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Is dried blood a disease risk?

My Dh went to do a job today where the customer said his cupboard knob was broken. He assumed he meant the door didn't open when you twisted it, so grasped it and twisted...but what he had meant (but not actually said) was the underside of the knob was cracked. DH cut his hand badly and when he went to wash it, the customer said "I did that too last night"
If he cut his hand and could have left his dried blood on the knob, and now my DH has cut his hand on it too, could DH have put himself at risk of a blood borne infection? He has no idea if this man has any illnesses, but you can't really ask a customer that (or expect a necessarily truthful answer). Do Hepatitis, HIV etc live on still in dried blood? Does he need to go to a Dr for this?

Comments

  • Fire_Fox
    Fire_Fox Posts: 26,026 Forumite
    Part of the Furniture 10,000 Posts Name Dropper Combo Breaker
    edited 25 September 2012 at 5:38PM
    Most virus' cannot live outside the body for any length of time because they are naked DNA, some bacteria are spore formers so they can. Tetanus is a spore former IIRC, is he up to date with that vaccine? Would be wise to get checked out, the sooner the better since the timeframe between deposit and contact was quite short.
    Declutterbug-in-progress.⭐️⭐️⭐️ ⭐️⭐️
  • ellay864
    ellay864 Posts: 3,827 Forumite
    Part of the Furniture 1,000 Posts Combo Breaker
    He'd be pretty unlucky but I guess there is a very slim chance as Hep C can live for a couple of days. He could go to the doctor if he was concerned on the 'better safe than sorry' basis. Did he see if there was any blood on the handle? Cold he ask the customer if he cleaned it after he first cut himself? It's a bit less embarassing than asking him if he has any diseases!
  • Violetta_2
    Violetta_2 Posts: 3,588 Forumite
    Best ring NHS 24 or the equivalent in your area, he will most likely be fine but HepB can survive in dried blood for up to 7 day's.
    Booo!!!
  • daska
    daska Posts: 6,212 Forumite
    Part of the Furniture Combo Breaker
    HCV is far less of a risk than HBV.
    Eat food. Not too much. Mostly plants - Michael Pollan
    48 down, 22 to go
    Low carb, low oxalate Primal + dairy
    From size 24 to 16 and now stuck...
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