Post Punk Kitchen Forum

This. I've bought and sold old plugs before, it's generally understood that you shouldn't trade things that can't be properly sterilized, like porous materials and I think acrylic (but acrylic is so cheap there's no need to buy it second hand). And it's not so much a blood issue as it is dead skin tissue, anyone with plugs knows about the joys of ear cheese. Someone sent me a pair of plugs without cleaning them first and I put them on blast in the trading community because that is NOT cool, even though I always clean plugs I trade no matter what they look like, because that is forking gross.

Yep. That is why it's fine to reuse surgical instruments or needles from HIV-infected individuals, as long as you air dry for 60 seconds.

Oh wait. That's not true at all. Others have posted links to authoritative sources on how to properly clean items to inactivate HIV.

So do you have some references for the existence of HIV transmission through second hand earrings then?

My piercing shop will autoclave anything for me for free (they charge a small fee to people less awesome than me lol) but they will only put items of specific quality (I can't remember exactly, but low quality stuff wouldn't survive)... I have multiple piercings and a ton of jewelry, they way I clean it is antibiotic denture cleaner. There is a little tub that I put the jewelry in with warm water and drop in a little blue tablet that effervesces and after 15 minutes they are sanitized. I have had plugs fall into all sorts of nastiness and just put them in the tub and they were fine. But when my friends dog ate a pair and I got them back the next day I had them autoclaved, lol. I have worked in the emergency services industry so I am very wary of bodily fluids. But that certainly doesn't mean everyone should be as paranoid as me. The short version of this would be if it is high quality jewelry (gold/silver and precious stones) you can have it autoclaved, it its costume jewelry/handmade then any sanitizing cleaner will work, whatever you are comfortable with, just make sure you don't use cleaner that will ruin the jewelry....

A needle that hasn't been used recently. The jury is out about how long that is, and I've heard as short as 30 seconds to as long as 30 minutes. So if you're sharing equipment with someone and they inject first and then you inject shortly after that's when it spreads.

Needles should obviously never be shared- and hepatitis lasts a whole lot longer. However, I want to ensure folks know that HIV infected folks aren't spreading the virus through things like second hand earrings.

Personally, I have second hand earrings and just wiped 'em off and put them in.

You'd have no way of knowing if the holes were well healed if you bought 2nd hand. Sometimes I'd go a bit without wearing any and then just jam a pair in and there would be blood occasionally.

eta: i dont donate my jewellry though

I have nothing to contribute to this thread except to say that this is awesome!

Why wouldn't alcohol be enough? And.....couldn't someone have tried on new earrings at a store or returned them? I don't generally buy expensive jewelery and I'm pretty sure people try stuff on in stores sometimes. Wouldn't that carry the same risk?

There IS no risk.

I probably wouldn't even think about cleaning them. I'd just pop them straight in. I'm not really understanding why earrings are so different from any other second hand
jewellry?

duh, read the thread - they're the number one AIDS transmitter in the world. Bats are #2.

I have my bats autoclaved, and I never leave them at room temperature.

Bats will be fine as long as you let them rest for 30 seconds between injections.