# Bumped Into Someone On Street And Got Cut. Health Risk? **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [August 19, 2014, 2:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bumped-into-someone-on-street-and-got-cut-health-risk/695897 "2014-08-19T14:02:43Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 17\ **Page:** 3
**Author:** ![VarlosZ](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/v/d78d45/32.png) [@VarlosZ](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/VarlosZ)\ **Post date:** [August 19, 2014, 10:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bumped-into-someone-on-street-and-got-cut-health-risk/695897/41 "2014-08-19T22:12:30Z")
I think \*\*Shakes \*\*nailed it in post #29: that’s exactly what it looks like when you get scraped with a fingernail. Or maybe he had a jagged zipper or something, whatever. Chill out. Chance that he stuck you with a herpes needle is less than 0.1%, probably less than 0.0001%. ---
**Author:** ![lavenderviolet](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/cdc98d/32.png) [@lavenderviolet](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/lavenderviolet)\ **Post date:** [August 19, 2014, 10:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bumped-into-someone-on-street-and-got-cut-health-risk/695897/42 "2014-08-19T22:53:19Z")
If you are seriously worried that you might have been poked with a needle tainted by HIV, you could get post-exposure prophylaxis: [Post-Exposure Prophylaxis: PEP Medication](http://aids.gov/hiv-aids-basics/prevention/reduce-your-risk/post-exposure-prophylaxis/) That is one reason that seeing a doc would be useful. The doc might be able to set your mind at ease about the injury or offer you post exposure prophylaxis. ---
**Author:** ![Random\_noob](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/53a042/32.png) [@Random\_noob](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Random_noob)\ **Post date:** [August 19, 2014, 11:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bumped-into-someone-on-street-and-got-cut-health-risk/695897/43 "2014-08-19T23:06:19Z")
Cut your finger off quick…it’s the only way to keep yourself from becoming a zombie :P. Just kidding, you will be fine! ---
**Author:** ![USCDiver](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/uscdiver/32/354_2.png) [@USCDiver](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/USCDiver)\ **Post date:** [August 19, 2014, 11:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bumped-into-someone-on-street-and-got-cut-health-risk/695897/44 "2014-08-19T23:30:02Z")
Holy shit, if that little cut is an inch long, your hands must be humongous! ---
**Author:** ![PunditLisa](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/4af34b/32.png) [@PunditLisa](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/PunditLisa)\ **Post date:** [August 19, 2014, 11:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bumped-into-someone-on-street-and-got-cut-health-risk/695897/45 "2014-08-19T23:36:16Z")
You’ve got a serious fear re gay people trying to harm you. This is not normal. Get yourself to a doctor who deals with mental illnesses. ---
**Author:** ![susan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/susan/32/17537_2.png) [@susan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/susan)\ **Post date:** [August 19, 2014, 11:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bumped-into-someone-on-street-and-got-cut-health-risk/695897/46 "2014-08-19T23:54:09Z")
Go see a doctor. ---
**Author:** ![Drunky\_Smurf](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/drunky_smurf/32/449_2.png) [@Drunky\_Smurf](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Drunky_Smurf)\ **Post date:** [August 20, 2014, 12:07am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bumped-into-someone-on-street-and-got-cut-health-risk/695897/47 "2014-08-20T00:07:24Z")
> [@ineedthetruth](#): > > I mean I do have some weird pains since then in my right arm but I cannot link it to the root canal for sure. I do not know what might cause a pain in the right arm. I do know pain in the left arm could be a heart attack. ---
**Author:** ![SeaDragonTattoo](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/df705f/32.png) [@SeaDragonTattoo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SeaDragonTattoo)\ **Post date:** [August 20, 2014, 12:54am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bumped-into-someone-on-street-and-got-cut-health-risk/695897/48 "2014-08-20T00:54:08Z")
Dude, did you even wash that? First line of defense, wash the wound immediately. Just soap, water and a few minutes of scrubbing. Worrying about stuff without ever doing anything proactive about it is not normal, dude. ---
**Author:** ![Bryan\_Ekers](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bryan_ekers/32/183_2.png) [@Bryan\_Ekers](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bryan_Ekers)\ **Post date:** [August 20, 2014, 1:11am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bumped-into-someone-on-street-and-got-cut-health-risk/695897/49 "2014-08-20T01:11:00Z")
> [@lieu](#): > > I hit the city and I lost my band. I watched the needle take another man. Gone, gone, the damage done. > > . Rise the demon Etrigan? ---
