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Can you get stds through public keyboards for computers?
I know this guy at school and he has genital warts. He was telling us he got it from his ex girlfriend who had hpv. Well, I saw him coming out of the bathroom a couple of times and it always looks like his hands weren't washed. I have a computer class after him and we set at the same desk so I have to touch the same computer he's used right after. Can you get stds like this? I thought about like bringing some wipes with me and just wipe off the keyboard first just in case. What do you think?
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Go ahead and wipe down your computer.
It's extremely unlikely you'll contract HPV this way. It's good to remember that HPV is the virus that causes almost all warts on humans: genital warts, warts on your hands, feet or even eyelids.
Different Types of HPV prefer different kinds of skin. So the type of HPV that like to cause genital warts will almost never cause warts on any other part of your body(OR be contracted by any other part of your body but your genitals). This is one of the many reasons that washing your hands regularly is important - so as not to transfer things that you have touched to other more sensitive parts of your body.
In most people, HPV doesn't even cause symptoms. You may even already have some form of HPV in you. Some experts believe that only 1% to 5% of the people who are infected with HPV ever show symptoms. If you are sexually active, you have a 75-90% chance of contracting it sometime in your life.
So there is really no reason to panic about this. Wiping down a shared keyboard is perfectly reasonable for lots of reasons - and if it makes you feel better you should do it! But it will have almost no effect, on your already very small risk of contracting HVP in this way, and nothing about the very real risk of contracting HPV at some point in your life, in some other way.
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I never really thought of it but I suppose it is a good possibility.
Newer studies have found strains of HPV and herpes living deep under the nails of humans. Because of this some people even contract, say, genital warts during masturbation. It can be difficult to wash out the virus strains if you don't use a nailbrush and some good soap and water.
So, while the risk is probably not extreme you could still take precautions anyway. Remember though, lots of people probably touch this guy's hands every day and don't contract the virus either. The risk isn't insanely great if he isn't touching you genitals or mucus membranes.
Still though, wiping off the keyboard isn't the worst idea and if you wash your hands thoroughly after class with a nailbrush and soap then it can't hurt.
I wouldn't freak out on the guy though or make a scene. He doesn't purposely touch the keyboard in hopes of infecting you ;)
You also have to take into account everything you touch and who might have what and not disclosed it. You could sit at a desk every day of someone who has AIDS. You don't know and, because of that, you don't go to great extremes to "protect" yourself against it.
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