Hep C and Sex

[tednlou2]

Ongoing research about Hep C and HIV: 

http://www.thebody.com/content/art56891.html

[next2u]

good article.

[Hellraiser]

I was earlier today telling someone I had no idea how Hep C was actually spread.  I was under the impression rimming and IV drug use were the only ways.  It looks like the article hints at the idea that unprotected sex might do it but that there is no certainty yet.

[Rev. Moon]

I was earlier today telling someone I had no idea how Hep C was actually spread.  I was under the impression rimming and IV drug use were the only ways.  It looks like the article hints at the idea that unprotected sex might do it but that there is no certainty yet.

Based on what I read it seems that it goes back to rough anal sex and fisting.  But that's ol' news, ain't it? 

The article doesn't seem to indicate that your run-o-da-mill vanilla love-making is a way to catch it.  I stopped reading after I didn't see anything groundbreaking; maybe they mention it towards the end.

[Ann]

Absolutely nothing new in that article. It's been well known for a while now that hep C can be transmitted during unprotected sex. It's also been known that people with hiv seem to be more susceptible to being infected with hep C through unprotected sex.

Well, I say "well known", but the ignorance surrounding hep C is far greater than the ignorance surrounding hiv.

From the article: Canadian estimates from 2007 put the number of new cases of hepatitis C at almost 8,000, compared with 2,400 reported new cases of HIV the same year.

This is true the world over. There are far more people living with hep C than there are hiv - and hep C is far less talked about.

Hep C is much more easily transmitted than hiv. Unlike hiv, which quickly becomes damaged and unable to infect when outside the body, hep C can remain viable and able to infect for long periods (some reports say up to a week to ten days) outside the body.

It can only take a small speck of blood to infect - and this is why snorting drugs through shared straws (or rolled up paper) can spread the virus. It only takes a minuscule amount of hcv infected  blood landing on the mucus membrane of your nasal cavity to get infected. Don't EVER share straws!

Again, unlike hiv, changes in temperature don't seem to bother hcv. There have been case reports where it's believed that hcv was transmitted from metal crack pipe stems that caused bleeding lips because of the heat of the stem.

Sharing any personal hygiene items can also spread hep C. Small amounts of blood on a razor or toothbrush can infect you - unlike hiv.

Sharing sex toys that may have small amounts of blood on them will also transmit hep C. It only takes a speck of blood - a speck that you may not even see.

I cannot stress enough how much more infectious hep C is as compared to hiv. And that's why there are far more cases of hep C than hiv world wide.

Not everyone with hep C will ever encounter problems because of it. However, it's the leading cause of liver cancer and also of the need for liver transplant. There is a cure, but it is not effective for everyone. There are quite a few genotypes of hcv and some genotypes are more responsive to treatment than others.

Even having a treatable genotype is not a guarantee that you'll be cured. My ex-husband and I had the same (considered treatable) genotype; I had a sustained response (considered cured) but my ex didn't. He still has hep C.

And the treatment is nasty. The article mentions one man who had a relatively easy time with the side effects, but believe me, he is the exception. Most have a horrendous time and as I said, not everyone has a sustained response. I can't imagine anything worse than going through a year of absolute hell and not being cured at the end of it.

Be careful, folks. You don't want hep C on top of your hiv. Hiv is known to accelerate hep C progression, so don't think that you'll be one of the lucky ones whose hep C infection causes them no problems. I had hep C for at least 13-14 years before I was infected with hiv and I almost immediately started having problems with hep C - whereas before hiv, I had absolutely NO problems associated with hep C.

edited to add...

Anyone who is hiv positive should be regularly tested - at least once a year, twice if you're sexually active with several partners - for hep C (as well as hep B). If you're not being regularly tested, talk to your doctor and get the test.

[elf]

That's why I have not had sex for two years (since my diagnosis), I don't need hepatitisB+C on top of HIV.   Now I'm just an asexual plant.   I'm not gay, I'm not straight, I'm a nice green plant. 

[tennisplayer56]

Elf

I dont think you need to abstain from sex. Hep C is a blood borne virus, and the majority of people with it are IV drug users or people who have received blood transfusions prior to the time they started screening blood.

Wiki has a section for sexual contact in regards to Hep C:
"Sexual transmission of HCV is considered to be rare. Studies show the risk of sexual transmission in heterosexual, monogamous relationships is extremely rare or even null.[19][20] The CDC does not recommend the use of condoms between long-term monogamous discordant couples (where one partner is positive and the other is negative).[21] However, because of the high prevalence of hepatitis C, this small risk may translate into a non-trivial number of cases transmitted by sexual routes. Vaginal penetrative sex is believed to have a lower risk of transmission than sexual practices that involve higher levels of trauma to anogenital mucosa (anal penetrative sex, fisting, use of sex toys).[22]"

Ann:
People with HIV shouldn't have a yearly check for Hep B. They should get the vaccine.

[Ann]

Ann:
People with HIV shouldn't have a yearly check for Hep B. They should get the vaccine.

True, but they should also be periodically checked to make sure the vaccine is still working. And for someone like myself who cannot have the vaccine (I had a very bad reaction to the first hep B shot I had), we should be screened yearly.

[Miss Philicia]

It can only take a small speck of blood to infect - and this is why snorting drugs through shared straws (or rolled up paper) can spread the virus. It only takes a minuscule amount of hcv infected  blood landing on the mucus membrane of your nasal cavity to get infected. Don't EVER share straws!

Which is why it's my belief that a lot of the fretting about it being sex when the studies are urban gay men are actually transmissions via party favors.

[Ann]

Which is why it's my belief that a lot of the fretting about it being sex when the studies are urban gay men are actually transmissions via party favors.

True. Personally, I don't think hep C is transmitted all that often through sex, but rough sex that draws blood is very suspect.

[Miss Philicia]

True. Personally, I don't think hep C is transmitted all that often through sex, but rough sex that draws blood is very suspect.

Oh yeah, of course.  I should have been more clear -- IIRC some studies I've read that were in urban gay males in NYC and somewhere else in NW Europe had some passage ruling out fisting in "X"% of those they looked at because the patients said they'd not done that, but there was no mention of asking them if they'd snorted drugs with shared straws, etc.

Aside from that I think a lot of gay males will fess up to sex practices with a doctor before they'll admit to drug use, but that's pure speculation on my part.  Everyone on the scene shared those little "bumper" contraption in the clubs back in my party days.

[Ann]

Aside from that I think a lot of gay males will fess up to sex practices with a doctor before they'll admit to drug use, but that's pure speculation on my part.

I would imagine your speculation is spot-on. Too many could quite conceivably be worried about not only legal repercussions, but also of being labelled a junkie. I know I've had that problem simply for having hep C.

Yeah, I did get hep C from sharing needles, but that was many, many years ago and I haven't done that sort of thing since 1985 or 86, before I became pregnant. So it really pisses me off when a doctor or other health care professional gives me attitude about it.

[Miss Philicia]

Yeah, I did get hep C from sharing needles

ORLY

[Ann]

ORLY

Damn, another home movie on the loose. I thought I'd managed to hide them all.