sexual partners

I am a single female  and just starting to date again. If i decide to have sex and use a condom do i have to tell my sexual partner i have hepatitis C?.

[spcecst2]

you won't have to tell me!

[Forseegood]

I think there was an excellent thread on this very subject about a month or so ago? If youre really interested in the groups opinions on this, it might be worth a look see in the archives....Looks like  you already have one admirer of the spacey variety anyway, :)

[meki]

I think it is imperative that you tell ANYONE that you go beyond a handshake with - that you have a disease that is contagious blood to blood.

Seriously - they need to be able to make the decision and learn about it... You shouldn't be choosing their life for them.

So - yeah - tell them.

If they run ---- good - ya didn't need someone like that anyway.

Be forearmed with information - explain the risks and the exposure points - what to look out for --- be educational.

That way - even if they run - they'll have learned something.

Meki

[jmjm530]

Sexual transmission is uncommon. Using condoms -- which was the stipulation -- should reduce the risk very close to zero. Not sure if there's much more risk with sex and condoms then there might be if for example you played basketball in a league and somehow bled onto someone. Does that mean we should tell people we have Hep C in that scenario. No answer here, just some questions.

[jmjm530]

Actually I asked that same question -- sex with condoms -- to one of my former hepatologists. They said there was no need to disclose if I used condoms. That said, I decided to disclose with my last girlfriend and she got pissed off that I wouldn't have sex without condoms. Go figure.

[merryBe]

so was she blonde???????

[jmjm530]

Who can remember :) But seriously, she probably did her research and found out that HCV is uncommonly transmitted sexually and in fact the guidelines state that monagamous couples do not have to use condoms. That said, at that point in time I was more comfortable using condoms.

[CockSparrow]

So Tx messed with your memory then.
CS

[jmjm530]

Who are you?

[Myown]

I am a single female  and just starting to date again. If i decide to have sex and use a condom do i have to tell my sexual partner i have hepatitis C?.
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Date? What if you start going "steady"- then what? Tell him that when you "dated" him you you knew you had Hep C, AND you were nice enough to use a condom so you don't think he should be mad. Hey maybe he'll open up and tell you that he has HIV and thats why "he" used a condom. That would be good, right? Cause then you both had "secrets" that could turn a persons life upside down, BUT you were BOTH nice enough to use condoms - 2 thoughtful people - match made in heaven.

Plain and simple - don't pull your pants down for someone that you can't discuss everything and anything with. We are not living in the 60's with the flower children anymore. The doctors now consider Hep c an STD in the gay community,,,its only a matter of time before it gets the same label in the straight community. We're not rabbits, I think you can wait to have sex with a guy until you feel comfortable to tell him that you have hep c.

[nygirl7]

I would never in good concience have sex with someone while having a blood to blood borne disease WITHOUT telling them - that just SUX in my opinion and someone who would do it wouldn't be worth my time.  It's a big fat lie by omission. Jez even if the odds are like only 1% that IS a real 1%.  

And condoms DO break all the time.

[jmjm530]

NY: And condoms DO break all the time.
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Most guys wish they had that problem :)

[mikesimon]

I break them break all of the time. I think I might be filling them with too much water but I can't certain of that. Mike

[lasombra]

Well, I have HCV and when I told that to my last girlfriend after having protected sex with her several times. I generally explained to her that it's unlikely though not impossible to infect her through normal vaginal contact, and she just laughed at me. She said, "Well, if it is so, why use condoms?" The reaction of the previous ones, since I knew I was infected, were just the same, save the laugh. After about two months I made her check herself for HCV and she was negative, which only proves transmition of HCV is not likely during normal contact.

I did some research, both the on Internet and with my doctor, and yes, it's quite hard for someone to get infected with HCV through -- once again -- *normal* intercourse. The vaginal secretions contain enzymes the sole purpose of which is to attack and destroy any virus that might have entered it (by the way, turns out that these secretions along with dog saliva are the best topical antibiotics there are, both efficient and with no side effects). Moreover blood-to-blood contact is not likely unless you practice very brutal sex, or the girl is not stimulated enough to have those secretions running (under which circumstances you shouldn't have sex with her, HCV positive or not, because that's practically raping). HCV is considered a STD in the gay communty because in the case of an anal intercourse the antibiotic lubricant is missing, and because of the tightness of the anus haemmorages are more likely. The CDC (Center of Disease Control) does not reommend the use of condoms in discordant couples, since the risk of transmitting the virus is very little due to the aforementioned reasons.

Now, imagine the following: you tell a girl you have HCV, and the chances of infecting her are, say, 5%. You have fun for six months, then break up. She goes to a dentist who thinks of hygene as of a recommendation rather than as of a rule and gets infected. Then she comes and blames you! And the worst part is that you cannot prove anything, and you're up for a lifetime of guilt. Would that be better? I think avoiding unsafe sexual practices is a better option. Besides, there's a much higher risk that you get hit by a SUV while strolling down the street.

I for one always inform my partners, just because that's the type of person I am, and because I hate living in a lie, but everyone should judge by themselves, and informing the partner is not compulsory, since the risk of infection is very small.