Accidental needle stick HIV PEP (Post-exposure prophylaxis)?

I was walking down the road two days ago and i felt something sharp in my shoe. I bent down and found a hypodermic needle in my foot. The E.R. doctor prescribed combivir as a HIV prophylactic. The side effects are miserable, i fell like i have the flu. The doctor said he probably wouldn't take them if it happened to him, with a fresh needle your odds are 1 in 300. I don't know how old this needle was is could of been under the snow, could of been for the whole winter.

My question is would you take it? its for 30 days.
I have no health insurance and they cost 300 bucks and my er supply is running out.

The needle was definitely out there for at least a couple of days, it was broken and bent. How long can HIV and Hepatitis C live outside of the body? possibly in a small drop of blood?

Has anyone else gone through this treatment??????

The treatment is brutal--bless your heart, it can make you feel pretty rubbish. On the bright side (which isn't a huge bright side), the side effects are signals that let you know that the drug is in your system and beginning to work.

The choice is for you to make whether to continue. But here are some facts.

HIV does not survive very well outside of the body. In CDC studies with super high concentrations (more than you would likely come across in any natural encounter), HIV cannot survive for more than a couple of hours because drying of even these high concentrations of HIV reduces the amount of infectious virus by 90% to 99% within several hours. Basically, once the infected bodily fluid is dry, the risk is essentially zero.

The hepatitis C virus, or HCV, can live outside the body for up to 4 days. However, many experts think it usually survives up to 16 hours at room temperature. That time decreases with decreased temperature-like outside.

Its your choice, your gamble. For what it is worth, the small chance of infection would make me want to weigh the options:

After after being exposed to a needle contaminated with HIV positive blood, you only have a 0.3% chance of contracting HIV. Not even a 1% chance. 0.3%. That is where the 1 in 300 figure comes from.

You should be more worried about Hep B or C. Please get tested. Also keep getting tested for HIV for at least a year. Once at 3 months, once at 6, and then at a year.

many experts think it usually survives up to 16 hours at room temperature
(only in labratory situations). outside of the lab, 4 days. I tell everyone five for good measure.

but, the poster is correct, i'd worry more about hbv or hcv than hiv. Report Abuse

I can't imagine taking any chances with something this serious. I would take it even if I felt like crap the entire time, even if it was 3000 dollars.