Can Hepatitis C Spread Through Saliva

Can You Get Hepatitis From Saliva

People with chronic Hepatitis C are advised not to share toothbrushes, razors, nail clippers or other personal articles that may have potentially been in contact with their blood.

While there is very little emphasis on saliva as a vehicle of Hepatitis C transmission, under the right circumstances there is some evidence to the contrary:

Ways That Hcv Can Be Transmitted

• Injecting, smoking or snorting drugs with shared, unsterilised equipment.
• Tattooing or piercing when needles, ink, inkwells and other equipment are shared.
• Medical or dental procedures with unsterilised equipment, including kidney dialysis.
• Needlestick accidents to health workers.
• Sharing items that may contain blood, such as razors, toothbrushes, nail scissors and nail files.
• To a baby during pregnancy, labour or at birth.
• From a blood transfusion or blood products before blood screening. This risk is now virtually zero in the UK, Western Europe and the US. However, up to 90% of people with haemophilia who were treated with clotting factors before 1985 were infected with both HIV and HCV.

In some countries, infections still occur from reused, unsterilised equipment or blood transfusions if blood is not screened thoroughly.

Is Hepatitis C Sexually Transmitted

• Takeaway

Can hepatitis C be spread through sexual contact?

Hepatitis C is a contagious liver disease caused by the hepatitis C virus . The disease can be passed from person to person.

As with many infections, HCV lives in blood and bodily fluids. You can contract hepatitis C by coming into direct contact with an infected persons blood. It can also be transmitted by contact with bodily fluids including saliva or semen of an infected person, but this is rare.

Researchers in found that 1 out of every 190,000 instances of heterosexual sexual contact led to HCV transmission. Participants in the study were in monogamous sexual relationships.

HCV may be more likely to spread through sexual contact if you:

• have multiple sexual partners
• participate in rough sex, which is more likely to result in broken skin or bleeding
• dont use barrier protection, such as condoms or dental dams
• dont use barrier protection properly
• have a sexually transmitted infection or HIV

Theres no evidence that HCV can be spread through oral sex. However, it may still be possible if blood is present from either the person giving or receiving oral sex.

For example, a slight risk may exist if any of the following are present:

• menstrual blood
• genital warts
• any other breaks in the skin in the involved areas

Though sexual transmission is rare overall, HCV may be more likely to spread through anal sex than oral sex. This is because rectal tissue is more likely to tear during intercourse.

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What Do Hepatitis C Symptoms Look Like

Hepatitis C infection can go through two stages: acute and chronic. In the early, or acute stage, most people don’t have symptoms. If they do develop symptoms, these can include:

• flu-like symptoms, tiredness, high temperature and aches and pains
• loss of appetite
• tummy pain
• jaundice, meaning your skin and the whites of your eyes turn yellow

While for some people, the infection will clear without treatment, in most cases, acute infection will develop into long-term chronic infection. Chronic infection may not become apparent for a number of years until the liver displays signs of damage. These symptoms can include:

• mental confusion and depression these are specific to hepatitis C
• constantly feeling tired
• nausea, vomiting or tummy pain
• dark urine
• feeling bloated
• joint and muscle pain

Without treatment, chronic hepatitis C can cause scarring of the liver , which can cause the liver to stop working properly. A small number of people with cirrhosis develop liver cancer and these complications can lead to death. Other than a liver transplant, theres no cure for cirrhosis. However, treatments can help relieve some of the symptoms.

Is It Dangerous To Breastfeed With Hep C

You can typically safely breastfeed your baby, even if you have hepatitis C and they dont. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, there is no evidence that breastfeeding spreads hep C. However, there isnt enough information on transmission rates when the nipples are cracked or bleeding, so if this happens to you, its best to take a break from nursing until your nipples are healed. In the meantime, pump and discard the milk, as theres a small chance blood could make its way in.

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Whos At Risk For Hepatitis C

You might be more likely to get it if you:

• Inject or have injected street drugs
• Were born between 1945 and 1965
• Got clotting factor concentrates made before 1987
• Received a blood transfusion or solid organ transplants before July 1992
• Got blood or organs from a donor who tested positive for hepatitis C
• Are on dialysis

Kissing And Risk Of Hepatitis: Should You Be Worried

Robert Burakoff, MD, MPH, is board-certified in gastroentrology. He is the vice chair for ambulatory services for the department of medicine at Weill Cornell Medical College in New York, where he is also a professor. He was the founding editor and co-editor in chief of Inflammatory Bowel Diseases.

It’s been said that when you kiss someone, you kiss everyone that person has kissed before. I’ll leave it to doctors to debate the truth of that claim, but a point worth noting is that sometimes kissing can be very intimate and, unfortunately, an opportunity to spread infection. Is viral hepatitis one of those infections?

