Aa
Family Divided
My SIL told the family she had Hep C and contracted it thru cutting the hair of an infected person. This did not sound right to me so I questioned it. Of course (since I only married into the family) everyone is mad at me for questioning her. If I'm wrong I will apologize to her in a heart beat but I honestly don't think she contracted it this way from everything I have read on the subject. Since you guys have all dealt with this much more than I have, CAN you contract Hep C this way? Is it at all possible even when no blood was involved?
She hasn’t been back seeking more information to “help my SIL thru this” so, It appears she got the ammunition she was seeking and is now on her mission.
Honestly, I think the answer depends on how much you value the relationship with her. She is in emotional turmoil right now and approaching her by challenging her on this might not be best for her. I'm quite sure if this were my family...it wouldn't pan out well for you in the end.
Maybe give it some time..... and encourage everyone to educate themselves on this disease.
I made the mistake of sharing with my sister in law early on. I asked her to respect my privacy and not tell anyone else just yet....she immediately called the rest of her family and told them everything. Yeah.....that relationship that took a hit. I've forgiven, but will never trust her again.Ok...enough about me, sorry.
Encourage her. Encourage everyone to learn all they can. Send her here to find support. It will be a great help.
Good luck
Maybe give it some time..... and encourage everyone to educate themselves on this disease.
I made the mistake of sharing with my sister in law early on. I asked her to respect my privacy and not tell anyone else just yet....she immediately called the rest of her family and told them everything. Yeah.....that relationship that took a hit. I've forgiven, but will never trust her again.Ok...enough about me, sorry.
Encourage her. Encourage everyone to learn all they can. Send her here to find support. It will be a great help.
Good luck
Ditto R Glass and others on how this can be an emotional issue and shouldn't be made worse by putting her on the defensive or making her feel like she needs to somehow explain. We keep saying that it doesn't matter how you get it, but this issue comes up again and again. It is too bad that there is a shame that seems to automatically attach to this disease. We are all too judgemental and less compassionate than we should be.
Maybe you should let her know in private that you don't really care how she got it and be a supportive in-law. I think you'll be happier with this route as well.
Maybe you should let her know in private that you don't really care how she got it and be a supportive in-law. I think you'll be happier with this route as well.
Obviously "anything is possible", even fish bones. But really? Ricky and others hit the nail on the head and I think this is the consensus:
1. Strictly speaking, no one knows for sure how they got it unless they intentionally
infected themselves with contaminated blood.
2. It does not matter how you got it unless you are doing research in epidemiology.
1. Strictly speaking, no one knows for sure how they got it unless they intentionally
infected themselves with contaminated blood.
2. It does not matter how you got it unless you are doing research in epidemiology.
I'm sorry people, but I am a cosmetologist and believe the same thing and there are many of us in the business with it. It's not the act of "cutting of the hair" it's the open cuts we have on our hands, it's using metal implements on people, eachother & ourselves without the proper sanitation methods, which are not proper safety precautions against the spread of Hepatitis. There are a ton of ways that we can not only contract it in a salon, but can spread it as well, not only to ourselves but between clients.
I would really love to speak to your family member as I am seriously researching this topic, trust me people it is way more possible than you can believe I've been in the business for 24 yrs. and have quit, because I believe it.
I would really love to speak to your family member as I am seriously researching this topic, trust me people it is way more possible than you can believe I've been in the business for 24 yrs. and have quit, because I believe it.
great points about what does it really matter how someone got it. don't make a big deal about it and just offer them love & support.
no one really knows all the ways HCV is transmitted. This is such a resiliant disease almost anything is possible.
and yes it is possible from cutting hair IF the stylist/barbar cut you then themself.
no one really knows all the ways HCV is transmitted. This is such a resiliant disease almost anything is possible.
and yes it is possible from cutting hair IF the stylist/barbar cut you then themself.
I think that telling a family one got HCV from a haircut makes it sound like HCV is transmitted easily. It is not. For that reason alone, I think it's important to correct that information. Family members should not feel at risk by touching or cutting hair or sharing dishes or bathrooms or any of that with another family member who has HCV.
