How does it spread?

This might sound like a bit of a silly question, but I’m genuinely curious. Is there any chance of catching a more serious infection—and I'm not just talking about the common cold or a little flu—if a tiny droplet of saliva happens to touch the mucous membrane of the eye?

Jesse Morgan3 said:This might sound like a pretty silly question, but I’ve been wondering about something. Is there any chance of catching something actually serious—and I'm not just talking about a common cold or a little flu—if a droplet of saliva happens to hit the mucous membrane of the eye?

It absolutely can, though I honestly don't know which specific illness you're worried about. The thing is, the mucous membranes in your eyes are permeable, meaning microorganisms can travel through them and enter your system quite easily. Just look at medical professionals; why on earth do you think they wear those clear plastic face shields? It's for exactly this reason.

I remember catching this documentary on Discovery Channel—it was about some guy who had some sort of unidentified liquid splash right into his eye, and then, get this, an exotic worm actually started growing inside his eyeball... brrrrrrrrrrrrrr... absolutely chilling. I think they managed to save his sight, though; I saw it on TV a few years back, so the details are a bit fuzzy.

coppergardener said:I think I saw some Discovery documentary about this guy who got some kind of weird water sprayed right into his eye, and then this crazy exotic worm started living in there... brrrr... I think they managed to save his eye, though. It was on TV a few years ago, so I can't quite remember.

I think I saw that too, but if I remember right, he just rinsed his contact lens case under the tap using some tap water somewhere in Greece...

Oh, that’s not quite what I meant! I was actually asking about things more relevant to our neck of the woods here in the States. Is it actually possible to catch an STI through saliva?

Jesse Morgan3 said:That’s not even what I was getting at, though. I was talking more about stuff that applies to our everyday lives here. Is it actually possible to catch an STD through saliva?

Yes, absolutely—and I feel like I already explained this. Your eyes are basically permeable membranes, so if someone were to, say, spray blood or some other contaminated bodily fluid near your face, those tiny little microorganisms can definitely find their way in. That's why doctors wear those protective goggles during certain procedures; it's to prevent infection if there's any risk of a splash or spray, isn't it? It's just basic science!

Look, my uninformed friend,🙂 you could honestly pick up just about any illness spread through bodily fluids if one happens to get in your eye... I'm not quite sure what specific thing you're worried about since you didn't mention the details here😲 but if you have even a tiny doubt, just go get tested, seriously.🙂 You could try Buzanov or the Virogen clinic, or call 2319595 (if you're over in the Zaga area, I haven't checked there myself😳).