Turtle Channel!!!

Ok, I have received this "spreading of HIV through needles left on cinema seats and gas pumps" on numerous occasions from well-meaning friends who forwarded emails such as this to me.

THIS IS A HOAX. Repeat: THIS IS A HOAX!

1. There really only one report of someone getting pricked by a needle. It was from the coin slot at the pay-phone. BUT the needle was used for INSULIN injections.

2. If you happen to be pricked by a needle that had been contaminated by HIV-positive blood, the chances of you contracting it is 0.3 - 0.45%. It isn't even 0.5%. UNLESS the needle was poked all the way into your major artery or vein, it will stay as below 0.5%. So the statistics that they gave you in the emails (8 of 17 ppl contracted the disease) is highly inaccurate.

3. Someone pricking you with a needle on your neck while you watch a movie is still highly unlikely to spread the disease to you. Unless of course, he is spreading Hepatitis (which is much easier to contract than HIV). I doubt you are stupid enough to sit there and let the person penetrate the needle into your vein. Most likely the moment it penetrates the first layer of your skin, you would yelp and beat the crap out of the person. REMEMBER - less than 0.5% chance!

So if you get pricked by a random needle, go see a doctor. If you are scared that you may get HIV, ask them to put you on zidovudine (AZT) or lamivudine (3TC), which will lower the chance of you getting HIV by 79% more.

LET's calculate!
The chance of you being stupid enough to continue poking the needle through the first layer of your skin (where your nerves are, so you will feel pain from the prick instantly) all the way into your major vein or artery is zero (I assume you are all smart ppl). So the chances of you getting HIV from a pin-prick (after which I assume you will go ask your doctor for AZT) is 21%(after AZT) out of 0.5% (pin-prick), which is 0.105%.

I also keep getting this email:
Someone wearing contacts in the sauna had his/her contact lense melt in the eyes and was blinded. Also someone cooking over the stove had his/her contact lens melt due to the steam. And went blind.

HOAX HOAX HOAX. The melting point of the plastic used to make your contact lenses isn't that low. If it can melt in your eyes, chances are the temperature is so high that your own skin would have already disintegrated and you would be on your way to heaven.

Still don't believe me? With intense heat, your eyes would naturally close and your hands would likely cover your face. In order for your contacts to melt, the temperature has to be high enough to meet the melting point of the lens. This temperature is enough to disintegrate the skin of your eyelids. So it is unlikely that the person was perfectly fine, but went blind because the contacts melted. His WHOLE FACE would be gone also. At that point, he might rather be blind than to have to look into the mirror.

So the chance of your contacts melting in your eyes = ZERO (assuming you have nerves that are functioning - if they aren't you have a bigger problem than melting contact lenses....)