Your valued opinions please.

From everything I've heard, AIDS is a remarkably difficult disease to catch; "casual contact" is not considered a risk.

But: You wouldn't ask your doctor for lock advice; why are you asking us for medical advice? If you're concerned, call up your favorite expert and ask him or her what the actual risk is and what precautions you might or might not reasonably want to take. (If you're worried about nicked fingers, latex gloves might be cheap comfort...)

Personally, I would seriously consider treating this as a charitable contribution rather than as a normal job, but that's your call.

Steve:

I don't know why you think you can catch AIDS from touching a door knob or other surface like that... You are VERY MUCH MORE LIKELY to get very sick with a cold or stomach virus from doing work at a daycare center as you have described in your previous posts in this newsgroup than you ever will get AIDS from touching a doorknob in a boarding house...

One of the first things they teach a new Security Officer is all about blood-born pathogens (and YES they teach us Maintenance Man all about it too)... Those little germs and viruses that cause HIV and AIDS don't survive outside of the body for very long... So you are safe as long as you don't come in direct contact with bodily fluids...

Doing work in such a boarding house would be the same as doing it anywhere else... Only in this circumstance you will know without any doubts IN ADVANCE that you should not go anywhere near any blood or other bodily fluids you come across while there unless you are wearing gloves...

I seriously don't think that a job in this type of environment should in any way be considered a 'charitable contribution', as that attitude will be counter-productive... As for your boast of not needing 'this extra work' that's a load if I have ever smelt one... Work is work is work... If you are asking yourself why I say this, it is because if you treat this business opportunity just like any other, you may find that you will be called back whenever they need locksmithing work done, as it appears that 'urban legend' about the spread of AIDS runs rampant in your area and none of your competitors want to get near that place... Who knows, by not snubbing your nose at this work you might open yourself up to business from other such shelters and boarding houses in a much wider area, as people involved in this type of outreach effort are usually in close contact with each other and such organizations and individuals are more likely to seek out services from a contractor/vendor who doesn't make a scene about what they are doing and who they are helping...

Evan the Maintenance Man

Personally, I would ask my doctor about the chances of catching AIDS and other communicable diseases while working at the boarding house and what precautions I should take if any, to rreduce the risk.

It isn't every day you get a call to re-key a 35 to 50 lock master key system and get a good customer for future lock needs.

Not sure how long the average resident is at the boarding house, but if turnover is frequent and they have a lot of lost keys, I would discuss with the manager of the house the feasibility of installing a small hotel magnetic card system so lost or stolen keys are easily locked out.

Of course this cuts down > When in doubt, don't. I would sell them a batch of new locks masterkeyed

Do the job. If you have cuts just wear gloves. Look at all the emergency personal that deal with HIV every day. Seems to me you're just freaked out over the thought of something improbable.

You stand a worse chance of dying in a wreak on the way to the call.

I would probably take the job along with a can of disinfectant for the surfaces I'd come in contact with. The Aids virus shouldn't be a concern as long as you're not otherwise at risk. My concern would be the illnesses their bodies are no longer able to fight off. Colds, flu, etc. You can protect yourself from these to some extent. Like someone else suggested, see your doctor for the medical advice.

Mike Thomas Lock & Key For an email list discussion of locksmith related marketing concepts join us:

It seems that the general consensus here on this issue is that Steve could be in some kind of a health risk if he takes this job and should consult the opinion of his medical provider before considering taking the job... AIDS is transmitted through infected bodily fluids passing from a carrier (infected person) to someone else... Unless Steve plans on touching fresh blood, s**en, or saliva he will be safe...

As to bringing along a can of disinfectant, that seems very intolerant... And to be quite honest is just the type of paranoia that this boarding house is not looking for...

If you are squeamish about it then NO amount of counseling from your doctor will help with that and don't take the job... It is that easy... Or were you looking for the opinions of others here to justify your inner phobias of getting sick...

Maybe this will get you thinking... Just how many of your customers have AIDS... Do you know... Can you tell ??? Should it matter ??? Money is green... You get paid for your work, be happy with that... Do you really care if that money comes from a sick person, or a from one demographic or another... People with 'disabilities' and 'illnesses' don't want charitable contributions and crap like that from someone who is afraid to get sick from being near them... The best thing you can do for people in that life situation is treat them no different from anyone else...

