I have seen many posts on the topics of STD's and HIV, yet I can't remember any questioning Hep-C.

This can be a killer also, it usually has no side effects until you have severe liver damage, and like HIV, there is no cure. Although there are some positive treatments with very serious side effects, the rate for a non-positive liver function panel isn't to great.

Just wondering how many providers get liver function panels done when they go in for their check ups?

How many hobbiests?

if you are being serious you should get the full range of tests... PCR test for HIV (much more expensive, but also much more reliable than the standard ELISA... they won't let you work in the adult vid business without a PCR)

Get both the Hep B and Hep C  blood test (the probability of contracting Hep C without  bloodstream contact is very low, even with unprotected sex) AND get your Hep B vaccination series, (2 shots, one month apart, and one booster in 6 months)

Get the combination Gonhorrea/Chlymadia urine test.

Get a syphilis test.

"positive results may indicate active syphilis but confirmatory tests for specific antibody to T. pallidum are required"

While we on this subject how about the chances of get herpes while get a BBBJ or DATY with we all love this is something I had seen  a while back has me wondening Between 50 and 80 percent of Americans are infected with HSV-1, which causes cold sores. Up to 20 percent of those over 12 are infected with HSV-2, the cause of genital herpes.

The most intensive, discrete, economical way to be tested is GIVE BLOOD....You can go every three months and you will be the FIRST to know if anything is wrong, plus as a bonus your giving an important donation of life-saving blood....Worth considering, NO..??

"Have you given anyone money or drugs in exchange for sex?"

"Has anyone given you money or drugs in exchange for sex?"

A hobbyist or provider would have to lie in answering these questions in order to give blood.

Yes the probabilty is low, but not impossible with unprotected sex. Any bodily fluid is suspect in the transmission of Hep C.

Has anyone else taken this route?

When you donate blood you are asked several questions about your medical history and a few about your sexual habits.  If you have had sex with a prostitute within the last 12 months you will be disqualified from donating.

Actually there is a cure which involves a series of shots given weekly for a year. The side effects are not good while undergoing the medication but the results are very promising. Hepatitis C advances in stages. Until recently there was not much to be done if the desease had advanced to later stages but that has changed. Chiron, the biotech company, actually discovered Hepatitis C and is one of several companies reseraching and trying to develop medications for it. Others seem to have improved upon available treatments recently as recent trends are very encouraging. For example a friend of mine(and one of the reasons I know a little about the subject)learned he had Hepatitis C in stage 3 borderline four. He firmly believes he contacted the desease while getting tattoos twenty years ago if one needs more reasons not to indulge in this activity. This is the advanced stage of the desease. He underwent the treatment. It wasnt any fun at all but his bloodwork now shows no trace of the desease. It could be in some sort of remission, sure, but he is living a normal life. Two other friends both secured Life Insurance (at rates they could afford)after learning of Hepatitus C so there is much good news about the desease at this Christmas season.  Merry Christmas to everyone.

Depending on the Geno type, the results for a cure vary.
The so called cure, Interferon and Ribavarin has some very nasty side effects. It is somewhat like chemotherapy.

Although they have come a long way in the treatments for this. They have come up with a new therapy that is 1 shot a week instead of 3 shots and still taking the pills.

I am glad that a few do know about this disease.

Some of the possible causes include:
Tattoos, peircings, unprotected sex, sharing items such as toothbrushes, razors, and nail clippers.

let me get my spelling right... should never post these things in the early a.m. without a good shot of caffeine...

that's Chlamydia/Gonorrhea

now, a health advisory 4/U....

While syphilis is not a common infection, with about 40,000 known cases per year, there is a small possiblity of getting it from uncovered activities. It is easily treated.

"The time between infection with syphilis and the start of the first symptom can range from 10-90 days (average 21 days). The primary stage of syphilis is usually marked by the appearance of a single sore (called a chancre), but there may be multiple sores. The chancre is usually firm, round, small, and painless. It appears at the spot where syphilis entered the body. The chancre lasts 3-6 weeks, and it will heal on its own. If adequate treatment is not administered, the infection progresses to the secondary stage.


