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Can you give yourself hep c
I am in week five of tx and tested undetectable, My ? is can I re-infect myself with the hep c virus, I have already thrown away all my old razors, toothbrush, etc., just to be safe, but I have not seen this question before and asked Dr. about it and no one seems to know, I think this is a good subject for our group to find out about...
I changed them every 2 wks and disinfected my clippers, earrings and tweezers, but I didn't throw out the clippers, earrings and tweezers-just disinfected them. On the razors, I always must use 1 time use disposable cheap razors anyway, so that wasn't a big deal, use once-throw away. Anyhow, I'm undetectable since week 4 on tx and was undetectable on 1 wk after TX. I felt for myself that changing the toothbrushes every week was excessive since I was still on the meds and undetectable. I also swap back and forth interchangeably with the electric toothbrush so I bought a bunch of cheap replacement electric toothbrush heads at Walmart. When I swapped the manual toothbrushes, I also swapped the toothbrush heads. I have an old Oral-B electric toothbrush (nothing super fancy like a Sonic), but it works fine and the replacement toothbrush head come in a pack of 3 at Walmart. Susan400
I'm changing my toothbrush every six days. I'm not taking any chances.
I bought a bunch from the dollar store. I miss my electric toothbrush but I'm going to change the head and use it when I'm done with tx. Otherwise it's too expensive.
I bought a bunch from the dollar store. I miss my electric toothbrush but I'm going to change the head and use it when I'm done with tx. Otherwise it's too expensive.
Hi Rubye
This was an old thread with a new post with a question about contaminating refrigerated injectable meds. I suggest the new person create a new thread for this very reason to avoid confusion and get their own question addressed.
But yeah change those tooth brushes people!
This was an old thread with a new post with a question about contaminating refrigerated injectable meds. I suggest the new person create a new thread for this very reason to avoid confusion and get their own question addressed.
But yeah change those tooth brushes people!
According to a Yale study in 12/13 the virus can live up to six weeks on surfaces.
http://publichealth.yale.edu/news/archive/article.aspx?id=6417
To my mind, it is just common sense that once you no longer have the virus you could reinfect yourself if you introduce the virus back into your system through a cut or bleeding gums, etc. For me, my gums bleed occasionally and so I figure the virus is on my toothbrush but if I keep using the same toothbrush then I am reintroducing the virus into my gums, have the virus, and then it gets back on the toothbrush again, etc.
I plan to use a new toothbrush every two weeks and to get new cuticle scissors toward the end of treatment and I'm even going to toss my retainer. It's just not worth taking a chance on it when these things are relatively cheap to purchase. And I'm about as poor as they come. :)
http://publichealth.yale.edu/news/archive/article.aspx?id=6417
To my mind, it is just common sense that once you no longer have the virus you could reinfect yourself if you introduce the virus back into your system through a cut or bleeding gums, etc. For me, my gums bleed occasionally and so I figure the virus is on my toothbrush but if I keep using the same toothbrush then I am reintroducing the virus into my gums, have the virus, and then it gets back on the toothbrush again, etc.
I plan to use a new toothbrush every two weeks and to get new cuticle scissors toward the end of treatment and I'm even going to toss my retainer. It's just not worth taking a chance on it when these things are relatively cheap to purchase. And I'm about as poor as they come. :)
Hi looking and welcome
This post is a couple of years old. The best way to get your question noticed would be to click the green "Post A Question" link at the top right of the page. That way you question will be noticed by all and you can get an answer. You could copy and paste your question in a new question.
The question I do have is how would your injectable medication come into contact with the virus in the first place?
Good luck
Lynn
This post is a couple of years old. The best way to get your question noticed would be to click the green "Post A Question" link at the top right of the page. That way you question will be noticed by all and you can get an answer. You could copy and paste your question in a new question.
The question I do have is how would your injectable medication come into contact with the virus in the first place?
Good luck
Lynn
If a contaminated product is refrigerated, can the Hep C virus survive after 4 days? This is my problem: I have a new cartridge of Humatrope worth a few thousand dollars. A needle is attached to the cartridge. The needle is replaced with every use but the cartridge where the needle is attached t is always the same until it runs out. Replacing the needle is a no brainer. My fear is, can the virus travel to the GH solution? I would hate to throw the medication away. I rely on it to gain weight after I either go through the meds or clear it.
