Hepatitis c question & irritable bowel syndrome?

Question

my daughters boyfriend says he has it and after two years he finally told her she loves him. i cleaned up his vomit 3 times about 4-5 months ago me and my daughter were tested a week ago the test said negative thank god but i have irritable bowel syndrome and i have these piching pains usually on my left side but under all this stress i have been having them on my upper right side and now i am scared beacuse thats you liver area and i have itchy rash on my stomach i dont know i thats where you get rash with hepatitis it could be just a heat rash i heard that hepatits c can mimick so many other things but my test was negative and i have heard these test are pretty reliable are they

they tested me while they were testing my daughter after i told them i cleaned up his vomit but they said if i did get it that way it would because i had a cut on my hand

Answer 1

Donna is totally misinformed. The ONLY way to get Hep C is through blood-to-blood contact - not through the air. It does not "Mimic" other diseases, and a simple blood test can show exposure and/or carrier status. I have had Hep C for 27 years, have two children neither of whom have it or carry it. Both were born in the traditional way - through the birth canal and out the door. I had a transplant in October of 2002, but my genotype of HepC is the most belligerent and difficult to subdue, so I am going down that bumpy road again. At least I have full knowledge of what is going on inside me and my head, even if I can't control either of them sometimes.

Answer 2

I'm pretty sure blood on the surface of the stools is not a symptom of IBS - unless a hard stool ripped the skin surface I suppose... but there are other bowl conditions that do have this symptom, like Crohns disease. Firstly, the Doctor will probably get you to do a blood test and a stool test to test for anything abnormal. If these show up normal, then I urge you to push your Doctor to get you a referral to a Gastro specialist. It was the best thing I ever did. The gastrologist may run an endoscopy and colonoscopy to check for anything abnormal. Basically if nothing else is found, Irritable Bowel Syndrome is diagnosed. I went through all this and had a Doctor try to just diagnose IBS straight away without ANY tests. So I found a different Doctor who was happy to do the tests. There are many bowel conditions out there and I am certainly happy that these have all been ruled out for me because even though IBS isn't pleasant, I have gained peace of mind knowing that IBS is definitely what I have. In the meantime try drinking lots of water and keeping a food and symptom diary so that you can see if it could be certain foods in your diet that your body could be sensitive to. Hope all goes well!

Answer 3

yes they are reliable. I believe that Hep C can be ingested in the air. The pain that you are having is associated with IBS and I feel for you because I have the same problem. As for the rash I would think it is a heat rash. If you are concerned go see the Doctor and have a liver function test. It is a simple blood test that you can get the results back in 24 hours.

Answer 4

Hepatits C is transferred thru blood. It is rarely "caught" any other way. A rash is not a symptom of Hepatitis C.
Why were you tested for Hep C? You are being a little overly worried about this whole thing. Hepatitis C is so suttle, most people don't realize they have it for years.