how much risk do i have?

bigronny

New Member

Joined : Jan 2007

Posts : 1

Posted 1/14/2007 5:02 AM (GMT 0)

about a year and a half ago, I may have come in contact with hepatitis C. Here's the story. I was drinking with a couple of friends of mine. One of my friends was playing with a set of jumper cables and he cut my thumb pretty good. My other friend had recently gotten a tattoo with a very small scab. Somehow we got the idea that we should do a blood brothers thing. He picked his scab and i rubbed my thumb on it. Recently, he learned that a girl he was dating around that time is positive for hepatitis c and was positive while they were dating. I'm certain they had sex, although I'm unsure if they used protection or not. How great of a risk is there that I could have contracted hepatitis c?

hep93

Elite Member

Joined : Jul 2005

Posts : 12014

Posted 1/14/2007 6:29 PM (GMT 0)

Bigronny, do you know if your friend has been tested for hep C, and what the results were if he was tested? I don't think anyone here can tell you how much risk you have from that incident. Obviously, there is some. I suggest you go to your primary care doctor and request a hep C test. If it comes back positive, it could mean that you have been exposed to the virus and your immune system knocked it out (acute hep C), or that you still have the virus and it is attacking your liver (chronic active hep C.) Even if you were in contact with hep C and overcame it, it will still show positive for hep C. The only way to differentiate is through a liver biopsy. If it is not active, you don't have to do anything. If it is active, you will need treatment. So the first step is a specific test for hep C. You might want to get tested for hep B at the same time.

Good luck!

Post Edited (hep93) : 1/14/2007 11:32:20 AM (GMT-7)

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