Dave ---------------------------------------------------------------- David Robinowitz dr@beach.cs.columbia.edu Home: Bronx, NY (212) 601-1586 Research Staff Associate, Columbia University (212) 854-8348 Computer Science Department -- ---------------------------------------------------------------- David Robinowitz dr@cunixb.cc.columbia.edu Home: Bronx, NY (212) 601-1586 Research Staff Associate, Columbia University (212) 854-8348