10 Ways that You Cannot Get Hepatitis C
I’m throwing it down. I just read an email from a poor woman who’s husband was flipping out because they discovered that she had Hepatitis C. He went on this militant housekeeping regime that had everyone wearing face masks and keeping a hand sanitizer on their belt loops. Give me a break.
When she went on to say that he felt like maybe the kids should spend more time with relatives while she was treating, I was like, “OK. That sounds better.” Then she explained that he was afraid it would have an effect on the kids. Like, she might pass it on to them. Stop it right there. I feel my blood pressure rising just thinking about it. Deep breath.
After he tells her to stop cooking because it would “infect” the kitchen, I was thinking that might be to her advantage, you know? Hey, if he’s willing to cook, I’m all for it! But wait til you hear what happened next. He went to sleep on the couch, and cut her off sexually. Hold on. I’m done.
Get ready for the 10 ways that you cannot get Hepatitis C. Let me start by saying that the virus is blood borne. It cannot be spread any other way than blood to blood contact. The blood in their vein has to get in an open wound on your body.
That said, anything can happen. In a home or social setting, it would have to be a crazy situation for blood to blood contact. If a person has bleeding gums and passes their bloody their toothbrush to another person with bleeding gums – like that’s going to happen. Read bout transmission here. And the one on sex is here.
Hepatitis C is not transmitted by:
- Eating food prepared by someone with the virus.
- Having sex.
- Sitting next to someone.
- Touching someone.
- Hugging someone.
- Sharing a bathroom.
- Holding hands.
- Kissing.
- Sharing a drink.
- Coughing.
I think the bigger concern here is ignorance. That poor woman’s husband needs to get an education regarding HCV transmission, but more than that, he needs to respect her. Her body is fighting a virus that is multiplying in her liver. I haven’t heard back from her regarding whether she has any liver scarring or cirrhosis. She did say that she was tired a lot, probably from hearing him put her down for having Hepatitis C. Find out about Prevention at Hepatitis C.net
Summing it Up
I personally lived with the virus for years and didn’t know it until my liver failed. I was married and have an adult daughter and 2 grandchildren. We shared our kitchens, bathroom, razors, and our whole lives. No one got the virus from me. It’s not the flu. Upon learning I had HCV, I quit sharing personal and toiletry items. In this case, I hope the lady’s family will support her while she goes through treatment. Then she can get enough strength to leave this guy if he hasn’t straightened out by then.
Again, Jennifer wrote about transmission for the Best Friends Guide. Check that blog out here. I love you with all my heart. If anyone gives you a bad time for having the virus, send ‘em my way. I’ll give ‘em a piece of this! Xoxo Karen:)
Here’s a pic of Kimberly Morgan from The Bonnie Morgan Foundation. What a warm lovey time together.
23 thoughts on “10 Ways that You Cannot Get Hepatitis C”
Very good post Karen. When I was diagnosed with Hep C I knew I had contracted it maybe 30 years ago. My wife of 25 years was tested and was negative. 🙂 That was a relief
Dave
Thank you so much for sharing. I was diagnosed 30 years after a gamma globulin shot to help my immune system. Neither of my children or husband of 30 years contracted it. Thanks again, Dorene
Thanks, 💜.. People need to know!
Sounds like something deeper to me, I’m amazed he ever discovered how to have children in the first place. 😉
Hey there! I agree with you. There is something going on with this guy besides his ignorance and insensitive behavior.
My heart is breaking for this woman and her children. He could have at least gotten his information before reacting like this. If you’re reading mam, God love you, keep you safe. Warmest regards, Dee
I like the belt loop hand sanitizer idea. One should go so far as to get a whole over the shoulder belt. Similar to and ammo belt that Rambo uses. Instead of holding shells it could hold 20-40 of them little bottles of Purell. Not only would you look cool and mean you would also be clean. Cool, mean, clean.
Funny, did you know those hand sanitizers don’t fight MRSA or CDIF? I asked a nurse about that, she said they knew and they washed their hands every 5th time. ARGH, don’t touch me 🙂
Dear Karen, this is a wonderful article. I think it needs to be at the beginning of your site. There is so much ignorance out there! It boggles the mind that this poor woman is suffering so. Just when she needs her husbands love and affection he is turning away. I cried when I read this. When I was diagnosed, my husband drew closer to me, became my support system. He was the man I always knew and loved. He didn’t change. I have a feeling this is who this guy is. Sorry but my heart is breaking for her. I wish I could give her a hug. All my love, Dorene
Dee Ernst recently posted…10 Ways that You Cannot Get Hepatitis C
I felt as if I was reading about my own husbsnd, accusing me of awful sex us acts, drug use, bought it up in a vulgar manner each day.
It left me very harmed physiologically and spirituality.
I wasn’t going to treat I thought it was better to die. I still don’t know how I’ve come this far. Unfortunately all I learned about those that are close to you is not to tell them your secrets it hurts more when abused by an idiot that u trusted
I’m so sorry love. No one deserves that. No one. You are now free to be healed physically, emotionally, mentally, and spiritually. It is painful when trust is broken. We tend to build up a hard shell of protection. Maybe that is a good thing for a while. While you’re in this safe position, love yourself first and FULLY. You’re worth it sweetheart. xoxoxoxoxoxo Karen:)
Hi k, thanks for the nice and loving words, I’m cured now 7 months and I don’t know how to explain this but ever since I first got sick, it changed ne, it’s as if something broke inside me, it’s so hard to properly explain , something isn’t right with me , bring opened to his ridicule I have never fully recovered from we are married 18 yrs abd I’ll never ever trust him again with something personal to be spoken to like that I’m broken hearted and wel l there is much going on..
