My Mom has non A non B hepatitis!?!
Question: My Mom was diagnosed 10-15 years ago when I was around 8 years old. She now has Cirrhois of the liver. My Mom will not give details on how she got this. She says she doesn't know how. She doesn't do illegal drugs or drink alcohol. She was on pain meds for a long time even though she is currently not. Also when she was 2 years old she had blood transfusions and I was wandering if she could've gotten it from that. If so does that mean my bro and sis and I could have it? When I was pregnant they did a whole bunch of blood work and would hep c be one of the ones they check for? Could my son have this? All my blood work came back fine when I was pregnant.
Answers: My Mom was diagnosed 10-15 years ago when I was around 8 years old. She now has Cirrhois of the liver. My Mom will not give details on how she got this. She says she doesn't know how. She doesn't do illegal drugs or drink alcohol. She was on pain meds for a long time even though she is currently not. Also when she was 2 years old she had blood transfusions and I was wandering if she could've gotten it from that. If so does that mean my bro and sis and I could have it? When I was pregnant they did a whole bunch of blood work and would hep c be one of the ones they check for? Could my son have this? All my blood work came back fine when I was pregnant.
Hi Samantha. Non A Non B Hepatitis is also known as Hepatitis C. Hepatitis C is spread from blood to blood contact only. Not through sexual intercourse like the other person said (Hep B is the one that can be spread through sexual intercourse) Hep C is only spread through sexual intercourse if blood is involved because it is not spread through bodily fluids. They didn't begin screening for Hep C until 1992, so I'd say you are probably right. She probably got it from the blood transfusion when she was 2. That's how my mom contracted it. She had a blood transfusion in the 1960's. There is less than a 5% chance that Hep C is passed from mother to child at birth, but that is how I contracted it. My two other sister didn't get it though, and my son didn't contract it either, so like I said the chance is very small. It would be a good idea for you and your siblings to go get a Hep C panel just in case. All they do is draw a vial of blood and the results will be back in 4-5 days. Good luck and if you have other questions, you can email me.
See these two articles about hepatitis A and B. I have no idea about this, but they may be useful for you. Good luck!
Hepatitis C can be transmitted through sexual intercourse as well as intravenous drug use and blood transfusions.
I highly doubt you could have contracted hep c from your mum, as if it didn't show up when you were pregnant, more than 20plus years from the infection, i think you can safely assume neither you or your son has hep c.
Hi Samantha,
Your mom most probably has Hepatitis C. There are many ways to contract hep c, among which you have guessed correctly - blood transfusion.
Seldom is hep C transmitted vertically from mother to child, but if you do have the virus, it can remain dormant for many years even decades. I'm not trying to alarm you, but it's best to get yourself and children tested for hep c, b and a as well.
Please get vaccinated against hep b and a if you and your children haven't already.
You can get more information from the book below.