Our Guideline for Preventing the Transmission of Hepatitis C

For anyone who has been diagnosed with hepatitis C, they may be worried about transmitting this infectious disease to any of their friends or family. This can become a difficult issue for anyone who has had this infectious disease for years without realizing it (hepatitis C is often asymptomatic). They may suddenly think back on a few years worth of separate instances where they could have accidentally exposed a loved one to this disease.

The important thing to remember here is that with the right precautions, you can prevent the transmission of hepatitis C, so there is no reason to get stressed out about the past. Odds are that you will not and have not spread this disease on to anyone else.

Risk of Transmission through Everyday Contact

Hepatitis C is only transmitted through direct contact with an infected individual’s blood. Despite what some people might mistakenly believe, it cannot be spread via any of the following:

• Sneezing
• Coughing
• Hugging
• Kissing
• Sharing glasses or other utensils
• Breastfeeding (unless the nipples are cracked or openly bleeding)
• Casual contact
• Sharing your food or water

As you can see, there is not a significant risk of transmission through everyday forms of contact. In fact, there have been a number of hepatitis C clinical trials that have been focused on analyzing this risk specifically. Medical researchers have discovered that the rate of transmission between members of the same household is only slightly above zero.

Guidelines for Preventing Hep C Transmission

To be clear, you are not going to transmit hepatitis C through average methods of casual contact. However, when blood enters the equation, then it becomes a whole other issue. Hepatitis C patients will need to take some extra precautions in order to ensure that no one comes into direct contact with their blood. So, here are a few general guidelines to remember:

• You cannot share anything like razors, nail clippers, or even toothbrushes as they could all have some contaminated blood on them. Also you’ll need to take great care to properly cover any open wounds with a clean bandage.
• Be very careful when disposing of any tissues, napkins, used bandages, or tampons, along with anything else that might have your blood on it.
• If you are an addict and are still using, then it is strongly advised that you check yourself into some form of intervention program as soon as possible. If that is not an option, then at the very least you will need to refrain from sharing any needles or other equipment with anyone else.
• One last thing that is very important to remember: Under no circumstances are you to donate any of your blood, tissues, organs, or even semen (this has caused severe issues in the past).

Your Sex Life After Hepatitis C

As you are probably aware, hepatitis C can be transmitted through unprotected sexual intercourse, but it has become an extremely rare disease amongst monogamous couples. In fact, the CDC no longer recommends using condoms for single-partner couples as the perceived threat is so insubstantial. At this time, hepatitis c research has not produced any evidence that this infectious disease can transmitted through oral sex.

On the other hand, people who are sexual active with multiple partners may need to take some extra precautions. The use of condoms will not only protect their partners from hepatitis C, but it will also protect them from other STDs as well (this includes hepatitis B and HIV).

Could Hep C be Transmitted to an Infant?

Unfortunately, it is possible for a pregnant woman to transmit her HCV to her baby, but overall the risk level is fairly low. The CDC estimates that the transmission rates from mother to child are somewhere around 5 percent. During birth, the baby could contract this infectious disease, but there is no feasible way to reduce that risk.

Currently, hepatitis C clinical studies have not uncovered any evidence to suggest that babies are at risk while breastfeeding. The only way that health care providers see this being a real issue is if the nipple itself has become cracked or is bleeding. If that is the case, the child could easily come into direct contact with the mother’s contaminated blood.