Thank you again and glad you are doing so well and reaching others on u tube and blogs
Hi there, I just saw your post. I first wanted to say how sorry I am that the treatment has affected you this way. Karen and I (Dee) treated 4 years ago and we also felt changed. While the Incivek, Interferon, Riba was very hard to take and the new treatments are supposed to be easier and shorter length it is still a drug that has to be strong enough to kill the HCV> Give yourself some time. It took me a long time to recover. Don’t let hubby get you down. How immature that he would make fun of you when you are ill. I am very sad to hear this. We have all struggled with a very difficult diagnosis, ignorance, treatment and for someone to think this is something to make fun of just breaks my heart.
What treatment did you take? It does take time and it affects us all differently. Please hang in there. Don’t clean if you don’t feel up to it. I would tell him how much he hurt you. That’s just me. Take care, Dee
Many spouses/mates of a Hepatitis C sufferer simply leave soon after the diagnosis. And there is a bad stigma about Hep C still. 5xs as many people have Hep C as have HIV-AIDS, and how much more the average person knows about AIDS than Hep C. Also, 5xs as many people die of our disease than AIDS. Their research, education, treatment and more has extreme amounts of $s poured into it, many many times more than for Hepatitis C. When will it change?
Hi there, thank you for sharing. The CDC said that up to 3 out of 4 people up to 75% of the people infected with HCV don’t know it yet. It is very sad that people don’t know the ways they could have contracted HCV. For instance I contracted it (I Think) was through a gamma globulin injection back in the late 70’s. I will never know for sure. There are many who don’t know how they contracted, from unsterile tattoo needle or ink, a manicure, pedicure. Before 92 there was no one testing the blood and they called it Non A B. It is sad to me, all the ignorance that is out there. The only way that AIDs was able to get help was when Rock Hudson was diagnosed, then Elizabeth Taylor got people involved. Elton John etc helped to bring awareness. That is what is needed for HCV. Someone to bring attention to it and the different ways of contracting it. The fact that a person can have it for 20 or 30 years before symptoms show up is really sad. That is why the CDC suggests that everyone born be3tween 1945 and 1965 get tested. Everyone needs to be tested, not just those who think they were not at risk. Thank you so much for stopping by. Dee
Carol as long as people choose ignorance is probably how long a great deal will last. It’s horrid to feel ashamed that your sick and some suffer in silence due to being afraid of what people will conclude with narrow minds . I believe it takes a great deal if courage to tell others and a great deal of courage to fight for changes in care, and advocate for others who can not fight for them selves.
C I think it was really nice of you to send a note to Carol. You are so right, it takes a lot of courage. I have been cured for 4 years and still struggle. It gets tiring trying to tell people about HCV but I try to do it anyway. Even the CDC now says that up to 3 out of 4 people with HCV don’t know they have it yet. That is scary. I would probably need a transplant if mine had not been discovered. Bless you for commenting, Dee
Just diagnosed! I have an active case but no liver damage. Never did drugs, no tattoos, had a philandering husband (now an ex) who seriously was promiscuous. Had an equivalent of a spoonful of blood when I was born over 60 years ago. So, where did this evil virus come from?? Who knows. Main thing now is to get it done…
I’m doing milk thistle, dandelion tea, glutathione until I get to the hep specialist. Hopefully my counts will go down and I can just be a chronic statistic. Anyone out there had success with natural stuff??
Hi there, sounds like you are doing well. Have you had a biopsy or blood work to see if your liver is damaged? For the glutathione you would need NAC for your body to create as taking the supplement doesn’t really increase glutathione.
There are other ways to get it, for instance before testing and new laws and regs, one could get it from a pedicure or manicure.
One could get it from using another persons razor or sharing a tooth brush or snorting something with a shared straw or dollar bill. While the thought was that the virus could only live for 4 days outside the body, research has shown that it can live for many weeks. I hear the newer treatments are much easier. I was not lucky enough to be able to wait so had to do the harder medications. I wish you the very best, I also tried natural things and my numbers got much worse. That was when I realized that only the treatment would help me
Ann, you might want to do some research on HCV, research has really gone a long way. There is no such thing as active or inactive. You either have it or you don’t. Did you get a viral load and geno type? Some people are lucky in that their body fights it off though that only happens in the first 6 months. After that it is considered chronic and the virus goes to work on your liver, spleen. platelets, kidneys, etc. A good place to go is MedHelp to find others discussing their situation. There is much to learn.
I have an active case. I had a viral load test…still trying to find about the genotype. Waiting to get to a HepC specialist.
I hope that you’ve gotten some answers by now from your doctor. Most genotypes are easily treatable now. You’ve got options! xo Karen
You’re right, there’s still a lot of ignorance and misinformation surrounding Hep C. Educating yourself about the disease is a necessary first step in coming to terms with it and managing the symptoms. Thanks for posting and keep up the good work!
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June,
I agree that getting education is the first step with any illness. It’s encouraging to see it spoken of more openly in media outlets. Knowledge is power!
Thanks for stopping by. Your home spa looks like something I need. I’ve never done a paraffin wax at home, but it sounds like a great cure for dry skin.
Thanks so much!
Karen
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