Comments on: Baby Boomers and Hepatitis C http://www.onemedical.com/blog/newsworthy/baby-boomers-and-hepatitis-c/ Health advice, natural remedies, and medical tips you can trust. Thu, 23 May 2013 19:07:12 +0000 hourly 1 By: Diana ONeill, FNP http://www.onemedical.com/blog/newsworthy/baby-boomers-and-hepatitis-c/#comment-1932 Diana ONeill, FNP Sat, 20 Apr 2013 01:26:15 +0000 http://www.onemedical.com/blog/?p=4033#comment-1932 My information is: Most boomers were never IV drug users. Many, however, have shared straws or crisp (sharp) new rolled up bills, when they snorted coke; once, twice, 50 x ? And THIS is the boomers' most likely mode of infection; blood on a straw, scraping their already inflammed, puffy, easy to scratch open, nasal mucosa, on the second or third go round... The other major mode is people who got jailhouse, or home tattoos. My clinical experience, of 29 years as an NP, also attests to these 2 modes of transmission being the most likely culprits. l've worked in NYC, LI, and Westchester. ..and have met thousands of boomers with money for blow, (who did not keep a personal straw), back in their 20's and 30's. My information is:
Most boomers were never IV drug users. Many, however, have shared straws or crisp (sharp) new rolled up bills, when they snorted coke; once, twice, 50 x ?
And THIS is the boomers’ most likely mode of infection; blood on a straw, scraping their already inflammed, puffy, easy to scratch open, nasal mucosa, on the second or third go round…

The other major mode is people who got jailhouse, or home tattoos.

My clinical experience, of 29 years as an NP, also attests to these 2 modes of transmission being the most likely culprits. l’ve worked in NYC, LI, and Westchester. ..and have met thousands of boomers with money for blow, (who did not keep a personal straw), back in their 20′s and 30′s.

]]> By: Brenda http://www.onemedical.com/blog/newsworthy/baby-boomers-and-hepatitis-c/#comment-867 Brenda Thu, 19 Jul 2012 18:38:42 +0000 http://www.onemedical.com/blog/?p=4033#comment-867 I would like to take issue with the following. "People continue to become infected with hepatitis C in San Francisco, primarily through injecting drugs... but increasingly through sexual contact as well". Which seems to infer that that chances of HCV infection through sex is equivalent in some way to transmission through blood to blood contact of IV users. I think this is misleading and confuses the public about their actual risk of contracting HCV.HCV is not an STD and very few people contract HCV through sex. Some studies have tested the sexual partners of hepatitis C patients to see whether they too are HCV-positive. Such studies have produced results ranging from 0 percent to 6 percent positivity- with approximately 2 percent being the average.Excluding people that are sharing blood as during some forms of "hard sex", sex is a very poor means of transmitting the virus.From the CDC:"Can Hepatitis C be spread through sexual contact?Yes, but the risk of transmission from sexual contact is believed to be low. The risk increases for those who have multiple sex partners, have a sexually transmitted disease, engage in rough sex, or are infected with HIV. More research is needed to better understand how and when Hepatitis C can be spread through sexual contact"."Several studies of risk factors in sexual activity found rates of infection between 1 and 18% for homosexually active individuals, 1 to 10% among heterosexually active individuals, and 1 to 12% among female prostitutes, with the primary risk factors for infection being greater numbers of partners, unprotected sex, simultaneous infection with other STD's, and traumatic sexual activity". The most efficient mode of transmission is via blood-to-blood. This means that blood from an infected person gets into the bloodstream of another person. IE Sharing needles, syringes, or other equipment to inject drugs where blood is exchanged.From the CDC:Within only six months to a year after beginning intravenous drug use, 50-80 percent of drug users test positive for the hepatitis C antibody. I.V. drug users account for about 30-40% of all identified cases, and about 50 percent of all new cases of the disease. I believe that SF should concentrate its limited resources focusing on the IV drug using community as this is where the chances of spreading HCV is the highest.Regards,Howard Crawford I would like to take issue with the following. “People continue to become infected with hepatitis C in San Francisco, primarily through injecting drugs… but increasingly through sexual contact as well”. Which seems to infer that that chances of HCV infection through sex is equivalent in some way to transmission through blood to blood contact of IV users. I think this is misleading and confuses the public about their actual risk of contracting HCV.HCV is not an STD and very few people contract HCV through sex. Some studies have tested the sexual partners of hepatitis C patients to see whether they too are HCV-positive. Such studies have produced results ranging from 0 percent to 6 percent positivity- with approximately 2 percent being the average.Excluding people that are sharing blood as during some forms of “hard sex”, sex is a very poor means of transmitting the virus.From the CDC:”Can Hepatitis C be spread through sexual contact?Yes, but the risk of transmission from sexual contact is believed to be low. The risk increases for those who have multiple sex partners, have a sexually transmitted disease, engage in rough sex, or are infected with HIV. More research is needed to better understand how and when Hepatitis C can be spread through sexual contact”.”Several studies of risk factors in sexual activity found rates of infection between 1 and 18% for homosexually active individuals, 1 to 10% among heterosexually active individuals, and 1 to 12% among female prostitutes, with the primary risk factors for infection being greater numbers of partners, unprotected sex, simultaneous infection with other STD’s, and traumatic sexual activity”. The most efficient mode of transmission is via blood-to-blood. This means that blood from an infected person gets into the bloodstream of another person. IE Sharing needles, syringes, or other equipment to inject drugs where blood is exchanged.From the CDC:Within only six months to a year after beginning intravenous drug use, 50-80 percent of drug users test positive for the hepatitis C antibody. I.V. drug users account for about 30-40% of all identified cases, and about 50 percent of all new cases of the disease. I believe that SF should concentrate its limited resources focusing on the IV drug using community as this is where the chances of spreading HCV is the highest.Regards,Howard Crawford

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