While the health problems caused by syphilis in adults and newborns are serious in their own right, it is now known that the genital sores caused by syphilis in adults also make it easier to transmit and acquire HIV infection sexually. There is a 2- to 5-fold increased risk of acquiring HIV infection when syphilis is present."

Hep-C can be a killer, IF NOT TREATED.
First off, Hep-C is not a blood or sexually transmitted disease. You get Hep-C from needles, examples would be tattoo needles and drug related (shooting up coke or heroin.)
If you were with a provider with Hep-C and either used something or didn't, you will not get it. (the percentage is less than 1%)
The side effects vary, most common ones are tiredness, angry, moody, severe depression. Also, headaches, achiness and ulcers in the mouth.
The best treatment would be the Pegasus Shots (think that is the name.)
You also take pills everyday and a shot once a week. You then follow up with your Liver Doctor once every 2-3 weeks. (Blood work.)
You change your diet and add a lot more vegatables and yes you can eat red meat, just not all the time. Drink plenty of water.
Some people are in remission within a couple of months while others it can take years.
I hope this information helped you.

I've seen that "1 in 5" or even "1 in 4" measure used a lot for HSV-2 infection rate in the United States, but out of the hundreds (and maybe thousands) of people that post to TER, I've never seen ONE person (other than me) state in TER that they had HSV-2.

I'm left wondering why that is.  Is the number above somewhat inflated?  Maybe, maybe not.  Do a lot of people have HSV-2 and do not even realize it, either because they are assymptomatic or because they do not recognize the symptoms (something I think happens with a lot of guys)?  Perhaps.  Are people here, on average, more likely to use safe-sex practices?  Definitely -- it's part of the game.  But the complete and total silence still befuddles me.

There is some MISinformation here.
It IS transmitted through blood and bodily fluids.

I will dig up some related links for all.

Yes, there is some misinformation here.  Hepatitis C is a blood-borne disease and is transmitted by blood-to-blood contact.  However, it is NOT easily transmitted sexually.  It is commonly transmitted by sharing needles.  Thank you in advance for taking the time to find and post links.

Blood testing is not 100% accurate.  There are times when false positives result.  Of more concern, there are times when false negatives occur -- that is, one's blood contains viral particles, and they are not identified through testing.

If you are in a high risk group-- which includes those who engage in prostitution -- there is a chance you are infected, a false negative test result is generated, your blood is used for a transfusion, you infect another, and they gain a significant chance of dying or being seriously debilitated.  All because of your ignorant and/or grotesquely self-centered behavior.

Sound pissed?  I am.  My ex-SO's father recently died from the results of a Hep C infection that he received through a transfusion.

If you're curious as to whether you are infected, get tested either at a County clinic, or pay for it through your physician.
Don't be an asshole and send your potentially infected blood into the supply where a poor sap suffers because of your shameful behavior.  

which was founded by Sharon Mitchell, C.D.S. for the Adult industry. This is well worth checking out, the costs are reasonable and if you don't live close to one of the clinic's there is a mail in program.  The tests are kept confidential, and counseling is offered.

The standard tests recived by your doctor for HIV is an antibody test that takes up to 6 months to mature in a health body before the test will detect the virus.

The test run by AIM is the PCRDNA (polymearase chain reaction) test which tests for the HIV inhibitor itself. The virus can be detected withing two weeks of infection. This I believe should be the standard for this hobby just as in the Adult industry.

Here is a link. If you go to http://www.WebMD.com and do a search for hepatitis c there are hundreds of other links. There is also a usenet group called sci.med.hepatitis I think that is right. There are some long time posters in there that know all about treatments herbal and medical. It gets volatile in there at times, so if anyone decides to visit, you should probably just lurk for awhile.

