I have OCD and GAD pretty bad. I have been having electrolysis done and everything is going smoothly. But, I have recently put in my head that I could be getting HIV from the process. I messaged Dee, and she calmed me down and said I may want to post on the board to get some positive feedback.
I want to note that the woman is certified in Ohio and has gone through the hygiene steps.
I am really freaking myself out 
Iâm pretty paranoid myself and have thought the same thing. I think a lot of people have. Are the needles disposable? What do they do for the tweezers that they use? Iâm sure you have nothing to worry about! If all else fails to comfort you, you can always get a blood test.
It is extremely unlikely that you will contract any form of disease with electrolysis. Needles are disposable and tweezers are sterilized between clients.
If it puts your mind at ease (and if your electrologist isnât already showing you) watch the needle being removed from the package and be placed into the needle holder.
You actually have NO RISK of HIV infection from electrolysis.
CDC literature says that even if the following were to happen, the risk of HIV infection is miniscule. The situation would be a nurse that injected an HIV person, say a blood test, and then accidentally poked herself with that same needle. In this case the risk is very low. You need a lot of virus to seroconvert. You can check this yourself on-line.
We all use disposable needles and sterile tweezers. Thatâs all we have to worry about and itâs not a problem. Stop worrying and ⌠stop worrying! (Well, find something else to worry about?) I know that people are still afraid to âbe in the same roomâ with HIV patients. Guess what? You ARE âin the same roomâ with HIV infected people all the time. You are not going to get infected from casual encounters.
I know these âthingsâ because Iâm a bit OCD and hypochondriac myself. I was having all kinds of HIV tests until my doctor told me to STOP IT ALREADY! (I was fearful of my own patients!) Even now, if I stick myself with âyourâ needle, I get a bit panicky. I have not done this for many years ⌠being very careful.
Thank you.
Pretty much what Michael said⌠The good thing about HIV virus is that itâs very weak and dies when exposed to air. (On the other hand, the Hepatitis virus is more resilient than HIV.) Even if there is an HIV infected needle prick, the chances of being infected from a needle prick is thus low. I have a friend who is a paramedic and few years ago she had to respond to a call where a violent junkie intentionally pricked my friend with a âdirtyâ needle used in heroine injection. My friend had to go through standard HIV testing and monitoring and an infectious disease specialist was reassuring that HIV infection from a needle prick should be least of her worries. She tested negative!
If your electrologist practices standard hygiene: gloves, autoclave etc⌠you shouldnât worry about HIV or other infectious diseases.
P.S. We have come a long ways with HIV treatments where itâs no longer a death sentence but a chronic disease that is manageable like many other viral diseases out there today.
Thanks for the support.
Since weâre on this subject (sort of), I can âsound offâ on one of my issues: Coming in for an appointment with a COLD (or flu)!
Every now and then, a patient saunters in and says, âGosh I have such a bad cold ⌠but Iâm pretty sure Iâm okay nowâ ⌠hack hack ⌠sneeze sneeze! You know what? Donât do this to me. Please WAIT until your damned cold or flu is gone and I donât have to get it from you. You know, I am working right in your face.
Amazingly, as I have just been to Japan, itâs common to see people out in public wearing surgical masks! I was told people do this to avoid allergies, but they also do this to ânot expose others to their cold or flu!â (And, to keep from getting one.)
Gosh, can you imagine people in a culture that would wear a surgical mask so others would not get their DISEASE? Wow! I suppose theyâre not a âme firstâ culture? Yes, they do consider the well-being of the group too.
Put me on that sound off list!
I plead with new clients at consultation time NOT to keep their appointment if they are sick. If I think they look, act or sound sick, I will ask them and I will don a surgical mask no matter what they say. It is common courtesy not expose others to your cold or anything contagious. May I just say for the millionth time that I LOVE the Japanese culture. They are adorably polite! May they never suffer through another earthquake again!