Can I get HIV?
Hi Jay, Unfortunately YES you could. I strongly recommend contacting your doctor or local health department ASAP. Not only can they provide you with PEP (post exposure prophylaxis) as a precaution, but the health department can also stop the nail lady from doing that in future. Your risk is probably very low, depending on what sort of neighborhood the nail lady services, however you shouldnt take the chance. In theory, if she rinsed the styptic pencil under fresh running water after each client that would (probably) remove the contaminated surface, however 1) I doubt that she does that, and 2) thats not standard decontamination procedure and shouldnt be relied on.