Is it safe to cut in the barber shop regardless of my HCV?

Post Edited (Mr.X) : 11/6/2010 9:32:24 AM (GMT-6)

I've been trying to post this for about 4 days.  It's been written in my head but it keeps getting jumbled up,I couldn't get my thoughts together to make sense and I couldn't get from head to post.  It has been a very bad week for me but I've been reading all the post every day and wishing I could participate but my thoughts are so scattered and I'm rambling again sorry. New symtoms have been popping up almost daily.  I'm so scared and panicky. I started having sore in my ears and scalp and I don't know what they are. They start about the size of a grain of sand,then red and very tender,sore. Out of no where they burst and all this blood pours out and takes about an hour to stop it. They leave an open indented sore that you can't touch because they hurt so badly. I'm not sure about medication,they keep putting me on some then taking some off and I get really confused. I've started having these spasms(?) I'm not sure what they are but it feels like I got shocked at the top and then travels all down my body and I loose control of my arms and legs. They spaz out and flap all over the place. I've kicked John a couple of times. On milder ones it maybe only one limb doing it, usually my right leg.They don't seem to be healing. Why all these symptoms?  I feel like I'm spiraling into this dark abyss and can't find my way home. I panic because I'm so afraid that I'm deteriorating a lot quicker then I was originally told.  Also I go into a twilight sleep and start to doze and as I'm resurfacing I hear myself having having a conversation that has nothing to do with anything. John said I'm not mumbling, I'm speaking very loud. My lymph nodes are enlarged from my ear,across the bottom of my jaw and down my neck and stopping in my shoulder.  I can barely swallow and when I do my throat hurts and I have ear pain. I feel like I'm going crazy.  Has anyone else had these problems or know anything about them?  I need help badly.  Thanks for letting me ramble I feel so all alone.    

Thank you

Suzi

With multi-diagnosis it's hard to figure out which symtoms go with which dx.  Some symptoms can apply to all dx's.  The confusion and talking as I'm coming out of sleep those seem to go with the cirrhosis and some of the others, Sjogren's.  I started taking extra lactulose(I wasn't having bm's) and yesterday it finally got some results.  I've been worried that my ammonia levels were going up because of no BM's. My thoughts are clearer tonight.  But some of the symptoms don't seem to go with any dx.  It can be very frustrating.

hep93 said...
Hello, Mr. X, and welcome. I assume you are newly diagnosed. I get my hair cut every 5-6 weeks at a salon and really don't even think about being cut. That is something that very, very rarely happens. I once was nicked on my ear, but didn't even think about the HCV transmission. The person wielding the scissors would have to have an open cut on their finger or hand that came into contact with the cut on you for there to even be a remote possibility of transmission. In return, the scissors used on you would have to cut someone else or come in contact with an open sore to even more remotely transmit the disease. In addition, those scissors are supposed to be sterilized in between customers. I believe this is one scenario you do not have to worry about.


HCV really isn't THAT easy to transmit, though I appreciate your concern.

Imp36 said...
Mr.X-Thank you for bring this up as it has been on my mind. I have MRSA and am so afraid of transmitting it to anyone else because it is a hard to detect/diagnosis and people die within 72 hours if not caught. MRSA kills more people a year than AIDS. I was shocked when the Dr. told me this and I had to act responsibly. It scares me a lot. I've already had one amputation to stop its spread in my body. I really worry if I'm doing the right things to prevent transmission to anyone else. I could not live with myself if I infected an innocent person. My husband, John, is my caregiver and is really careful when I get a cut or sore. I no longer borrow his razor. What other precautions should I be taking?


I've been trying to post this for about 4 days. It's been written in my head but it keeps getting jumbled up,I couldn't get my thoughts together to make sense and I couldn't get from head to post. It has been a very bad week for me but I've been reading all the post every day and wishing I could participate but my thoughts are so scattered and I'm rambling again sorry. New symtoms have been popping up almost daily. I'm so scared and panicky. I started having sore in my ears and scalp and I don't know what they are. They start about the size of a grain of sand,then red and very tender,sore. Out of no where they burst and all this blood pours out and takes about an hour to stop it. They leave an open indented sore that you can't touch because they hurt so badly. I'm not sure about medication,they keep putting me on some then taking some off and I get really confused. I've started having these spasms(?) I'm not sure what they are but it feels like I got shocked at the top and then travels all down my body and I loose control of my arms and legs. They spaz out and flap all over the place. I've kicked John a couple of times. On milder ones it maybe only one limb doing it, usually my right leg.They don't seem to be healing. Why all these symptoms? I feel like I'm spiraling into this dark abyss and can't find my way home. I panic because I'm so afraid that I'm deteriorating a lot quicker then I was originally told. Also I go into a twilight sleep and start to doze and as I'm resurfacing I hear myself having having a conversation that has nothing to do with anything. John said I'm not mumbling, I'm speaking very loud. My lymph nodes are enlarged from my ear,across the bottom of my jaw and down my neck and stopping in my shoulder. I can barely swallow and when I do my throat hurts and I have ear pain. I feel like I'm going crazy. Has anyone else had these problems or know anything about them? I need help badly. Thanks for letting me ramble I feel so all alone. [img]/community/emoticons/shakehead.gif[/img]

Thank you

Suzi

Imp, your in the place to be. Healthy people can be like civilians when it comes to the battle of HCV and liver disease- they just don't know how to understand what you are feeling.

David, you have a good point about telling people, and I believe that it's our duty to tell people in situations where there can be close bodily contact and when infections are a risk. Just to clarify however, I don't think we have to tell the entire world. Some people immediatly refer to their stereotypes of risky behavior involved with contracting viral infections or liver disease, and it can cloud they're judgements in unrelated areas.

David, IF you had contracted hep C through IV drug use rather than through a transfusion, and IF you had ever been treated like a leper upon disclosing the hep C (as I was when I disclosed it at the medical office I worked in and to my dentist), you might feel very differently.  I've never even considered telling a hair stylist (a barber is different if they use a straight-edge razor, or even a regular razor.)  I do, however, tell any and all medical personnel who may not already know...particularly anyone drawing blood...and my friends and family.

Suzi, actually most members with hep C and ESLD do have cirrhosis, as well.  I tested negative for it in my '93 biopsy, but positive in '07.  It's pretty much a natural progression of those diseases if treatment isn't done or doesn't work.  There is no treatment for cirrhosis.  However, it can be halted or slowed down with proper diet, rest, etc.

Hugs,

Connie

I did get another dentist, David.  I think people are more aware of it these days, but the first question always asked is "How did you get it?" and I don't really care to go into that with people I don't know (medical personnel being the exception.)  I'm a terrible liar and I don't want to say I don't know how I got it when I do know.  Perhaps one day most of the world will be like it is on this forum:  It doesn't matter how you got it, only in what you do about it.

Hugs,

Connie