High Risk Behaviors - 1
HCV is a bloodborne pathogen meaning it is contracted from the exchange of contaminated blood. The virus must enter the body through the skin or mucus membrane. Some behaviors carry a high risk factor for becoming infected while others have a lesser risk. Some behaviors, such as eating chocolate, probably carry no risk at all; but that's a personal opinion and I haven't found it researched. Okay, that's a joke! You're suppose to chuckle or smile.
Recreational Drug Usage
Guidelines given to protect intravenous and nasal drug users from HCV are guidelines that are just as effective in a legal, clinical setting. One common theme is: if you're going to use drugs do not share drug equipment. Hepatitis Central's article, What is Hepatitis" says:
"The sharing of I.V. and snorting drug paraphernalia is now thought to be the most common way of becoming infected. All I.V. drug paraphernalia is involved - syringes, spoons, filters, water, and tourniquets. Stopping the bleeding at the injection site with your fingers also involves transmission risks as well as the alcohol pads used. Snorting straws have also been determined as a way of transmitting the virus. The sharing of ANY paraphernalia can lead to the transmission of hepatitis C."
Intravenous Drug Usage
The Canadian Hepatitis Information Network says intravenous drug users test 65 - 80% positive for HCV. People with only one episode of intravenous drug usage in the sixties and seventies and are now manifesting HCV in its later stages.
Nasal Drug Usage
Another high risk behavior for HCV infection is sharing tools used to snort cocaine because the sinus skin is very thin and permeable.
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