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Going to get tested but I still want to know...

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Posted 3/24/2015 7:19 AM (GMT 0)
Before I got clean off of heroin I was around people who used almost every day. I never shot up and I only used notebook paper to snort, so I never got in contact with Hep C in the typical way.

However, the people I associated with were all diagnosed HCV+. Oftentimes they would shoot up and wipe the blood off of their marks with toilet paper, but with 2-5 users in one apartment there was probably dried blood in plenty of places that I didn't see.

Well, I cut my hand somehow while we were outside one day and didn't notice until we came back in the apartment. It was a decent cut, openly bleeding. Memory is hazy but from what I remember I probably went straight to wash my hands with soap and water, and then I spent the next 30 minutes applying hand sanitizer and rubbing it on my hands / the wound whilst dabbing blood off with a paper towel. Is it reasonable to ask if I may have exposed myself by rubbing my fingers directly over the wound? What are the chances of something like this causing infection? I do not remember coming into contact with any dried blood or blood in general but I know that all it takes is a microscopic amount.

TL;DR, Cut my hand while hanging around junkies who shoot up, bleed, and are pretty bad about cleaning up. Rubbed hand sanitizer onto the wound. Could I have rubbed Hep C into my cut and blood stream this way? How often is Hep C contracted from contaminated surface contact alone?
Posted 3/24/2015 1:31 PM (GMT 0)
Hi Doosey,

Welcome to the Hep forum.

I wish there was an easy answer. No one can tell you if you may have Hep C. Only a blood test can answer your question. I don't have Hep C, but I take care of my husband who has had Hep C for decades. He is on a transplant list. I did have blood transfusions with childbirth, and blood products in the 70's, so I was tested. I also was tested multiple times after my husband tested positive for Hep C. Also once a year after he successfully eradicated Hep C with treatment, just to be certain.

You really want to know if you Hep C because you can cure it in 12 weeks with a very simple treatment. This is not something to let ride. You don't want to live your life with Hep C. So I am glad you will get tested. If you are positive, you take a few pills and most have very doable side effects. Peace of mind is priceless. Let us know how things turn out. Congratulations on being clean. Big Hugs
Posted 3/24/2015 6:08 PM (GMT 0)
I tested positive for HEP C and I never have used needles, but I was married to someone that was an would shoot up drugs. You really need to know if you do have HEP C catch it soon before you need a transplant. Congratulations on being clean and remember one day at a time.
Posted 3/24/2015 6:13 PM (GMT 0)

Hcgalveston said...
I tested positive for HEP C and I never have used needles, but I was married to someone that was an would shoot up drugs. You really need to know if you do have HEP C catch it soon before you need a transplant. Congratulations on being clean and remember one day at a time.

Thank you and themiz both, it took some time but I'm finally getting cleaned up.

One of the users I hung around with shot up but never shared needles so he thinks he got infected through surface contact. Do you think that your infection came from casual contact or maybe sexual relationship with your husband?
Posted 3/25/2015 8:52 PM (GMT 0)
Doosey, 3 million+ Americans likely have Hep C and many don't know it. Everyone should be tested and there is no program to do that, and few public service announcements. Especially the baby boomers...who just didn't know the risks. And it is not always shared needles. It can be surface contact as you say, actively bleeding sores, tattoos from before they were regulated and folks used the same needles and paint pots from client to client, home made tattoos even today. There is even sharing coke straws with irritated nasal canals. Or sexual contact if both are bleeding. There are even cases where poorly cleaned dental equipment was the culprit. Transfusions before the blood was tested for Hep C. The above mentioned shavers, tooth brushes, cups...with blood to blood contact. And now the infamous news that the inoculation guns used in the military during the Viet Nam war may have transferred the virus from one GI to the next. Note that folks can have more than one genotype of Hep C acquired at different times. And some are co-infected with HCV and HIV. Since you are sort of in a group considered at risk, I would get to a clinic and get tested for sure.

Hoping for the best, BUT, there are treatments these days, so this should work out even IF...

Mama Lama

Best to you,
Mama Lama
Posted 3/26/2015 2:50 AM (GMT 0)
Trust what these ladies say. They have PhD's in heart and knowledge gained through experience. I have never seen them give bad advice (and I am a medical professional). Best wishes.
Posted 3/26/2015 3:06 AM (GMT 0)
It doesn't matter how someone got hepatitis, whether from drugs, alcohol, whatever. We're not here to judge. It's about helping other people that have liver disease.
Posted 3/26/2015 5:14 AM (GMT 0)

**David** said...
It doesn't matter how someone got hepatitis, whether from drugs, alcohol, whatever. We're not here to judge. It's about helping other people that have liver disease.

I'm not sure if you're commenting this because I asked Hcgalveston about transmission routes, but the last thing I'm doing here is judging or expecting to be judged. I am only asking honest questions to be as open as possible and understand this disease as best I can.

That being said, I am waiting for my blood test to come back now. I appreciate everyone's input in this thread, you guys are awesome.
Posted 3/26/2015 3:09 PM (GMT 0)
Doosey,
You don't seem to be able to pinpoint exactly how you became sick. I was saying that it is irrelevant as to how it happened. Now, it's time to do what it takes to get well. Period.
Posted 3/26/2015 3:30 PM (GMT 0)
Most with Hep C may have some high risk reasons in their past, but many do not.
Really, it does not matter to us how your liver gets sick, or you get Hep C.

Don't worry about your past. We all have one :)

Boomer's really got slammed with blood borne disease's. No one had no idea there were risks with blood since Hep C was not yet discovered.

We had a polluted blood supply that was not tested. We grew up without disposable medical instruments. Multi-use medication vials were the norm. IV bottles were glass, needles were re-used for vaccinations. But no one knew of HIV or Hep C until years later.

We pierced each others ears at slumber parties...with one needle for half a dozen kids.

We became blood brothers by mixing blood with our friends, or many friends.

We had blood transfusions and blood products before our blood supply was tested.

We had medical people not properly sterilizing, before disposables, and not using gloves. Medical gloves were not disposable.

And some boomers used IV drugs during the hippie years, or just once at a party. But some did not use drugs at all... and have no known risk factors for their Hep C.

Could it be that tatoo on Spring Break in Mexico....the 70's? The mani-pedi before salons sterilized tools?

I wish everyone was routinely tested for blood borne disease, but they are not.

If you have Hep C you need to know approximately 20% clear on their own. They always carry the antibodies, if that happens.

If you do not clear and do have Hep C...there is treatment. No one should die of a curable virus.

I hope you don't have Hep C, but if you do...it is treatable and you don't have to wind up with cirrhosis in 30 years, needing a transplant. That is the really good news in the last year. Keep taking care of you! We care. Big Hugs
Posted 3/31/2015 8:04 PM (GMT 0)
themiz is right...where and when you got hep-c is not important.... a toothbrush....someones razor....any type of blood mixing with yours could have done it....Ill be honest here..I got it from being a Bouncer at clubs..what club? when? ...what guy that i punched had it? IT doesn't matter all that matters now is get help and loose that sneaky little devil!!!(hep-c)......Be strong and smile in the face of adversity!! we will prevail...hopefully you do not have to fight Hep-c
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