This is something I copied from the CDC. The link to the whole report is included, a very long read..................

Prevalence of HCV Infection in Selected Populations in the United States

The greatest variation in prevalence of HCV infection occurs among persons with different risk factors for infection (15) (Table_1). Highest prevalence of infection is found among those with large or repeated direct percutaneous exposures to blood (e.g., injecting-drug users, persons with hemophilia who were treated with clotting factor concentrates produced before 1987, and recipients of transfusions from HCV-positive donors) (12,13,16-22). Moderate prevalence is found among those with frequent but smaller direct percutaneous exposures (e.g., long-term hemodialysis patients) (23). Lower prevalence is found among those with inapparent percutaneous or mucosal exposures (e.g., persons with evidence of high-risk sexual practices) (24-28) or among those with small, sporadic percutaneous exposures (e.g., health-care workers) (29-33). Lowest prevalence of HCV infection is found among those with no high-risk characteristics (e.g., volunteer blood donors) (34; personal communication, RY Dodd, Ph.D., Head, Transmissible Diseases Department, Holland Laboratory, American Red Cross, Rockville, MD, July 1998). The estimated prevalence of persons with different risk factors and characteristics also varies widely in the U.S. population (Table_1) (3; 35-39; CDC, unpublished data).

Transmission Modes

Most risk factors associated with transmission of HCV in the United States were identified in case-control studies conducted during 1978-1986 (40,41). These risk factors included blood transfusion, injecting-drug use, employment in patient care or clinical laboratory work, exposure to a sex partner or household member who has had a history of hepatitis, exposure to multiple sex partners, and low socioeconomic level. These studies reported no association with military service or exposures resulting from medical, surgical, or dental procedures, tattooing, acupuncture, ear piercing, or foreign travel. If transmission from such exposures does occur, the frequency might be too low to detect.

Herpes is an interesting issue here.

I have it.

I haven't hobbied for a while (fantastic GF! Best BBBJTC!), and I'll tell you, every civillian I have dated has had it; I'm beginning to think the rate of infection is much higher than the 20% quoted.

In the 20+ years I have had it (15 of which married and monogamous), I have not passed it on. I know my body, I'm very healthy, and I know when I have to say no.

While hobbying, of course condoms have been universal for FS, but with BBBJ, etc., there should be some risk here. Could the rate of herpes infection be higher here than in the general population, because we're generally more sexual, but we just don't want to talk about it in our circles because it's too close for comfort?

They explicitly refer to a long term study of monogamous couples where only one partner had HCV and the other didn't.

Many of these couples engaged in varied unprotected sex for years. The seroconversion rate in the uninfected parner was negligible.

OTOH, I did read one case where an EMS worked contracted HCV when infected blood was spattered into his eyes.

Almost everything I've read about infection requires a HCV septic object (a needle, piercing instrument, etc.) to directly enter the bloodstream of the uninfected victim.

OTOH #2, there are particularly unfortunate cases of dual infection, HIV and HCV, that are predominantly found in the high risk gay population. So it seems that behavior that can get the HIV virus into the bloodstream can also get HCV into the bloodstream. This would probably be strenuous unprotected anal sex sufficient to cause damage to the lining of the colon.

for the relevant points...

in the first case, they refer to prostitutes, but they make no distinction between impoverished streewalkers who may suffer from multiple infections, STDs and other non STD things (see above post on syphilis and HIV), and women who have adequate nutrition, mediacal care, and use condoms...

"Among persons with evidence of high-risk sexual practices (e.g., patients attending STD clinics and female prostitutes) who denied a history of injecting-drug use, prevalence of anti-HCV has been found to average 6% (range: 1%-10%) (24-28,87). Specific factors associated with anti-HCV positivity for both heterosexuals and men who have sex with men (MSM) included greater numbers of sex partners, a history of prior STDs, and failure to use a condom"

however... the same report also states...

