Can i get hepatitis c?

i used the same bill to snort coke with 3 other people then i found out one of them has hepatitis c! can i still get it even though i wasnt bleeding? i am so nervous and truly regret my actions.. also he said he went through therapy and his body responded to it a couple years ago so am i at risk?

I THINK YOU ARE ALRIGHT.

absolutely appaulled by the answers given on yahoo q and a regarding hcv and snorting cocaine.

first of all, all it takes is a teeny bit of blood- so small and unseen to the naked eye to transmit hcv infection.

secondly, the WORST thing to use to snort cocaine is a dollar bill- it has not only virus activity on it (it's the most filthy thing to use) but, more than likely has blood on it. DRIED or wet, unseen to the naked eye!

thirdly, when one snort cocaine, the small capallaries in the nose and nasal passages DO BLEED. you may not know it, but it does happen because cocaine causes them to open. (burning sensation comes from the dilation of those small blood vessels) so you may or may not notice blood- many do not notice bleeding unless they are chronic users of cocaine.

your risk factor is high. hcv infectious blood whether wet or dry can still transmit. dried blood in up to 4 days has been known to infect, so even if you didn't share the rolled dollar bill, chances are that blood particles (dry) were on that dollar bill from whomever else used it- whether they bled on it from a cut or snorted cocaine with it!

your playing with fire.

you should have a test now (to rule out past exposure) and then re-test again in about 50 days to detect if you got hcv snorting after the one with HCV. sometimes it can take longer to develope enough quasispecies of hcv for tests to detect. (quasispecies- hcv does change its viron genetics through cyclic activity. Once the parental virus makes its way into the liver, it reproduces and changes it's viron sequence) this is how it outsmarts the bodies defense mechanisms and thus, becomes chronic in most people.)

a risk factor is a risk factor is a risk factor!

as for him doing antiviral therapy for hcv and responding to it- he still carries antibodies for hcv infection which ARE transferrable to those using the same bill. plus, how does he know he hasn't relapsed? all it takes is the same abuse patterns to either re-activate the same virus or share in the same risk factors he may have gotten hcv from in the first place!!!! many people have NO idea they have hcv infection- especially in those that share risky behaviour!

get tested!

(to the "physician") - I suggest going back to college- seriously and learn not only from your patients, but to re-read some literature on hcv infection!!!!!

Hepatitis C is spread via exchange of bodily fluids, especially blood, so it is easily spread when IV drug users share needles, or when the same needle is used to do tattoos on multiple persons. It would be virtually impossible to get it snorting coke with the same bill used by others, since there is no significant interchange of bodily fluids. But I hope you understand that doesn't mean it's okay to keep doing coke, snorting or otherwise.

You should be fine.