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Safe to meet ex-heroin addict?


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An old friend fell in with a bad crowd whilst the rest of us went off to study various subjects or started in the work place. Well i had a real fear of meeting up with him in the past seven or so years in case i caught anything but he has now been "clean" i'm told for two and a half years and he sounds really well i think he has turned his life around and i want to meet up with him.

So i think he probably may have shared needles in the past but he's been through psychiatric ward after psychiatric ward where i would have thought they would check him for hiv or hepatitus etc

So...

Shall i meet up with him and throw caution to the wind or is my fear rational?

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Your fears are completely irrational. You can only catch HIV through bodily fluid transmissions that pass directly into the bloodstream, either through unprotected sex (anal sex more likely as it can cause tears leading directly to the blood, or through sharing needles that have been contaminated with HIV, or getting a tattoo from a dirty needle. Basically anything that comes into direct contact with the blood stream. You can't get it from saliva or sweat. The virus is only present in the blood and in semen. So you have 0% chance of getting it from being in close contact with a HIV + person. The only way for you to catch it would be if your friend was HIV+ AND you had unprotected sex with him or shared needles with him. These are the undisputed medical facts.

But your OCD probably won't listen to this, so my advice would be to NOT avoid doing anything in order to decrease your anxiety. Meet your friend as normal, accept that the anxiety will be there and don't perform any compulsions or avoidance behaviours to try and reduce the anxiety. By doing all of the above your anxiety will reduce and you will begin to overcome your fears.

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thanks so much lynz your'e a star :-)

any riskier whilst i have rashes on my hands and shoulders which may be broken skin not healed yet exposing a touch of blood?

Edited by daja
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Hi Daja

You're fishing for certainty amd reassurance :)

Realistically, you're probably aware of what poses a risk and what doesn't....trust your instinct and ignore the nagging doubt of OCD.

Go and meet your friend. They've done very well to beat their addiction

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I didn't want to reassure you rather I just wanted to give you the scientific medical facts as they are. It is now up to you whether you choose to believe them or listen to your OCD which will always make you doubt everything despite logic and reason. Remember, there is always a choice!

Go and meet your friend and have a good time! :)

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Thanks Lynz and Caramoole. I feel i am ready to meet him. Just waiting for this nasty rash to clear up.

*platonic peck on the cheek to both of you*

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