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HELP- Reused an already 2 time used diabetic testing lancet

Both my parents are diabetic. They tested their levels with Accu Chek Diabetes Kit with the same lancet. Foolishly I also used the same lancet. My mother(50) is the one who frequently checks her levels with it and she has used the same lancet many times before today. Could my father or me have contracted hepatitis B or C? My mother does not have either hepatitis B or C. Please someone reply. I'm freaking out.
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Avatar universal
I concur with SurfsideGal.  I would say that your risk is low.   You don't know if your mother has Hepatitis C and even if she did, what you did is not an efficient way to transmit the virus.   I know it's a scary thing to experience and you also probably feel bad for having put yourself in a position where you are having to worry about it.   I know exactly how you feel as I once had what I thought was an exposure that I could have easily avoided.  I did get tested and was negative.

I would recommend getting tested not because I think you are infected, but just to relieve your anxiety and it's good to know your status.  You might even want to suggest it to your parents as the CDC recommends everyone get tested at least once in their lives.   If your mom were to get tested and comes back negative, then it's pretty much a moot point.   On top of everything else, there are now great drugs that can rid infected people of the virus, so it's no longer the threat it once was.
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Avatar universal
The risk is minimal. But, in order to relieve your anxiety, get tested. The antibody test should give you results 12 weeks post exposure. The RNA test should give you results at 3 weeks post exposure. But to be absolutely certain a test at 6 months is recommended.
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Avatar universal
I ask you the same. Should I get myself tested for Hepatitis C? Is there any possiblity of me having it?
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Avatar universal
No they haven't been tested for Hepatitis B or C.

You're right. This was my first time but still a sheer negligence. I realised what I did after a couple of minutes. As the kit is only used by my mother, she uses the lancet 4-5 times and then replaces it which is alright if it is used by her only. Today was an exception as me and my father decided out of the blue to test our glucose levels.

So should I get myself tested for Hepatitis C then?
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Avatar universal
Your mother cannot transmit what she doesn't have as Sparky told you. And a lancet is not a very good way to transmit the virus anyway as it is not a hollow needle. Not saying hep C couldn't be transmitted that way, but the risk is very small. 95% of adults clear Hep B if they got it in adulthood. If they got it in childhood, there is a much higher risk of being chronically infected.  Children infected at birth will become chronic 95% of the time. And hepatitis C has a higher prevalence than that reported in the NHANES study, so we are quite sure it is above 2% of the population.
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Avatar universal
If your mother does not have Hepatitis B or C, then there is no way for you or your father to become infected.  If she does not have the viruses in her blood, then there is nowhere for it to come from.   The virus does not appear out of nowhere.   Have either of your parents ever been tested for Hepatitis B or C?  Chances of them having them are small - 95% of people infected by Hepatitis B clear the virus from their body naturally and then are immune from infection from then on.  Hepatitis C infection stays in your body, but only about 1% of the US population has it.

I am not an expert on blood glucose testing, but I am fairly certain that the lancets are only meant to be used once and then disposed of properly.  If only for the sake of getting a proper reading, everyone in your family should be using their own lancet and not reusing them.
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