Should I be worried?

[ConstantlyWorried]

My mom has Hep C and I share a home with her. I have lived with her for all the years (around 6 or 7) that she has had the disease– I tested negative for the anti-body last month.

Here's the situation– she has a small scratch on her face from our dog, and I know that she's touched it, and then she touched other things (doorknobs, tables, etc). It's not a deep wound, but it's definitely broken skin. Should I worry about this? I feel like the chances of blood from her face getting into my bloodstream is pretty low, but I can't stop panicking and not wanting to touch things she has touched (which is impossible, sharing a home with her). There's no way something similar to this hasn't happened before in the years I've lived with her, and I didn't contract it then, but I can't seem to shake the worry. It seems to me like this isn't a viable way for the disease to spread, otherwise everyone on planet earth would have it. But like I said, I can't seem to get rid of the anxiety. Any advice would be really appreciated.

I plan on talking to a doctor about my fears as soon as possible, but I'd like to hear from some of you as well. Thanks.

[Lynn K]

Per the CDC transmission in a household setting is very unlikely.

As you have said hep c is not easily transmittted as evidenced by the fact not many people  are infected with the virus. Hepatitis C infected blood must enter the blood stream of an infected person through an open wet weeping wound or more effectively through a needle stick or sharing of IV drug needles.

For example if a health care worker should experience an accidental needle stick involving a patient with known hep c their odds of contracting the virus is only about 1.8%

There have been new treatments approved in the last few years that are much more effective (about 98% cure rates) and much better tolerated than the old treatments previously available. You mom could be treated with maybe just one pill a day for 8 or 12 weeks and she could be cured. This would depend on which specific medication used and your mom’s prior treatment history as to the specific protocol so it could be a few pills a day and for possibly as long as 24 weeks. But in any event she could be cured and have no concerns about transmitting hep c to anyone under and circumstances.

If she has not been treated she should speak with her doctor about getting treated and cured.


For you I suggest you seek counseling for you apparent anxiety issues as soon as you are able. You are not at risk of hep c from touching household surfaces.

Best of luck

https://www.cdc.gov/hepatitis/hcv/cfaq.htm

Can Hepatitis C be spread within a household?
Yes, but this does not occur very often. If Hepatitis C virus is spread within a household, it is most likely a result of direct, through-the-skin exposure to the blood of an infected household member.

[ConstantlyWorried]

Thanks for your informative reply, Lynn. I've been a worrier my entire life but I think this recent bout of anxiety about this has made me realize I really do need help. There's a lot of conflicting information about Hep C on the internet, and I really regret reading so much of it. Glad I found this site though, there's a lot here that has helped eased my worry.
 
My mom has talked about treatment with her doctor. Hopefully getting cured is something she can do sooner rather than later.

[Lynn K]

I try to get my information from good sources with names that end in dot gov or dot org there are a lot of very misinformed people talking about things they know little about.

There were only about 4 million Americans with hep c (about 1% of the population) and that number is steadily declining thanks to these new treatments. So you can easily see that hep c is not very easily transmitted. We have many people here who are in long term relationships where one partner has hep c and the other does not because in general hep is not considered to be an STD and obviously if you usually can’t contract hep c through sex household transmission is very unlikely.

If your mom is considering treatment and has questions we will be happy to try to answer her questions if she is interested. If she is not very technical you could always ask for her since you already have an account.

Anyway best of luck to you and your mom and try not to read a bunch of fear mongering internet junk about hep c. Stay with sites that have good information. This should also help you to keep things in perspective.