Manucure incident and worrying now

[question]

I had a manucure done during which my nailbed was chipped a bit when the cuticles were cut (no bleeding but a scratch which was red ans hurt for a couple of days). Ever since I have been worrying about contracting hepatitis, especially because I've been having abdominal pain on the right side and lost weight. Test results (anti HCV) came back negative at 8, 10 and 12 weeks,  with normal ALT and my doctor told me to stop worrying and that they didn't see anything bad in my blood work. Obviously,  I still am worried, especially because the stomach pain persists. I know that the whole situation is probably not a very high-risk one, still, how probable is a false-negative in that case? Thanks a lot!!!!

[Lynn K]

Trust your doctors opinion they are the experts.

Most people do not have symptoms of hep c which is why it is called a silent disease.

I had hep c for 37 years and cirrhosis for the last 9. I never would have known i had hep c except I donated blood. I never had any symptoms from hep c except maybe being a little tired. The only symptoms I now have are from cirrhosis.

You are fine follow your doctors advise and stop worrying yourself needlessly

[JoeB]

The virus has to be inside your body and in your case it's not even worth thinking about. Even with a bleeding cut the flow is outwards which is not amenable to transporting it into the body.

Put that worry in a box, close the lid, let it go and let it float away.

[Mugwump]

Any decent professional manicurist will sterilize their tools with a strong anti viral these days if not they have no business being in business IMO! The standard is stabilized hydrogen peroxide or other oxidizing agents at over 400 ppm. This is known to destroy the encapsulation and render inert HCV, Ha and B very quickly. In the commercial food industry the standard is 200 ppm at a minimum food grade hydrogen peroxide.

I have worked in the food industry for many years while I was infected with HCV and am confident that the few times that I did cut my self I never spread the virus to anyone. I never spread the virus to my children or wife and the contact with them was even more of a worry than my work contact.

Relax you have nothing to worry about.

Cheers
Eric

[question]

Thank you so much for your answers! I am sure the clippers were sterilised, but not so much the nail file, left alone the polish.  And I also keep worrying about the abdominal pain because it feels strange, sometimes more like pressure and its on the right side only.  I also had the impression that it gets worse when I drink alcohol. Do you think there is no reason to worry though?

[Lynn K]

Yes no reason to worry.

Hep c for most people has no symptoms. I had hep c for 37 years and cirrhosis since Jan 2008 and have never had pain.

Maybe you have some gastrointestinal distress issues maybe some trapped air in your intestines?

[question]

No, no trapped air... I've also had these symptoms for more than 3 months now

[Lynn K]

Well since you tested negative for hep c and what you are experiencing is not a symptom of hep c you are probably not going to find the answers you are looking for here with us.

We are a group of patients living with hep c or liver disease we are a support group to share our experiences and what we have learned while going through treatment. We are not medical professionals and cannot diagnose anyone's medical condition like a non specific lower right abdominal pain that is for a doctor to do.

You should see your doctor to get to the bottom of this.

[question]

Yes, I totally understand that and I really appreciate your patience answering worrier questions like mine! I was just wondering if 12 weeks were really enough to put the HCV possibility aside...

[Lynn K]

Well your situation was not a risk so as your doctor has told you stop worrying.

If the person has a compromised immune system as in say a patient already infected with HIV it can take up to 6 months to develop but if your immune system is normal and not severely compromised you can believe a 12 week result.

But again doctors are the experts you should believe your doctors advise

[question]

Thank you... I'll try to stop worrying