Evan the Maintenance Man

P.S. -- If you are wondering why I have such a STRONG OPINION about this, I had a friend who died of AIDS while I was in high school... People who were once his friend suddenly became very openly afraid of him... Until you see it for yourself how several hundred high school students suddenly afraid to sit in the same chair that an 'infected' person just left, or have a locker near his, you have no idea how absolutely silly such fears are...

Some things to think on -- Have you ever ???

--Been puked on by a child ??? if your answer is yes then you could have gotten infected if that child was sick with something...

--Been bitten and or scratched by an animal ??? if the animal was sick you could now be a carrier for some virus or infection that has yet to present itself...

--Been given a blood transfusion ??? even with today's better screening policies infected blood still occasionally finds its way into innocent people... (That is how my friend got sick, in a hospital operation where he was given units of blood...)

--Had unprotected sexual relations with a partner ??? even if that person swears up and down that they are safe, they could still be wrong... if they have ever come in contact with AIDS in some way they don't understand, they may have never had a reason to get themselves tested...

---snip---

my2

You're completely right in outlining the way Aids is transmitted. That was NOT what I was outlining as a concern and my suggestion in using disinfectant. Aids is a breakdown of the immune system. It is not Aids which directly causes death but the bodies inability to fight off more common diseases, such as the common cold. Persons in the advance stages are probably suffering from the more common colds & flu. It is these diseases that can be transfered from door knobs, hand shakes, sneezes, etc. It's also common knowledge that frequent hand washing, disinfectants, and keeping your hands away from your face can in some degree prevent these diseases. It only makes sense to protect yourself from illness to the degree possible and prevent the loss of profitable work time. Especially when you know you're working in an enviornment where these pathegyns are prevelant. Care centers, hospitals, hospice, clinics, schools. It's not paranoia or fear of contracting Aids. It's common sense and good health practices.

I used to drive the AM-bu-LANCE, and have been in and out of establishments like the one being described, been in the line of fire of the crack-hoes spitting at the police as I was usually the one scooping their ass up. I don't think we are discussing the movie Outbreak here and I was recently tested for everything my doctor was able to detect with a blood test including the above mentioned, and apparently never picked up anything like AIDS.

My question would be what else they might have. I would be more concerned about Hepititus(sp) in a group home.

Leon Rowell

Glen Co> Do the job. If you have cuts just wear gloves. Look at all the emergency

From everything I have ever read you are highly unlikely to get HIV from any form of casual contact. It is a fragile virus and can't surrive long outside a host. Obvisouly you want to use common sense. Don't go sticking your hands in sharp boxes etc. If it makes you feel better wear gloves. This will also to some degree protect against the most serious threat: You. AIDS patients are at far greater risk from potentialy lethal (to them) infections you could bring in than any slight risk they might pose to you. In keeping with that line of thought don't work there while you have a cold or any other minor illness. Practice good hygene with regard to washing your hands frequently etc.

By this logic he should give up locksmithing entirely. He's a lot more likely to get killed in a car crash driving around from job to job than to contract HIV through casual contact.

Steve,

Get a grip man. The poor sods in that place are just people. You are not going to catch AIDS by fixing their locks, any more than you would get cancer from fixing the lock of someone with that affliction.

Because the locksmith has more germs than the maitenance man?

You sound more like a lock distributor than a locksmith. If you are a locksmith your irrational fear is costing you a lot of money.

And your source for this, especially with regard to the OP's situation is? Do you think the individual who asked him to do the job would have done so if he (Steve) was somehow prohibited from doing it?

Please post where you got the

Simple it's based on the fact that AFAIK NOT ONE CASE of HIV transmission from casual contact has EVER been documented to have occurred. By contrast there were, in the US, 42,850 auto fatalities in 2002, the last year for which numbers seem to be available (source: Advocates for highway auto safety). If you want numbers for Australia feel free to look them up but there aren't any doccumented HIV cases from casual contact there either so unless they have virtually no auto fatalities there you aren't likely to get anywhere.

If it doesn't matter anyway then why are you wasting your time and more importantly mine asking me about it? Since you did ask here is your answer:

Since he posted the question to THIS newsgroup it is logical to believe that he wanted an opinion from THIS newsgroup. This completely ignoring the fact that the opinions given were based on a wealth of available information from the medical community at large all of which says you are extremely unlikely to contract HIV via casual contact. Information and research which you have quite obviously chosen to ignore. You only get it through intimate contact with an infected person or contact with bodily fluids, period.