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How Can You Prevent Hepatitis B And Hepatitis C

Hepatitis B: Vaccination is the best way to prevent all of the ways that hepatitis B is transmitted. People with HIV who do not have active HBV infection should be vaccinated against it. In addition to the 3-dose series of hepatitis B vaccine given over 6 months, as of 2017, there is a 2-dose series given over 1 month.

Hepatitis C: No vaccine exists for HCV and no effective pre- or postexposure prophylaxis is available. The best way to prevent hepatitis C infection is to never inject drugs or to stop injecting drugs by getting into and staying in drug treatment. If you continue injecting drugs, always use new, sterile needles or syringes, and never reuse or share needles or syringes, water, or other drug preparation equipment.

Hepatitis And Sex: Frequently Asked Questions

Itâs widely known that viral hepatitis can spread through consuming contaminated food or sharing dirty hypodermic needles. But the liver-destroying disease can also sometimes be spread through sexual contact. Hereâs what you need to know to protect yourself.

How many kinds of viral hepatitis are there?

Scientists have identified at least five types of viral hepatitis that lead to liver problems. In the U.S., the main threats are hepatitis A, hepatitis B, and hepatitis C.

Can all types be spread by sexual contact?

Hepatitis A spreads via fecal-oral contact, which can occur if there is direct oral-anal contact or contact with fingers or objects that have been in or near the anus of an infected person. If even a microscopic amount of virus-laden feces gets into the mouth, infection potentially can result.

Are men and women equally at risk of getting and spreading hepatitis through sex?

The risk is determined by a personâs behavior, not their gender, although some studies have shown that it is easier for a man to transmit HCV to a woman than vice versa.

Men who have sex with men are 10 to 15 times more likely than the general population to be infected with hepatitis B.

How can I make sure my partner is free of hepatitis before we have sex?

Are some sex acts especially likely to transmit hepatitis?

Any sexual activity that might cause abrasions, cuts, or other trauma is especially risky.

Is it possible to catch hepatitis from kissing?

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When Is It Safe For Me To Get Pregnant

Its best to wait until after you complete treatment to get pregnant, Dr. Chung says. Theres no risk of transmission once youre cured. If you find yourself pregnant with hep C, the chances your baby will get it are pretty lowabout 6 percent. One exception: Mothers with both hep C and HIV tend to have considerably higher viral loads, meaning theres more of the virus in their blood, so the risk goes up to 20 percent, Dr. Chung says. Its not clear if hep C medications are safe during pregnancy, so most doctors will delay treatment until after you give birth.

Is Hepatitis Testing Recommended For People With Hiv

Yes. Everyone living with HIV should be tested for HBV and HCV when they are first diagnosed with HIV and begin treatment. People living with HIV who have ongoing risk factors for getting hepatitis B or hepatitis C should be tested annually.

In addition, new HCV screening recommendations from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention call for:

• One-time screening for all adults 18 years and older
• Screening of all pregnant women during every pregnancy
• Testing for all persons with risk factors, with testing continued periodic testing those with ongoing risk.

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How Is Hepatitis A Spread

Hepatitis A

The hepatitis A virus is usually spread by putting something in your mouth that is contaminated with the virus. The virus is found in the stool of people with hepatitis A and is spread when someone’s stool accidentally contaminates food or water. This can happen when an infected person does not adequately wash their hands after using the bathroom then touches other things such as food. When other people eat that food, they can get infected with hepatitis A. Usually the transmission is between people in very close personal contact.

Foods themselves can be contaminated with hepatitis A virus, such as raw oysters harvested from sewage-contaminated water. When people eat food contaminated with hepatitis A virus, they can get infected with the virus.

Hepatitis A is usually spread through:

• household contact with an infected person
• sexual contact with an infected person
• eating or drinking contaminated food or water
• sharing eating utensils that are contaminated
• touching contaminated surfaces and then placing your hands near or in the mouth

Contaminated Needles And Infected Blood

You can get hepatitis C from sharing contaminated needles, syringes and other injecting equipment during recreational drug use. Banknotes and straws used for snorting may also pass the virus on.

Being exposed to unsterilised tattoo and body piercing equipment can also pass hepatitis C on. Occasionally, you can get it from sharing a towel, razor blades or a toothbrush if there is infected blood on them.

Hepatitis C infection is also passed on in healthcare settings, from needle stick injuries or from medical and dental equipment that has not been properly sterilised. In countries where blood products are not routinely screened, you can also get hepatitis C by receiving a transfusion of unscreened blood and blood products.

You can prevent hepatitis C by:

• never sharing needles and syringes or other items that may be contaminated with infected blood
• only having tattoos, body piercings or acupuncture in a professional setting, where new, sterile needles are used
• following the standard infection control precautions, if youre working in a healthcare setting.

