Were you born between 1945 and 1965??
 

If so you need to have a blood test to determine if you have Hepatitis C virus that is dormant. There is know way of knowing unless you have the blood work performed. 1 out of 30 (800,000) Americans are expected to be found having the virus. The good news it can be treated. The bad news is that getting Hepatitis C can lead to liver failure or liver cancer....This was reported last night on NBC Nightly News. Do not recall why those years...

Baby boomers.

I don't understand the correlation of baby boomers to increased risk. Some of it due to lack of blood screening before 1990. They seem to imply a big factor is shared needles... I know the 60s and 70s were big drug using decades ... but enough to make Hep C a huge risk for boomers?

Hepatitis C
 

I'll have to google this to find out. I'm guessing that it's what we were pumped up with as infants and early childhood. Why should someone born in 1944 or 1966 be clear?

Here is the information.
 

Hepatitis C
 

The Washington reports it's just baby boomers...

CDC recommends one-time test for hepatitis C for all baby boomers to check for infection - The Washington Post

I was reading the reasons and thinking that none of this applies to me. Then the next to last risk factor mentioned was manicures. Oh my.

That rules me out.

I made it by almost 2 months. Born in 44.

Seriously. I will have to check this out with my next blood test.

That's just great....yesterday I had a pedicure...she cut me pretty bad on the side of a toe...bled a lot. I will NEVER have another pedicure.

Also, just past by Walgreens...three signs out front saying they are offering Hepatitis shots.

I don't think they have a shot to prevent Hep C. Do you mean a test?

Boy and I just found out yesterday if you lived in europe in the 80's you can't give blood. So much for trying to do a good deed. Boy things that they never mention to me anywhere else. I thought maybe it was because of chenobyle but apparently its because of mad cow exposure potential in the european meat during that time. Never ate anything on the economy while over there so should be okay....now Hep C?

Hepatitis vaccine.

They test for Hepatitis C whenever you donate blood.
 

Didn't they say only 3% and that majority was drug related. So if you did drugs be worried.

But I never inhaled

Gerryann: Currently undergoing formal pre-clinical studies, the vaccine is the result of a breakthrough work done by Heidi Drummer, Associate Professor from Burnet Institute.


There are some phase one clinical studies going on in the UK and Europe at the moment, looking at some different approaches. Our vaccine uses a completely different technology to those vaccines that have been previously trialled and those in trial at the moment, Drummer said.

It doesn't sound like they have gotten a vaccine quite yet. I assume what they are doing is not giving a vaccine but rather testing for it because there are millions of people who have it and don't know.

The problem with Hep C is you can have gotten it from a transfusion before mid 1992 or can still from something as unexpected as manicures although they are getting much better about sterilization. The blood issue may have started out from someone taking intravenous drugs but they may have given it to a partner or someone else. Once it moves to a new person, you just never know.

If you go to the red cross and donate blood you might save a life, quite possibly your own. They screen for the following infections. I will ask next time I donate if this test qualifies as the screening you would comparably get at a physician office:

HepC
Hepb
HIV
Syphillis
West Nile

plus you get goodies like cookies afterwards and our center has little gifts, like January is a pound of Dunkin Donuts coffee month, last month was a free half gallon of Friendlies ice cream and sometimes I get t-shirts.

Most important of all, when people have trauma or diseases you could save a life through your blood donations. Sign up today. It's easy and takes less than an hour.