(in reference to the canadian study of infected spouses)

"This observation and the low prevalence of HCV infection observed among long-term spouses of persons with chronic HCV infection have raised doubts regarding the importance of sexual activity in transmission of HCV. Unacknowledged percutaneous risk factors (i.e., illegal injecting-drug use) might contribute to increased risk for HCV infection among persons with high-risk sexual practices."

One explanation MAY be that there is a high risk population that is shooting up and then denying it.

great resource ! In NYC a private doctor's office will charge $500 for a PCR test... you can get this done though AIM for $125...

my information is that you need to wait for one month from last exposure for the PCR test to be accurate

PCR's are also ordered after a positive liver function panel and usually prior to a biopsy.

There are so many different studies and varied results from these studies that the safest thing to do, and still have fun, is just be safe!! I personally know of 2 people that have contracted HCV through unprotected sex.

I'm sorry about your ex-father-in-law, but I've been told that prior to 1996, the testing was lacking in the Hep-C panel. I was told by the Blood Bank and by a Lab Tech, that is now corrected and the screening tests are now 98% the same as the free clinics etc..If that is not the case, I'm willing to listen...... I'm tested FULL panels once a year at my physical, but the every-three-months thing is just a way of making sure.I've always given blood, since I have Universal Blood Type and I would hate to think that the MAJORITY that are saved by it should be denied just because of that minute chance of there ever being a problem. Do the math........

How well do you know them ?

Close friends who let you know all the details of their lives,
and you trust to report accurately ?

Aquaintances you know some things about but are on a friendly basis with ?

Persons you know about but get much information second hand ?

This to is skewed is you are, say, a guard in a maximum security prison, or work as a counselor to high risk populations, vs. being an accountant or a programmer.

How do THEY know they go it through unprotected sex ?

Did they use condoms at all times ? Are they women, men or both ? Are they bisexual ? Do they have tatoos ?

If these were both you first cousins, you knew them like the back of your hand, they both used condoms without fail, had no tatoos or piercings, you could swear in court they never used intravenous drugs, they were purely heterosexual, THEN I would treat this as a significant piece of information.

I still think it MAY be significant, but as it is, the circumstances are too vague to form a conclusion...

PCR for Hepatitis C ?

Yup... OK... went and looked it up... there are three HEP C PCRs... viral detection, viral load, and genotype (three Hep C genotypes)....

BTW... the following is a late breaking piece of news. It is important to all of us in the hobby, because a large percentage of providers have tattoos...

This was only published in September of 2002, and it is disturbing...

Tattooing Is a Major Route of Hepatitis C Infection, Says Researcher

Getting a tattoo could be a key infection route for hepatitis C, the most common chronic viral infection affecting almost 2 percent of the United States population, according to a study by a UT Southwestern Medical Center at Dallas researcher.
Dr. Robert Haley, chief of epidemiology, wrote in the March 2001 issue of the journal Medicine that tattooing has been previously overlooked as a widespread source of hepatitis C, a potentially fatal disease that attacks the liver, leading to cirrhosis and liver cancer. It affects 2 percent of the U.S. population.

The study found that people who had received a tattoo in a commercial tattoo parlor were nine times more likely to be infected with hepatitis C than people who did not have a tattoo.

Participants in the study were patients of an orthopaedic spinal clinic, a setting that provided a large volume of patients seeing a physician for reasons unrelated to blood-borne infection.

Participants unaware of their hepatitis status were examined, interviewed for risk factors and tested for hepatitis C by the study's co-author Dr. Paul Fischer.

Of 626 patients studied, 113, or 18 percent, had a tattoo. Of those with a tattoo, 22 percent were infected with hepatitis C. Of the 52 patients who had acquired their tattoos in commercial tattoo parlors, 33 percent had hepatitis C. In contrast, only 3.5 percent of patients with no tattoos had hepatitis C. Few of the tattoo-associated infections could be traced to injection-drug use, transfusions or other known routes of exposure.

