can Hepatitis C

My daughter used a toothbrush of a friend with hepatitis c.  She has sensitive gums that bleed alot.  Can she contract hepatitis c by sharing a toothbrush once with her friend?

[Bill1954]

It is very unlikely that she would have contracted the disease this way. However, it’s theoretically possible; if she likes, testing is available and can be done several months beyond the point of exposure to allow for the development of antibodies. Discuss this with her doctor, and if he feels the risk warrants, he/she will order the test.

Good luck to her,

Bill

[portann]

Sharing toothbrushes is a stated risk factor because hepatitis c is spread through blood to blood contact.

If her friend's blood was on the toothbrush and your daughter absorbed it through her own bleeding gums, then it's possible. I see it as remote, even theoretical.  I'm so used to sharing toothbrushes (yuk!) that I probably don't give it the weight I should. My husband and I still grab 'whatever', even though we should 'know better'. Now it's our Oral B's. My husband is color-blind, so he can't tell which is his.

Many of us shared personal grooming items with our families for years, not knowing we had HCV. My own family all test negative for the virus. And I always used my husband's razor in the shower before I discovered waxing.

If your daughter's persistently worried, she can be tested.