A few years ago, I had a scare with Hep C, but I dont know how I could have almost contracted it?
Question:
i dont do drugs
i dont inject things on my own
i dont have any tattoos
i didnt have any peircings at the time
i dont sharing grooming utensils
i dont share sharing personal items such as toothbrushes, razors, and nail clippers.
i dont drink
...so what was wrong with me
Answers:
You may be a Hep carrier. Showing no outward symptoms but still a carrier of the disease. Your test came back negative. You may want to get retested and a second opinion. If you are having problems with your liver you may need more testing such as cat scan of the abdomen ect...
You can get Hep C from being in contact with someones blood if they are bleeding and you go to help, especially if you have an open wound or it somehow gets into your mouth. So be very weary and careful of a strangers blood if your that sort of person who helps out.
first of all, it doesn't make sense when you said your blood work came back "likely hep C" and then you said your hep C test came back negative. can you explain that? is it the hepatitis panel that you had? you'll have to specify if your HBcAg or HBcAb was positive or negative.
in terms of causes, it includes:
- blood transfusions
- needlesticks
- IV drug use
- maternal-fetal transmission
- sexual transmission
before you look into the causes, you'll have to let me know what "blood work" you got done and the results before you can be sure that you are Hep C positive.
well if you do have hep c then it is probably either maternal (you were born with it meaning your mother may have it and not know) or what i think they call transient, meaning you picked it up by just sheer bad luck, like you happened to have a cut or scratch and you got someones blood in it. it is also possible that it can be sexually transmitted though this is VERY unlikely. my step mother has hep c, she has been with my dad for almost 30 years and he has never gotten it, she didn't know she had it even until she was 50 something. bottom line is don't worry about it. if your not sick then who cares!
I would like to start with the tests you had.
The blood tests done for liver enzymes can
show if there is damage to the liver cells.
When the cells are injured, they open and the
enzymes are then released into the blood.
There are other tests of the blood to see how
the liver is functioning...when the liver is
not functioning properly, certain things that
the liver normally would take care of...like
the bilirubin to convert it to be released into
Bile that flows from the liver to the intestines
to help in the digestion of fats doesn't get
changed and goes into the blood; Albumin,
a protein the liver makes cannot be made
like it should and decreases and causes
problems with the vascular system leaking
fluid; and the factors that the liver makes to
help the blood to clot doesn't get made and
it causes a patient to have easy bruising and
bleeding easily if cut. These are just some
of the things that can happen.
The enzymes are known as the ALT,AST, and
Alkaline Phosphatase...The liver function tests
are the Bilirubin, INR, and the Albumin. If
you are interested in knowing more about this
you will find the information here:
http://www.labtestsonline.org
...
Now, since you know what the doctor may be
looking at and why on your blood work...you
need to know more about this disease.
The word, "hepatitis" mean inflammation of
the liver cells. This inflammation can be
treated to go away with drugs. If this
inflammation doesn't go away and is not
treated, it can lead to the death of the liver
cells, known as cirrhosis. When this happens,
the disease will keep progressing and the
only thing the doctors can do is to try and
slow it down so you don't go into complete
liver failure.
.........
Now you know the difference between
Hepatitis and Cirrhosis..You need to
know now the ways you could contact
Hep C. Hepatitis C is known as a Virus
that can be transmitted through having contact
with blood. From what you said, you did
nothing to cause yourself to have this.
But, you need to understand...that virus
is very tiny, so tiny that many thousands of
them can be on an end of a pin. It takes very
little blood and very little contact to get this.
You may have gotten it in the washroom if
someone had blood on their hands and used
the bathroom. Women bleed monthly.
Washing your hands all the time is a good
thing, but you have to consider what may be
on them even if you touch anything another
person may have touched. A person can
develop just Hepatitis (inflammation of the
liver cells) without having Hepatitis C.
Hepatitic C is a definite virus...regular
Hepatitis can be caused by other things
like drinking alcohol excessively, drugs that
turn toxic in the body, hereditary factors,
Bile flow blockage, being in contact with
chemicals, etc.
Since you said the Hep C test was negative...
you may just have the regular hepatitis or
just an infection. Most doctors do not stop
at one test cause no test is 100% accurate.
He will probably do more testing, including
the same ones over again, just to be sure.
I would double check with your doctor now
and be sure how all your tests turn out and
what can be done if they are still elevated.
The sooner you help your liver, the better
chance you have of preventing further
complications regarding it.
I hope this information above is of some help
to you.
Here is also a link:'
http://familydoctor.org/online/famdocen/...
Best wishes...
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