( NYPost )
Bloody hell — this terrifying TikTok warning will have you on pins and needles.
Using a public bathroom, a seemingly benign daily practice, presents disturbing risks, according to a virtual whistleblower who claims we could be unwittingly wiping with blood-splattered tissue soiled by IV drug users while dabbing their needles.
“If your toilet paper looks like this in a public restroom, you need to get out as fast as possible,” urged TikTok tipster Dane Jones, 20, in his now-viral advisory.
Per the cautionary clip, which has scared up over 7 million views, the social media know-it-all shared an image of a toilet paper roll covered with small crimson flecks alongside long, thin and colorless streak marks.
“If you look closely, you will see a bunch of tiny red blood splotches,” said Jones. “That is not from someone’s bloody nose or little accident.”
“It’s from someone cleaning their needles — dirty needles to be exact,” he continued. “We don’t know if this was one person or multiple people cleaning their needles from injecting drugs.”
In New York City, the substance abuse crisis is more visible than ever.
On bustling Midtown Manhattan blocks such as West 37th Street, addicts have been spotted drooping over in a drug-induced haze with syringes jabbed into their veins as early as 11 a.m.
Addicts have also begun shooting up on subways during the rush-hour morning commute.
In his alarmist viral video, social media watchdog Jones warns that coming into contact with a drug abuser’s contaminated blood via stained bathroom tissue could have devastating ramifications.
“If you are using this toilet paper to clean yourself, all it takes is one tiny drop of blood to enter your system,” Jones said, offering amateur advice about avoiding HIV/AIDS and hepatitis B or C infections. “If you do see a toilet paper roll that looks [bloodstained] in a public restroom, notify the staff immediately to have it replaced and stay as far away as you can from it.”
While Jones is certainly not a doctor, the hepatitis virus is indeed hardy: It can survive in a drop of blood or bodily fluid or even on a dry surface for weeks and still be capable of causing infection, according to the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. The hepatitis C virus can survive on environmental surfaces at room temperature for up to four days.
According to infectious disease experts at the Body, however, there “needs to be an immediate and direct transfer of fluid for there to be risk for HIV. For hepatitis C, infection can occur from dry blood — but it still needs a way to get inside your body, which would not happen from merely touching it.”
Online audiences were notably shaken by Jones’ worrying words to the wise.
“New fear unlocked,” wrote a shook spectator beneath his bone-chilling beware post.
“Bringing my own toilet paper now,” added another.
“Glad I hold everything in till I’m home,” said one safety-conscious commenter.
“I find this in the school bathrooms everyday,” another chimed in, grimly.
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