A question for Doctors out there ONLY please?

If you accidently touch some blood in public, Say even if you get it on your nail and then scratch yourself with that nail? Can you catch serious diseases like HIV and AIDS like that? Also. if you have got infected blood under your nails or on your skin/nails, is soap and water enough to make it safe again?

My dad is a doctor and he said that you can if the blood is infected with HIV or AIDS.
If you have any breaks in your skin and it gets in there, it can infect you. Also if you eat with that hand without washing it first it could infect you as well.

Soap and very hot water, scrub for 5 minutes, up to your elbows. You should do this with your whole body.

But if you're infeceted already, you're already infected.

If you are seriously worried you should go talk to your local/family doctor.

first of all, you need a cut in order to get the blood in your body.
its still skin under your nail, and second no soap and yes soap and water should make it safe again.

you have 3 layers of skin
epidermis
dermis
subcutaneous << if it goes in this ur screwed
but scratching only affects epidermis unless you scratched yourself so hard that you bleed

Ask a real doctor.

Yes you can get HIV from scratching if the live virus is on your nail. Washing the nail with soap and water would not necessarily make it safe from infected blood. Surgeons scrub with betadine thoroughly before putting on their gloves. You get the idea. Yes, I'm a doctor, not one of those phony ones with a medical degree. I went to the taxigringo school of hard knocks.

I am not a doctor, sorry, but do feel informed enough to give you an honest answer, having worked in the healthcare profession for over 10 years and currently in nursing school.

If it were fresh blood, such as at the scene of an accident, then yes, you could potentially be exposed to HIV, as well as other blood-born infections, such as Hepatitis C. If the bood has been exposed to the open air for a prolonged period of time, the odds are lessened, but still not eliminated. Should you come in contact with blood, ANYONES blood, the first and best defense is adequate handwashing. YOu can then follow that up with an alcohol based hand sanitizer. If you feel you have been exposed to human blood, via a scratch or open wound, I advise you to visit a clinic and explain the situation. They can prescribe you preventive medications which GREATLY reduce your chances of developing a disease.

It depens on what kind of infecous diseases but in general DO NOT ANY BLOOD NOMATER WHERE YOU ARE, OK !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

you would probably get hcv much easier than hiv since hcv can transmit up to 4 days in exposed air. (dried or wet blood)