I'm wondering if I can catch Hep C from Chap Stick (used on previous cold so!
Question: I was diagnosed with Hep C - 5 years ago and went on Pegasys Treatment for 48 weeks. My last blood test showed I was cured - and need to come in for blood test yearly to determine if the Hep C has returned. After 3 years I'm considered 99% cured. The other day I used a previously used Chap Stick that I used when I had a cold sore. My doctor can't tell me if it would still be infected. He can't tell me how long the Hep C virus lives out of the body. He won't give me another blood test. I need help with these questions.
Answers: I was diagnosed with Hep C - 5 years ago and went on Pegasys Treatment for 48 weeks. My last blood test showed I was cured - and need to come in for blood test yearly to determine if the Hep C has returned. After 3 years I'm considered 99% cured. The other day I used a previously used Chap Stick that I used when I had a cold sore. My doctor can't tell me if it would still be infected. He can't tell me how long the Hep C virus lives out of the body. He won't give me another blood test. I need help with these questions.
hcv can only live for up to four days in dried blood. if you haven't used that chapstick for a long time, your okay.
it is possible to re-infect yourself, however, in this case, you have nothing to worry about.
you can only get hcv from blood to blood cross contamination, so if your lips had no open sores and you even had recently used your chapstick, you wouldn't get hcv.
your fine.
Hepatitis C is very unstable. Its usually only passed thru IV transmission from blood products or IV drug users.
Seriously, the risk of getting hepatitis C from chapstick is so impossible, I cannot believe you can be serious.
The Hep C would have died a death long ago! You can be pretty sure you will not get reinfected by the chapstick. Just as a matter of information, a chapstik that old will not be very effective anyway, get rid of it and buy a new one lol