i guess you are lucky 25% of people who had their immune system defeats hep c in first 6 months of infection (acute stage). As Jill said, you won't be able to donate blood or organs and although there is no virus particles in blood detectable, you will still have to be careful with razors, tattoo, dentists, needles, etc not to infect others, no matter it's a small chance since there is no virus particles detected in blood, but still better safe than sorry ;) As for alcohol consumption, it all depends on your liver condition. If it's in good condition, moderate drinking won't do much harm. If it's damaged, alcohol will make it worse. Talk with your doctor, as he/she will know best.
you will have to repeat PCR maybe once more and if it's UND again, say thanks to your immune sys for doing the great job
best
summerholliday said
Jun 21, 2013
Hi my name is summer and I'm 29. I was recently diagnosed with hep c antibodies. I'm kinda confused about it. I got the viral load test and its undetectable. Does this mean I'm free from the virus? Can I get a vital load ever from the antibodies? Am I still supposed to not drink alcohol? Can I still transfer to someone else? So confused with so many questions.
Cinnamon Girl said
Jun 21, 2013
Hi Summer, welcome! If you have Hep C antibodies but no viral load, it strongly suggests that you have been infected at some time in the past and your immune system has cleared the virus on its own, which happens in a certain percentage of cases. Antibodies contain no actual virus particles, and if you have no active infection it`s highly unlikely you`ll be able to pass it on to anyone else. Having said that, it is possible that you still have a tiny amount of the virus circulating but it`s too small to be detected, so best to take sensible hygiene precautions with blood spills and anything that may have a trace of blood on it. You can only catch Hep C through `blood to blood` contact. Once you`ve had Hep C you will always have the antibodies in your bloodstream and they will show up in blood tests. And for that reason you won`t be able to donate blood in the future.
As for the question of whether to drink alcohol, it`s difficult to advise you. Spontaneous clearance of the virus usually happens in the early, acute, stage of infection, before it`s had time to cause any damage to your liver. But I think it might be wise to avoid alcohol or at least keep to a very moderate amount.
Your doctor may well like you to have another test done, maybe in a few months time, to confirm that you have no viral load, but it doesn`t sound as though you have anything to worry about.
i guess you are lucky 25% of people who had their immune system defeats hep c in first 6 months of infection (acute stage). As Jill said, you won't be able to donate blood or organs and although there is no virus particles in blood detectable, you will still have to be careful with razors, tattoo, dentists, needles, etc not to infect others, no matter it's a small chance since there is no virus particles detected in blood, but still better safe than sorry ;) As for alcohol consumption, it all depends on your liver condition. If it's in good condition, moderate drinking won't do much harm. If it's damaged, alcohol will make it worse. Talk with your doctor, as he/she will know best.
you will have to repeat PCR maybe once more and if it's UND again, say thanks to your immune sys for doing the great job
best
Hi Summer, welcome! If you have Hep C antibodies but no viral load, it strongly suggests that you have been infected at some time in the past and your immune system has cleared the virus on its own, which happens in a certain percentage of cases. Antibodies contain no actual virus particles, and if you have no active infection it`s highly unlikely you`ll be able to pass it on to anyone else. Having said that, it is possible that you still have a tiny amount of the virus circulating but it`s too small to be detected, so best to take sensible hygiene precautions with blood spills and anything that may have a trace of blood on it. You can only catch Hep C through `blood to blood` contact. Once you`ve had Hep C you will always have the antibodies in your bloodstream and they will show up in blood tests. And for that reason you won`t be able to donate blood in the future.
As for the question of whether to drink alcohol, it`s difficult to advise you. Spontaneous clearance of the virus usually happens in the early, acute, stage of infection, before it`s had time to cause any damage to your liver. But I think it might be wise to avoid alcohol or at least keep to a very moderate amount.
Your doctor may well like you to have another test done, maybe in a few months time, to confirm that you have no viral load, but it doesn`t sound as though you have anything to worry about.