Please help to ease my mom's mind about her BEING EXPOSED TO HEPATITIS C =====================?

My mom is a nurse and she said she got someone's blood on her finger (around the cuticle area too) for like 5 minutes and didn't know it at first. The person had Hepatitis C. And now she's very paranoid and worried. She has really dry hands and fingers, so she thinks there was a cut there and she may have Hepatitis C now.

Her co-worker said she's been through all sorts of instances where she was exposed to blood for years, but she's fine.

My mom thinks that she may have cuts on her hands due to her dry skin. She washed her hands. She also put alcohol on her exposed finger several times to see if there was a cut. She never felt a sting, so no cut.

She wanted to see if she felt a sting if she put a cut on her leg. She didn't feel a sting. (I think she's forcing her mind to not feel a sting, causing her to worry).

I told her that it has to be a deep cut for the infected blood to enter her bloodstream and that she definitely would've felt a deep cut when she put alcohol on it.

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My dad looked at her finger and there were no cuts at all. There's no way she could've gotten it. My mom is just an obsessive worrier. She has been for her whole life. Many of her co-workers have gone through more than her little exposure situation. And they are just fine.

Thanks for helping me ease her mind... NOT! lol.

why doesn't she ask on the doctors that she works for? I think that that would be the most reliable source of information instead of going on Yahoo answers and getting advice from people who have no clue what is going on

Actually, there is a risk here. It doesn't have to be a deep wound for infectious blood to enter the bloodstream.

All it takes for hcv infection to occur is blood from someone infected and any type of open wound.

Alcohol will not stop the virus. Any amount of blood whether a lot or a little can transmit the virus- even as much as blood unseen to the naked eye, whether or not the blood is dry or wet (hcv can last infectious in up to four days).

So, with that being said, there is a chance of hcv infection and there is a chance she's already been exposed to HCV infection in the past given her proffession.

The only way to find out if one is infected is having the blood drawn to test for antibodies since alt and ast levels do not always increase in those with HCV. A standard liver panel is not conclusive enough. She needs a hep panel done in about 15 to 150 days to be sure she is okay.

Remember, hcv is blood to blood only.

Good luck!

I agree with Stephanie. There is a risk. I would get tested. Usually by the 50th day post accident as most will test positive by then.