There is so much misinformation out there, and I think it adds to the stigma.
There is so much misinformation out there, and I think it adds to the stigma.
HCV is strictly a blood bourne viral disease, period, end of story, nothing to suggest otherwise.
However, in the end what does it matter how a person contracted it?
Will it change your ability to provide support and assistance to that person?
Would this be an issue if it was a blood sibling from your immediate family?
Is it simply a matter of being right or is there more deeper down about becoming taking a position in the family to provide the empathy, comfort, and support to another family member?
But perhaps most importantly, is it something which needs to be resolved between your SO and yourself?
Maybe I'm wrong, but these seem to be questions which one may need to look at from a relationship perspective.
However, in the end what does it matter how a person contracted it?
Will it change your ability to provide support and assistance to that person?
Would this be an issue if it was a blood sibling from your immediate family?
Is it simply a matter of being right or is there more deeper down about becoming taking a position in the family to provide the empathy, comfort, and support to another family member?
But perhaps most importantly, is it something which needs to be resolved between your SO and yourself?
Maybe I'm wrong, but these seem to be questions which one may need to look at from a relationship perspective.
I would like to add that people are to quick to point the finger at IV drug use as the culprit even if the infected person was once an IV drug user. I will use myself as an example.
I “ran” drugs about 30 years ago and automatically assumed; this is how I was infected. Now I am not so sure. I drank almost everyday of those 30 years and was only at stage 1. I find this hard to believe.
Between dentist and life of construction, car wrecks, life in general, I have been around my share of blood and could have contacted it at anytime.
I am really starting to doubt it was from IV drug use.
I “ran” drugs about 30 years ago and automatically assumed; this is how I was infected. Now I am not so sure. I drank almost everyday of those 30 years and was only at stage 1. I find this hard to believe.
Between dentist and life of construction, car wrecks, life in general, I have been around my share of blood and could have contacted it at anytime.
I am really starting to doubt it was from IV drug use.
Rocker wrote;
",i mean the ones who say they never got onto drugsmthe only other 2 main ways are tattos and medical procedures
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I disagree with this and even the way it is written is pretty vague leaving a lot open for misinterpreting and possibly conveying incorrect information.
Medical procedures may be wider than uninformed people would interpret it to mean. Rocker may also mean the people have gotten it (in addition to operations or transfusions) but it may also be in getting contaminated drugs, tainted by improper procedures, through improperly sterilized equipment, in dental or plastic surgery. Many people in the military were infected through air gun innoculations. Medical procedures really doesn't do justice to the wide range of methods that HCV has been transmitted.
HCV can be transmitted sexually. Common hetersexual transmission has a very low risk but there are also other co-factors which can raise the transmission rate.
Vertical transmission can also occur. (from mother to child)
It is possible to get it through sports injuries where blood to blood exposure can occur.
We have members here who were infected in acts of violence against them, for example where both parties are bleeding.
I hope the tone of this thread isn't to "get the goods" on someone who is infected and to expose their lie about how they got infected. It isn't anybody's job to do that or to judge them. 30-40% of us don't know how they got the infection. Many people who are infected are innocent bystanders; mothers who were given blood products during childbirth, soldiers who served in Vietnam who were infected, or other methods. I met a man who pulled an injured person from a car wreck and who was infected with the blood of the injured party.
Point is...... unless you can prove that they came across this some other way maybe you should give them the benefit of the doubt.
In answer to your original question......
I have been cut many times with straight razors while getting a haircut at a barbers/ hair stylist. Back before they knew there was a HCV or how to properly sterilize the equipment. I didn't know, they didn't know; nobody knew. Could that razor have been tainted with my blood after the haircut; yes. Could the razor have been tainted with someone elses blood before my haircut? Yup. Do hair sylists ever get cut themselves with straight razors? I'm pretty sure they do. Coincidentally, a person who used to cut my hair told be that she had been infected once but had cleared the virus.