"Prior studies were unable to account for a substantial proportion of infections, perhaps 40 percent or more, by the accepted risk factors like injection-drug use and transfusions," Haley said. "That suggested that important risk factors were yet to be identified. Tattooing appears to be one of those. It has proven to be an important route of infection in other countries, but its role in the United States has received too little study until now."

Patients in the study were asked questions about the number of tattoos they had, the surface area covered by tattoos, the colors in the tattoos and where they had received the tattoos. Study participants also were asked about other possible hepatitis C risk factors, including injection-drug use, prior blood transfusions, sexual promiscuity, acupuncture, electrolysis, occupation, ethnic factors, obesity and others.

The study found that people who had several tattoos, or complex or large tattoos had an increased risk of having hepatitis C and that people with white, yellow, orange or red pigments in their tattoos also were more likely to have hepatitis C than those with only black. These characteristics reflect tattoos acquired in commercial tattoo parlors.

The risk of hepatitis C infection was also higher among patients with a history of injection-drug use, hospital custodial workers, and people who drank beer heavily, but the risk was not increased for those who drank only wine or liquor.

Although hepatitis C can be transmitted by an infected blood transfusion, this route of infection was too rare to show a discernable contribution to the overall infection rate in the population at large.

"Most importantly, we found that commercially acquired tattoos accounted for more than twice as many hepatitis C infections as injection-drug use," Haley said. "This means that it may have been the largest single contributor to the nationwide epidemic of this form of hepatitis."

Hepatitis C can be passed through tattooing by reuse of tattooing needles or dye, inadequate sterilization of tattooing needles between customers, or breaks in sterile technique such as the artist pricking the back of his or her hand to test the needle's sharpness. Few states have hygienic regulations to ensure safe tattooing practices in commercial tattoo parlors, and even fewer monitor and enforce standards.

Patients for the study were interviewed and tested in 1991 and 1992.

"The results of the study were not published then because other epidemiological studies at the time were expected to address the issue, but they did not," said Fischer. "This was the last study done before widespread hepatitis C testing began, when a largely unbiased study could still be done."

Doctors say people with any of the risk factors for hepatitis C should consider having a blood test, because treatments are now available to eradicate the virus in many before it causes permanent liver damage or cancer.

Tattooing has been shown to transmit other infectious diseases, including hepatitis B, syphilis, leprosy and tuberculosis. Small outbreaks of hepatitis have been identified in customers visiting certain commercial tattoo parlors on the same day.

Fine-art tattooing has become a common practice, particularly among teen-agers and young adults. Sociological studies of tattoo recipients, however, have shown that few recipients compare tattoo parlors or watch a tattooing procedure before getting one, and few consider tattooing a future health risk.

Haley is the study's lead author. Fischer is an internal medicine specialist, formerly at the Dallas Spine Group and presently at Presbyterian Hospital of Dallas.

09/09/02

Source
University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center

How do THEY know they go it through unprotected sex ?

This is an excellent question.

The majority of people that acquire HCV are known to have taken IV drugs. The next highest group seems to fall into the tatto and peircing group, and at the low end of statistics seems to be heterosexuals through unprotected sex. With recipients of blood transfusions somewhere in the middle.

Now consider this, a large number of IV users also have tattos and/or  peircings.

Now for your first question, how well do I know these 2 people? One of them is me.  I have no tattos, peircings and never used IV drugs. I never had a blood transfusion.
Now there are a few possible explanations for this, I had unprotected sex with well over a hundred partners prior to 1990. I never gave a second thought to sharing a drink with someone, out of the same glass. I was in the Armed Forces,and when we were innoculated, we lined up and were injected with an air gun. The Federal Gov't has strongly stated that this is NOT where I contracted HCV.

I took the dreaded treatment for 54 weeks, 3 shots a week of Interferon and 3 Ribavirin capsules a day. Had horrible side effects for an entire year. Which included severe headaches, nausea, aching all over, just barely able to work, a very nasty disposition, lost ober 50 pounds. These are just some that I remember.

