A couple of weeks ago I had my manicure done at a nail salon. When I got back home I have noticed a cut on my finger and some dried blood. I am not sure whether the cuticle trimmer had been disinfected before use and I am wondering whether it is possible to get infected with HIV (or Hep B or C for that matter) in this way. The cuticle trimmer looked clean to me and I am certain it hasn't been used on someone else for at least 5-10 min prior to that. I am having a sore throat at the moment and a temperature slightly above 37 C and I was wondering if you would recommend having HIV test.
The very short answer regarding the HIV (or other tests) is no, I would not recommend or encourage you to have these done.
Whenever I've had a manicure - admittedly rarely but when my ex wife used to nag me taht my fingers looked like a vet's - they always seemed quite rough so tissue damage is always possible / likely.
I can't speak directly for the nail salon you visited but it is likely that they at least chemically disinfect the instruments between use and if you add that to the fact that the background risk of people with HIV or Hep C etc who might visit the salon is low - because in overall terms the total population of infected persomns is low then I would say there is no risk at all.
I know you'll be thinking "Ah, but what if.... etc happened but I do think extremely unlikely indeed.
Very best wishes and I hope otherwise you've got nice shiny nails.
Thanks a lot for your reply. I know that the risk of getting infected in this way is very small indeed, if any, but what worries me is that I have a sore throat, a rash on my right hand (a patch of many tiny red spots that are not itchy, but painful) and a temperature slightly higher than normal (37.2 - 37.3 C), that come 2-3 weeks after my visit. I know that those symptoms can be unrelated, but I would appreciate your comment nonetheless.
risk of HIV infection from a nail salon
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