The Infectious Nature of Blood
The Infectious Nature of Blood
This post is a much needed conversation about bloodborne pathogens. It is absolutely imperative that both Vampyre and Donor both have current STI/blood testing to make sure you both are clean of all communicable disease. The give and take of blood opens the doors for both parties to be infected by what one or the other may have. Infection from a bloodborne pathogen is not a risk ANY Vampyre or Donor should be taking.
Contraction of disease can occur through both wet and dry blood. There is a frightening misconception in the world today that once blood was exposed to air, it was no longer infectious after a little while. They believe that any infectious material in it died on contact with the air.
This is simply not the case. Dried spots of blood contaminated with either the hepatitis B or C virus can remain infections for up to six weeks at normal room temperatures.
It was once believed that dried blood was neutralized of infectious material after 4-8 days but recent research has proven that to not be the case. Even HIV can survive in dried blood for up to 4 days when provided the right temperatures and pH balance.
Alright, so you’ve engaged in some blood stuff… cool, now clean that shit up!
A proper 10:1 concentration bleach solution can do very well against infectious materials and is a recommended cleaning method if you do not have proper blood cleaning materials. However, it’s not a guarantee. 10:1 concentration bleach solution is a solution made of 10 parts water, 1 part bleach. You spray your infected area down and allow the solution to sit for 5-10 minutes before wiping it up to ensure the neutralization of the contaminants.
If you know you or your tools are going to be coming into contact with blood, you should acquire some hospital grade cleaning/disinfecting solutions such as Cavicide, Virox, or Solucide with proven kill times (usually 3 minutes wet)
Cavicide is a hospital grade disinfectant cleaner that can prevent cross contamination in the event of bodily fluids on surfaces. This cleaner can be used on all non porous surfaces and can even be used to clean non disposable instruments. It is fairly easy to get and very inexpensive.
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