I cleared the virus after 60 days, and have no signs of it now. I am one of the lucky few that have survived. The cure rate is less than 40%. And there is no gaurantee that it won't surface again.

The other person is a close friend. We were sexual partners for quite some time. We both found out we had it at the same time. We were both the same Genotype. We both had similar backgrounds. No IV, no tats, no peircings, and no transfusions. My friend wasn't as lucky as me and is in end stage cirhossis. The chances of getting a transplant are next to zero, unless you have lots of money, or you can find someone compatible, that is willing to take a chance on dying to help you live.

If you would like more info, I would be glad to help.

PCR Quantitative

PCR Qualitative

One they take more vials of blood than the other and it breaks the blood down more than the other so as to give more accurate results.

I can't remember which is which.

BTW a liver biopsy is usually done after these tests, if they come back positive, and it is no fun. They stick a needle between your ribs that is almost as big as a pencil, while you are awake, and remove a hunk of your liver.... unless you insist that your Dr. puts you to sleep.

"PCR Quantitative" would be the most accurate.

This is an interesting topic, but noone is answering your question.

In response to your question.

I get bloodwork done once a year for Hepatitis. and have just recently gotten the shots for Hepatitia B. my wife works in the health care field and it was suggested that I get the shots too.

Hi all
FYI: Harborview's STD click has affordable and discreet testing for all stds including HIV tests,and !!! the latest information--stuff you won't hear from your family doctor. very good resource and very friendly helpful staff.

xxxchristina

I've taken ribavirin for other things of a non-std nature, such as when an adenovirus threatened my eyesight. The med knocks the wind out of you, even in short term doses. Simple activities are exhausting. Living through that for a year must have been beyond horrible.

Are you familiar with Dr. Terry Beardsley's work with thymic protein A ? Beardsley claims significant results in the reduction of HCV viral load when this material is used. There are others who claim on their own behalf that it an essential part of their HCV maintenance regimen.

I've spoken with Beardsley at length. My impression is that he is the real deal.

I know that a similar medicine, injectible Thymosin Alpha, which is related to Beardsley's hormone, has been used with moderate success in the treatement of HCV.

That said, Thymosin Alpha is a short piece (20 amino acid chain)
out of the much more complex Thymic Protein (approx 500 amino acid length).

I've used Thymic Protein A for years as a general immune booster with no side effects whatsoever. I take high doses of it whenever I get an innoculation in order to completely program my immune system to remember the pest I'm being innoculated against.


I hope this link works... oh hell... I can't find his specific site... he must have removed it so his resellers can do the marketing...

They are used to treat Hep C, but do not not cure it. There is no CURE! Cure is a bad word to use. Interferon works to slow down the transmission of the virus from cell to cell, thereby giving our own immune system a chance to fight it off. Ribavirin has a synergistic effect when used with Interferon. The virus can reattack, and if your own immune system is not very strong, it may not erradicate your body of the virus. Statistically speaking patients who area being treated with the Ribavirin/Interferon combination have a 40% to 50% chance of seeing a decrease in HCV DNA. However 50% will relapse in 6months, this indicates that interferon therapy is effective in less than 25% of chronic HCV patients (Lewis, Heitkemper& Dirksen, 2000).

-- Modified on 12/22/2002 8:34:31 AM

Lisa, Please see post that refers to could you clarify this in this thread.

I'm appalled.  If you insist on donating blood, (and there seems to be little I can say to dissuade you from such an irresponsible act) please disclose your profession to those taking your blood, and allow them to determine whether you are a suitable donar.  Don't assume you know more than they do; don't rationalize; just make a full disclosure and leave it to those whho's job it is to ensure the safety of the blood supply.

". . . . just because of that minute chance of there ever being a problem . . . . do the math."  

My God.

--SoCal