Very Anxious

[Anxious1234]

I'm a dental hygienist and see approx 32 patients a week. There are a handful of hep/hiv patients that I've seen. Starting a few months ago, I noticed very itchy skin and yellow eyes with dark urine. A couple days ago I went to get tested for HIV, Hep A, Hep B, and Hep C--all which came back non-reactive. My question is, is it possible for a false negative even if I've been showing symptoms for a few months? Thank you everyone for your time

[Lynn K]

Have you had a risk where contaminated blood could have entered your blood stream? To you use universal precautions?

As far as hep c even when a health care worker experiences an accidental needle stick involving a patient with known hep c the odds of transmission are only about 1.8%

Have you asked your doctor about your symptoms? Have you had your Bilirubin tested elevated bilirubin causes yellow eyes and skin (jaundice)

There are multiple conditions that can cause jaundice from WebMD:

“Jaundice is rare in adults, but you can get it for many reasons. Some of these include:

Hepatitis: Most of the time, this infection is caused by a virus. It may be short-lived (acute) or chronic, which means it lasts for at least 6 months. Drugs or autoimmune disorders can cause hepatitis. Over time, it can damage the liver and lead to jaundice.

Alcohol-related liver disease: If you drink too much over a long period of time -- typically 8 to 10 years -- you could seriously damage your liver. Two diseases in particular, alcoholic hepatitis and alcoholic cirrhosis, harm the liver.

Blocked bile ducts: These are thin tubes that carry a fluid called bile from the liver and gallbladder to the small intestine. Sometimes, they get blocked by gallstones, cancer, or rare liver diseases. If they do, you could get jaundice.

Pancreatic cancer: This is the 10th most common cancer in men and the ninth in women. It can block the bile duct, causing jaundice.

Certain medicines: Drugs like acetaminophen, penicillin, birth control pills, and steroids have been linked to liver disease.”

If your exposure was more than 12 weeks ago your hep C antibody test would be accurate. But I am just a lay person the best person to ask would be your doctor especially as you are having the symptom of jaundice

https://www.webmd.com/hepatitis/jaundice-why-happens-adults

https://www.cdc.gov/hepatitis/hav/havfaq.htm

https://www.cdc.gov/hepatitis/hbv/hbvfaq.htm

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

https://www.cdc.gov/hiv/workplace/healthcareworkers.html

[lporterrn]

Ditto on everything Lynn wrote. Your risk of infection is very low. However, based on your symptoms, you should see a doctor. There are many non-infection-related diseases that can cause those symptoms, most of them treatable.