I am embarrassed to say I just cleared it a year ago. I got it through sex. Obviously the person I have been sleeping with did not tell me the truth about status. I should have asked for proof... But that's another issue.
I am embarrassed to say I just cleared it a year ago. I got it through sex. Obviously the person I have been sleeping with did not tell me the truth about status. I should have asked for proof... But that's another issue.
If you've had HepC, you have antibodies but the antibodies do not clear the virus ( except for those few that clear early on in infection). That is why there is not a vaccine yet - they can elicit an antibody response but it does not prevent infection.
Very interesting. When I first started treating I used to bleach my toothbrush and quit shaving my legs and pits. Then I thought I was being ridculous. This is interesting food for thought though, but still not going back to bleaching my toothbrush!
Wondering if we could reinfect ourselves is a legitimate question. It crops up every couple of weeks or so. Usually people are curious if they should dispose of the razors or clippers they used before they started treatment. I'll be honest I was unsure myself until a couple of months ago.
http://hepatitiscresearchandnewsupdates.blogspot.com/2010/09/hcv-outside-body-how-well-does-it.html#.UC6Uw6DWY8
According to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), HCV can survive on environmental surfaces at room temperature for at least 16 hours but no longer than four days. The more fragile HIV virus, in contrast, only lives on surfaces for a few hours, while influenza viruses may survive for several hours up to about a day.
According to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), HCV can survive on environmental surfaces at room temperature for at least 16 hours but no longer than four days. The more fragile HIV virus, in contrast, only lives on surfaces for a few hours, while influenza viruses may survive for several hours up to about a day.
Thanks pooh, I think that if the virus can only last for four days (i heard up to thirty days but I cannot remember who told me this), then its improbable that you would re-infect yourself, I have always been good at keeping my items from the rest of family, and have wife and kids checked every year, and so far they have been neg., but yesterday when I was throwing away those items, the question came to me and was curious so thought that I would post, just to see what others thought.. once again thanks for great answer.
I just realized you're still on tx. Don't worry while on tx about reinfection. You are und, you are doing these strong meds. The very purpose of them is to kill the virus.
I thought you were done with tx.
Back to my coffee.
I thought you were done with tx.
Back to my coffee.
Hep C can live up to 4 days outside the body.
If you're worried about an old razor, well, if you haven't used it for more than 4 days, there should be no problem.
People here used to claim you could not reinfect yourself, but I'm not sure if that's ever been cleared up.
I'm going to ask my hepatologist.
I'd like to point out that I, like many others, had the virus for years, and didn't know it until after my kids were raised. My daughter had used my razor. I'd cared for my children's wounds, and they are not infected.
My advice, be careful but you needn't be paranoid.
If you're worried about an old razor, well, if you haven't used it for more than 4 days, there should be no problem.
People here used to claim you could not reinfect yourself, but I'm not sure if that's ever been cleared up.
I'm going to ask my hepatologist.
I'd like to point out that I, like many others, had the virus for years, and didn't know it until after my kids were raised. My daughter had used my razor. I'd cared for my children's wounds, and they are not infected.
My advice, be careful but you needn't be paranoid.
I understand that I am not out of the water yet, but my question remains, If I am virus free, can I re-infect myself.
What I mean by that is if I use an old razor or toothbrush, or some kind of item that is infected with my own blood, can I re-infect myself with my own blood if indeed i am free, and If i can we in the hep c community need to be aware of this and take appropriate precautions..
What I mean by that is if I use an old razor or toothbrush, or some kind of item that is infected with my own blood, can I re-infect myself with my own blood if indeed i am free, and If i can we in the hep c community need to be aware of this and take appropriate precautions..
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*One would have to still have the virus when using the item, bleed while using the item, get some of that blood on the item (toothbrush or razor or clippers)
*Then one would have to become virus free after the original use of the item
*Then one would have to use the item again within 4 days of the original use, have an open wound while using the item, get some of the old infected blood into the bloodstream via that open wound
So I think it is possible, but not very common, in fact, fairly unlikely.
I threw out all of my razors and tooth brushes. I use disposable razors and I change the toothbrush every month or so. I don't use the nail clippers every 4 days or even very often, so I kept it.