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Hepatitis C Main Forums => On Hepatitis C Treatment => Topic started by: iana5252 on October 18, 2011, 09:51:29 am

Title: I am a professional nurse and was tested for Hep C after a needle prick.
Post by: iana5252 on October 18, 2011, 09:51:29 am

reader question: "I am a professional nurse and was tested for Hep C after a needle prick. I tested positive. I am healthy with no signs of liver problems. do I need to do something?"

Title: Re: I am a professional nurse and was tested for Hep C after a needle prick.
Post by: Tim Horn on October 18, 2011, 10:06:51 am

Nurse:

How long has it been since the needlestick injury? And did you test positive for the actual virus (via PCR testing) or antibody positive?

These are important questions, because there's a REALLY good chance of hepatitis C virus being cured, provided that treatment is started -- and continued for approximately six months -- as soon after infection as possible, when the infection is in the "acute" phase.

The best thing to do will be to connect with a knowledgeable hepatitis C care provider. If the infection is very new, you'll want to consider starting treatment as soon as possible. If the needlestick injury was some time ago, you'll still want to confirm your infection and receive routine monitoring to help make treatment decisions.

Tim Horn