What do I need to do now? PRAY !!!
How do you know it was infected with hep c?
Good question from Rocker.
It's probably too late now, but when I stabbed myself with my used needle by accident and was scared I had reinfected myself (I hadn't, of course) the nurses on my trial told me to run it under HOT-as-you-can-stand water for 5 mins and put bleach on the site.
If you are sure it was a Hep C infected needle the only thing you can do is wait a month then go get tested for the antibodies. YOu will probably need to do a couple of tests to confirm status, if any.
Between now and then, the praying is good advice.
I've heard or read the hepc virus can live outside the body for up to 4 days but many experts think it usually survives up to 16 hrs at room temperature. How long ago had the infected person used the needle?
my friend had a hepatitus when he was a child. thanks
Get tested....see a Doctor NOW
today i can go to ER only. can it wait until monday?
It can totally wait until Monday.
What *kind* of hepatitis did your friend have?
May I ask why your friend was injecting himself with a needle and how it came about that you scraped yourself with it? Is your friend treating for Hep C? Is he an IV drug user? But in general, your risk from needle pricks is only around 2-3% but if you were using the needle IV that's another story. In fact, if you're an IV drug user the odds are that you already have HCV. As to getting tested, there is no emergency and the ER is not the place to go. Speak to your family doctor or a GI and they will run an antibody test and/or viral load test on you.
-- Jim
i don't know exactly -- he was a child like around 4-5 years old. i hurted myself pretty hard and my blood was running for about 10 min and i was keeping under the water ( unfortunately cold water) for 10 min. in addition i was trying to squeeze that place to force to take more out, then put alcohol around that area.
thanks,
Thanks Jim. it wasn't IV. actually i did an injection for him myself using Syringe intramuscularly for his regular monthly shots and hurted myself with his Syringe which has his blood. his is my brother and doesn't use any drugs. i'm not a drug user as well.
thanks to all
in addition, he was treated for hep only as a child and never was treated after all
Then about a 2-3% chance of infection if the needle broke your skin. Best doctor to run and interpret the test would be a gastroenterologist or hepatologist. It's not an emergency, but personally I'd try and get seen next week so it won't weigh on your mind.
-- Jim
Thanks Jim. i appreciate everyone's support!!!
Reason why i mentioned to go to hospital right away is ive read somewhere that in the very early stages of infection(acute)...if treated with drugs right aways odds are 90% that you will kill it off...maybe im over cautious be goin to the doc right away...but if it me...id be asking questions pronto
The hepatitis C virus is usually detectable in the blood within one to three weeks after infection, and antibodies to the virus are generally detectable within 3 to 12 weeks.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hepatitis_C
Previous practice was to not treat acute infections to see if the person would spontaneously clear; recent studies have shown that treatment during the acute phase of genotype 1 infections has a greater than 90% success rate with half the treatment time required for chronic infections.[12]
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hepatitis_C
To be picked up this early they'd probably have to run a PCR as opposed to an antibody test and even then the viral load can be intermittent early in the acute stage meaning it can go in and out of undetectible. The problem with the ER -- other than waiting a few days will make no difference -- is that they probably won't know what tests to run anyway and at best you'd get an antibody test and at worst some sort of lecture by an ignorant intern. Just think it would be much smoother sailing if she made an appointment next week with a doc who has some speciality in the area. That is what I would do if in her shoes.
As to treating acutes, a newer study shoes that 40% of women will clear the virus naturally. Not suggesting an acute should not treat, but something to factor in.
Thanks to all. it happened at 8 pm last night. should i go to ER now or can i wait until monday morning and go to my doctor? i really don't want to spend 6 hours in ER if it can wait until monday.thanks
If he was treated for hep as a child, it's possible that was hep B. If it resolved, then I don't believe he can't give it to her.
Still, she should have tests for hep a, b, c IMHO. Maybe HIV just to be sure.
Got a few question up for discussion.
If this needle was a interferon needle, would interferon kill the virus on/in the needle?
Would interferon rubbed/sprayed on or in the scrape site be more effective than hot water or bleach ?
Or would it be an option to pre-dose with a shot of inf in a possible or probable accidental HCV exposure. Would this help in fending off the virus before it got a foothold ?
Not suggesting to do any of these, just some questions that popped to mind when I read your thread.
apache
As I mentioned in my earlier posts, the ER is not the place to go. Make an appointment with a gastroenterologist for next week and explain to him/her what happened. And, as GreatBird suggests, while they run a test for Hep C, you should also get tested for Hep B, A and HIV.