Path: utzoo!attcan!uunet!jarthur!ucivax!ucla-cs!IABF%SNYCENVM.BITNET@oac.ucla.edu
From: IABF%SNYCENVM.BITNET@oac.ucla.edu (Amy Francis)
Newsgroups: sci.med.aids
Subject: Re: (2592) Re: (2569) [SMA 2552] Re: (2524) Re: I CONFESS MY
Message-ID: <39962@shemp.CS.UCLA.EDU>
Date: 10 Oct 90 17:24:03 GMT
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Organization: State University of New York - Central Administration
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Approved: phil@wubios.wustl.edu
Note:	Copyright 1990 by Daniel R. Greening.  Permission granted for
Note:	non-commercial reproduction.
Archive-number: 2604

On Fri, 5 Oct 90 13:22:00 pdt Support Account for SCI.MED.AIDS said:
>
>> Question: If, during the course of conversation, someone who is HIV+
>>           ejects some saliva from their mouth and it happens to land
>>           in another's eye, should that person be tested?
>
>>           What do you think about this? Is that paranoia?
>
>Yes, that's what I think.  Theoretical possibilities for anything can
>be found.  Instead of asking for the impossible, i.e. the absolute
>certainty of knowledge and the elimination of any even theoretical
>risk - look at this.  The virus has been around for a while now.  If

First of all, I'm not talking in the theoretical sense.  It DID happen to me.
I am not an alarmist wanting to run around a quarantine people, I was talking
closely with my BEST friend who happens to be HIV+ (by the way, I kiss him and
hug him and if he were bleeding, I'd try to stop it) and a bit of saliva
from his mouth entered my eye.  I wish everyone would stop berrating me and
just answer my goddamned question.

>
>BTW did you know that an accidental needle stick (from someone with
>AIDS to someone HIV-) has only a 1 in 200 chance of passing the
>disease?  This is based on following the health care workers who have

If someone you loved were stuck with that needle, would you advise them to
get a blood test? Or would you just quote statistics AT them????

>had needle sticks.  That doesn't mean it's safe or ok to get a needle
>stick, but good God, a needle stick has got to be several orders of
>magnitude more risky than the potential saliva drop in the eye scenario.

So, I ask once again, exactly how dangerous IS such a thing?

And, before you respond, if you are just going to jump down my throat
for voicing a VALID CONCERN, don't bother responding.  By the same token,
if you think I'm just some goddamned redneck who would like to see all
the HIV+'s living in a glass box somewhere...keep your limited thoughts
all locked up in your little pea-like brain.  If everytime someone voiced
their LEGITIMATE fear you just quoted stats at them and more or less
told them that "...THAT type of thinking is ignorant..." RATHER than trying
to EDUCATE people who are literally BEGGING for information no wonder there are
STILL so many people out there holding onto their prejudices, it's not THEIR
fault, it's the fault of people like you, who make assumptions and don't listen
and don't care about anyone but themselves and THEIR problems and how the world
views THEM.   SELFISH.