I hope that I have explained to you how infection can occur.
Don't feel too bad, I've heard of doctors that have accused women of acquiring it because they were of questionable character. I've heard of doctors also immediately assuming they were drug addicts. When people stereotype like this they will be right a percentage of the time but they also unfairly malign many innocent people. Since in the United States about 5% of us are infected that is a sizable number. If you work the math on how many haircuts she does per year you'll see that she probably has provided many trims to infected people.
This person deserves some compassion, not judgement.
best,
Willy
",i mean the ones who say they never got onto drugsmthe only other 2 main ways are tattos and medical procedures
------------------------------------------------------------------------
I disagree with this and even the way it is written is pretty vague leaving a lot open for misinterpreting and possibly conveying incorrect information.
Medical procedures may be wider than uninformed people would interpret it to mean. Rocker may also mean the people have gotten it (in addition to operations or transfusions) but it may also be in getting contaminated drugs, tainted by improper procedures, through improperly sterilized equipment, in dental or plastic surgery. Many people in the military were infected through air gun innoculations. Medical procedures really doesn't do justice to the wide range of methods that HCV has been transmitted.
HCV can be transmitted sexually. Common hetersexual transmission has a very low risk but there are also other co-factors which can raise the transmission rate.
Vertical transmission can also occur. (from mother to child)
It is possible to get it through sports injuries where blood to blood exposure can occur.
We have members here who were infected in acts of violence against them, for example where both parties are bleeding.
I hope the tone of this thread isn't to "get the goods" on someone who is infected and to expose their lie about how they got infected. It isn't anybody's job to do that or to judge them. 30-40% of us don't know how they got the infection. Many people who are infected are innocent bystanders; mothers who were given blood products during childbirth, soldiers who served in Vietnam who were infected, or other methods. I met a man who pulled an injured person from a car wreck and who was infected with the blood of the injured party.
Point is...... unless you can prove that they came across this some other way maybe you should give them the benefit of the doubt.
In answer to your original question......
I have been cut many times with straight razors while getting a haircut at a barbers/ hair stylist. Back before they knew there was a HCV or how to properly sterilize the equipment. I didn't know, they didn't know; nobody knew. Could that razor have been tainted with my blood after the haircut; yes. Could the razor have been tainted with someone elses blood before my haircut? Yup. Do hair sylists ever get cut themselves with straight razors? I'm pretty sure they do. Coincidentally, a person who used to cut my hair told be that she had been infected once but had cleared the virus.
I hope that I have explained to you how infection can occur.
Don't feel too bad, I've heard of doctors that have accused women of acquiring it because they were of questionable character. I've heard of doctors also immediately assuming they were drug addicts. When people stereotype like this they will be right a percentage of the time but they also unfairly malign many innocent people. Since in the United States about 5% of us are infected that is a sizable number. If you work the math on how many haircuts she does per year you'll see that she probably has provided many trims to infected people.
This person deserves some compassion, not judgement.
best,
Willy
As you already have experienced, being right does not always have an upside. The fact is that half of the people don’t know how they got it. I remember as a kid getting a shot of Novocain from a huge stainless steel and glass syringe that was in some else’s mouth before and after me. Another fact is that she does have it and how she got it is not relevant. What is relevant is what she does from here on. She needs support and education, not finger pointing.
I would advise you to be careful on how you address this. If she is like most of us (when we first found out), she is in emotional turmoil. If not handled correctly and in the right spirit, this could turn and blow up in your face.
She may be ignorant about HCV or she may be in denial. She needs to know it doesn’t matter how she got it and no one cares about how she got it. The main thing she needs is to know is that everyone is rallying behind her.
The family does need to know HCV is not easily transferred you guys have no need to feel threatened.
Hopefully you can convince her to come here if she has any questions or needs support from people that has been down the same road.
She may be ignorant about HCV or she may be in denial. She needs to know it doesn’t matter how she got it and no one cares about how she got it. The main thing she needs is to know is that everyone is rallying behind her.
