Am I just paranoid?

[Uhoh123456]

Hello! So I’m probably being paranoid, but would like some opinions from people who know more than myself.
I purchased a large pinecone at Goodwill today and when I went to check out, the cashier mentioned that it was poky and she poked herself. No big deal, right? Well, then I went to the car and loaded it and poked myself. I got to worrying while I was driving away and looked at my hands and saw no visible blood where it poked me, but perhaps the blood had wiped off because it would have been small pokes. Is there any risk here or am I worrying myself over nothing?

[Lynn K]

Is there any risk here
No
or am I worrying myself over nothing?
Yes

[Lynn K]

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

How is hepatitis C spread?
Hepatitis C is usually spread when blood from a person infected with the hepatitis C virus enters the body of someone who is not infected. Today, most people become infected with the hepatitis C virus by sharing needles or other equipment to prepare or inject drugs. Before 1992, hepatitis C was also commonly spread through blood transfusions and organ transplants. After that, widespread screening of the blood supply in the United States virtually eliminated this source of infection.

People can become infected with the hepatitis C virus during such activities as:

Sharing needles, syringes, or other equipment to prepare or inject drugs
Needlestick injuries in health care settings
Being born to a mother who has hepatitis C
Less commonly, a person can also get hepatitis C virus through

Sharing personal care items that may have come in contact with another person’s blood, such as razors or toothbrushes
Having sexual contact with a person infected with the hepatitis C virus
Getting a tattoo or body piercing in an unregulated setting
Hepatitis C virus is not spread by sharing eating utensils, breastfeeding, hugging, kissing, holding hands, coughing, or sneezing. It is also not spread through food or water.

[Uhoh123456]

Even if she had indeed poked herself and then I did too?

Is there any risk here
No
or am I worrying myself over nothing?
Yes

[Lynn K]

Hepatitis c infected blood must enter your blood stream.

Less than 4% of the population has hep c with than number decreasing every day because of the new medicines approved since 2014. So your odds of randomly encountering someone with hep c is relatively small.

She would have had to have actually cut herself deeply enough to get blood on the pinecone then you would have had to have done the same with the same part of the pinecone that had her blood on it deeply enough to have forced that blood into your blood stream.

Even if all those random things had occurred then if you compare this to the odds of a health care worker experiencing an accidental needle stick involving a patient with known hep c the odds of transmission in that situation is only about 1.8%

Is there any risk here
No
or am I worrying myself over nothing?
Yes

[GloriaS567834]

Lynn, out of curiosity, as I have had similar concerns and don’t want to start a near identical post, would it change your concern level if she had scratched/pricked herself with the item enough to leave a very small scab when loading it into her car after purchase?

[Lynn K]

Hi Gloria

No