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Sharing Toothbrushes Scissors And Razors

There’s a potential risk that hepatitis C may be passed on through sharing items such as toothbrushes, razors and scissors, as they can become contaminated with infected blood.

Equipment used by hairdressers, such as scissors and clippers, can pose a risk if it has been contaminated with infected blood and not sterilised or cleaned between customers. However, most salons operate to high standards, so this risk is low.

Can You Get Hepatitis From Kissing

All possibilities must be considered in trying to determine how unknown sources of Hepatitis C infection took place. Although Hepatitis C has been detected in saliva, the necessary conditions render it unlikelybut not impossibleto be transmitted by kissing or through the sharing of a toothbrush.

Before anybody panics about these potential risks, remember that there are conditions accompanying these possible modes of transmission:

• The person with the virus must have a viral load over one million.
• Both parties involved have gum disease.

While experts view the risk of transmitting this disease through saliva as extremely low, it is recommended to maintain good oral hygiene, and toothbrushes be used solely by their owners.

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Needlestick Injuries In Healthcare Settings

Nurses, physicians, and all healthcare professionals who routinely use needles while providing medical care are at risk for needlestick injuries. In fact, it is estimated that more than 600,000 needlestick injuries happen each year, with nurses being at highest risk. An average of about 2 percent of needlestick injuries where there has been exposure to the virus will result in acute hepatitis C.

Can You Pass Hepatitis C Through Other Types Of Sexual Contact Such As Oral And Anal Sex

Sex and Sexuality

There is no proof that anyone has ever spread the virus through oral sex, although it may be possible. Anal sex may damage the lining of the rectum and make it easier to pass the virus through the blood.

Using condoms will help prevent spreading the hepatitis C virus and will also protect you against other sexually transmitted diseases, such as HIV and hepatitis B.

You cannot spread the hepatitis C virus through other types of contact, such as hugging or kissing someone on the cheek.

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Diseases You Can Get From Being Bittenby A Human

As Uruguayan soccer player Luis Suárez demonstrated yesterday, sometimes people bite others. Here are five diseases you can get from human chomps.

Douglas Main

It’s not every day that you hear of a human being biting another. But Uruguayan soccer player Luis Suárez showed us all yesterday that peopleeven full-grown humansoccasionally bite others. During a match with Italy, Suárez appeared to chomp the shoulder of Italian defender Giorgio Chiellini. “Surely not again,” the announcer said. “Surely not again.” Yes, Suárez has bitten players during games twice before.

Most cases of human bites involve children or drunk people. One case study of 92 bitten people found that 86 percent of cases involved alcohol . But these injuries are no laughing matter, as bite wounds can be very serious, even deadly. Here are five diseases than can be spread from bites:

1. Infections. Human mouths contain high levels of bacteria, especially of the variety that can infect human tissues. And bites quite effectively transfer these bugs. “The bacterial inoculum”that which can be grown out and detected”of human bite wounds is rich in oral flora, containing as many as 100 million organisms per milliliter that represent as many as 190 different species,” Medscape noted. Yes, you have a dirty mouth.

5. Rabies. This may seem like the obvious one. However, though “human-to-human transmission by bite is theoretically possible,” it has never been confirmed, according to the World Health Organization.

Can I Get A Manicure Or Pedicure If I Have Hep C

The risk of transmitting hep C at a nail salon is extremely low, Dr. Chung says. Again, the key is that the salon uses single-use tools or follows strict sterilization procedures between each person. That means heat-sterilizing metal tools in a machine called an autoclave, and never reusing items like pumice stones, nail buffers, and foam toe separators. To further reduce your risk, hold off on a mani or pedi if you have an open wound on your hands or feet, skip cuticle pushing and especially clipping, and dont shave your legs right before a pedicure to avoid microscopic skin cuts.

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Ways You Wont Spread Hepatitis C

There are some ways in which you wont spread HCV, though. Go ahead and let your significant other have a bite of your sandwich or dessert. According to the CDC, hepatitis C isnt spread by sharing silverware or drinking glasses, or through water or foods. Showing affection by holding hands, hugging, or kissing is also safe, Lee says. And although germs from sneezing or coughing might cause you to get a cold, they wont give you hepatitis C.

Can I Drink Alcohol Again After I’m Cured

Theres not one universal answer here. Some people may need to stay sober after they complete treatment for HCVspecifically anyone with advanced liver disease or those who need a liver transplant. But if thats not you, your doctor will likely say its okay to drink in moderation once youre cured, says Nikolaos Pyrsopoulos, M.D., a professor of medicine and chief of gastroenterology and hepatology at New Jersey Medical School. But until your doctor gives the thumbs up, its crucial to avoid all alcohol, as it can accelerate liver damage, Dr. Pyrsopoulos says.

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