The family does need to know HCV is not easily transferred you guys have no need to feel threatened.
Hopefully you can convince her to come here if she has any questions or needs support from people that has been down the same road.
It doesn't really matter how the SIL contracted this disease. She may not know, or she may be embarrassed to reveal what actually happened, and if so, why not just let it drop? Even if she is being dishonest, HOW she got it doesn't matter -- what to do about it and how to best support her through this is what does.
Of course the other family members should have their fears about contracting it allayed, and understand that they can only get it through blood contact.
Of course the other family members should have their fears about contracting it allayed, and understand that they can only get it through blood contact.
How odd that you would disagree......the SIL didn't mention blood involved. She said she cut the Hair of an infected person, not the Skin..
Happy Holidays!
Ladybug
Happy Holidays!
Ladybug
i disagree with the others. although off the wall it is possible to get it cutting hair. if the person cutting hair was to cut the person then cut themselves with the scissors it could transmitt that way. it is a far fetched scenio but possible. barbers have gotten HCV from giving shaves with straight razors and cutting themselves.
Thanks guys. I was 99% sure I was right. Going now to print off some info for my hubby and in-laws to read. I think we all need to be well informed and help my SIL thru this. Thanks again.
lmo she is a trippa.ditto rockerforlife.tell her she is wrong cos our hair doesnt have any blood in it at all and our hair is actually dead once its outside the body.our hair isnt a living part of our body and has no blood so therefor would be impossible to get hepc from the hair.
its not that easy to catch,i had a baby and gave birth naturally and there was blood everywhere as there is at birth but cos my baby never had a deep fresh cut she was fine thankgod,i never planned on having a baby but these things happen and i have a wonderful healthy lil gal and am so grateful that hepc isnt that easy to pass on.
If i hadnt have been so naive and stupid when i was a young teenager then iwouldnt have caught hepc either.i trusted people when i was young and never thought people would give me a disease and i trusted that they were clean and i shared needles with someone i thought was a freind but they wasnt at all cos thats how i got hepc,i was young and damn silly.
Usually people only catch in from sharing needles or blood transfusions(blood transfusions are safe as these days cos they screen em and it was only b4 80s or the 90s i think....not sure....that people caught hep c from a blood transfusion.there are other ways of catching it but only blood to blood but i havnt got time to tell u all that but there are hepc info lines and web sites that u should take a look at so u can explain to ur sis inlaw that she is wrong.she would have had to have cut the persons skin and got blood on the swissors then cut her hand and then she would have a reason to be saying she might have caught it from cutting hair,but sounds like she didnt cut anything but the hair so she must have caught it from somewhere else.
its not that easy to catch,i had a baby and gave birth naturally and there was blood everywhere as there is at birth but cos my baby never had a deep fresh cut she was fine thankgod,i never planned on having a baby but these things happen and i have a wonderful healthy lil gal and am so grateful that hepc isnt that easy to pass on.
If i hadnt have been so naive and stupid when i was a young teenager then iwouldnt have caught hepc either.i trusted people when i was young and never thought people would give me a disease and i trusted that they were clean and i shared needles with someone i thought was a freind but they wasnt at all cos thats how i got hepc,i was young and damn silly.
Usually people only catch in from sharing needles or blood transfusions(blood transfusions are safe as these days cos they screen em and it was only b4 80s or the 90s i think....not sure....that people caught hep c from a blood transfusion.there are other ways of catching it but only blood to blood but i havnt got time to tell u all that but there are hepc info lines and web sites that u should take a look at so u can explain to ur sis inlaw that she is wrong.she would have had to have cut the persons skin and got blood on the swissors then cut her hand and then she would have a reason to be saying she might have caught it from cutting hair,but sounds like she didnt cut anything but the hair so she must have caught it from somewhere else.
For the ones who truly dont know how they got it,i mean the ones who say they never got onto drugsmthe only other 2 main ways are tattos and medical procedures
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