**Author:** ![Ranger\_Jeff](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ranger_jeff/32/2065_2.png) [@Ranger\_Jeff](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ranger_Jeff)\ **Post date:** [August 20, 2014, 3:59am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bumped-into-someone-on-street-and-got-cut-health-risk/695897/50 "2014-08-20T03:59:58Z")
> [@ineedthetruth](#): > > I feel like maybe something is wrong with me. Am I OCD or something because I cannot let go of this accident. If he was indeed a junkie who just did drugs and had his needle still in his hand could I catch HIV or would he need to do a full injection… In all seriousness I recognize I might have a real case of Obsessive Compulsive Disorder after doing a lot of research on it. But I still feel like I have a real exposure to a potential ill health issue from this brush up with a stranger. What do you guys think? I don’t know if you have OCD or not. I think you certainly tend to overreact to things. You have displayed paranoid tendencies. For the short term, wash your hands, put some neosporin on the cut, and put a bandaid on it. For the long term, you need to see a licensed or certified mental health care professional. Trying to find people on this message board to agree with you about your imagined health care issues is not a good plan. Your fears are neither normal or healthy. See a professional. ---
**Author:** ![Smeghead](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/f1d935/32.png) [@Smeghead](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Smeghead)\ **Post date:** [August 20, 2014, 11:30am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bumped-into-someone-on-street-and-got-cut-health-risk/695897/51 "2014-08-20T11:30:00Z")
Hey, you know who could tell you if you have OCD? A DOCTOR ---
**Author:** ![kayaker](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kayaker/32/441_2.png) [@kayaker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kayaker)\ **Post date:** [August 20, 2014, 11:52am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bumped-into-someone-on-street-and-got-cut-health-risk/695897/52 "2014-08-20T11:52:54Z")
> [@PunditLisa](#): > > You’ve got a serious fear re gay people trying to harm you. This is not normal. Unless, of course, a group of homosexual men in the OP’s area have made it their mission to mess with him. Put something in his drink, then rape him. Bump him on the street and cut him with a dirty needle. Make eye contact with him randomly on the street. In that situation his fear would be justified. ---
**Author:** ![LouisB](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/dfb087/32.png) [@LouisB](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/LouisB)\ **Post date:** [August 20, 2014, 2:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bumped-into-someone-on-street-and-got-cut-health-risk/695897/53 "2014-08-20T14:06:50Z")
> [@Living\_Well\_Is\_Best\_Revenge](#): > > Did you miss the part that it came from a gay junkie’s dirty needle?!!?!? I saw it. I just don’t believe it. ---
**Author:** ![DocCathode](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/doccathode/32/18773_2.png) [@DocCathode](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DocCathode)\ **Post date:** [August 20, 2014, 10:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bumped-into-someone-on-street-and-got-cut-health-risk/695897/54 "2014-08-20T22:09:50Z")
I can hold back no more. The OP almost certainly has AIDS. I got AIDS when a Technocracy agent shot me with a modified tranquilizer dart containing the human immunodeficiency virus. Fortunately for me, a Progenitor who had gone rogue and joined the Traditions was able to cure me. So my advice is, ask your friends if any of them can cure AIDS. And remember, every day is a fine day for Science Repeat of disclaimer. ---
**Author:** ![Guinastasia](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/guinastasia/32/5751_2.png) [@Guinastasia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Guinastasia)\ **Post date:** [August 21, 2014, 1:47am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bumped-into-someone-on-street-and-got-cut-health-risk/695897/55 "2014-08-21T01:47:21Z")
Or Munchausen’s by Internet? ---
**Author:** ![Telemark](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/telemark/32/372_2.png) [@Telemark](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Telemark)\ **Post date:** [August 21, 2014, 2:24am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bumped-into-someone-on-street-and-got-cut-health-risk/695897/56 "2014-08-21T02:24:52Z")
> [@Guinastasia](#): > > Or Munchausen’s by Internet? That would be by Proxy server. ---
**Author:** ![susan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/susan/32/17537_2.png) [@susan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/susan)\ **Post date:** [August 21, 2014, 3:05am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bumped-into-someone-on-street-and-got-cut-health-risk/695897/57 "2014-08-21T03:05:01Z")
> [@Telemark](#): > > That would be by Proxy server. Beautiful. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bumped-into-someone-on-street-and-got-cut-health-risk/695897.md?page=2)