I don't have answers, but am simply offering a reply. Sounds like you do not know how you got it. Either could be, since virus lives on a surface atleast up to 16 hours. The disease is not a punishment for imprudent behavior of the past. Its just a disease. We are victims of the disease. It can happen to anyone, and does.
Fortunately, we can share information & experiences, and support one another whether living with it, or going through treatment.
Glad that you are here (although sorry for the reason that brought you here.)

Hey. It does suck not knowing. I don't really know either. It's hard to tell and you may never know. I am sorry. I don't really know if you can get it off of animals or not. I hope that regardless, you are able to find peace and hope in the future.

Sorry Kathy but it is quite obvious that you contracted the virus via blood to blood.
Sharing a spoon to do IV drugs is one way of getting infected if the other person was indeed infected with hep c.

You see hep c is a blood borne virus, can only be transfered by blood to blood.

Common ways, are firstly hospital or dentist office is the most common way, blood transfusions from before 1992, when they finally started screening it, then you have a smaller percentage from IV drug used, then rough sex where bloody wounds on both parties is involved, then the less common, toothbrush, razors, nail clippers.

Blood lives up to 72 hours, some say even weeks, even when it's dry.

Kathy, have you've been to a liver doctor yet?
If not you will need a list of questions, tests, and answers about what is next in the near future for you.
I have that list, so when you read this, please contact me, I will add you on my friends list, and I will send you a message with all the info needed when you will see your gi (liver doctor).

Do you know what genotype you are?
Or how high is your viral load yet?

Like I said; if you don't have these answers about your situation, you will need this to see your gi.

SO please, I am just a message away, you may contact me anytime, I will respond as soon as I see your message.

Love & Respect,
mckenzie
one day at the time.

I am in the same boat as you, not knowing how I got this blankety-blank disease! Sometimes it drives you crazy, doesn't it? I've never used IV drugs, but the more I hear about dentistry as being a cause, I'm leaning toward that. I had a very bad experience in the 70s getting 2 wisdom teeth pulled, ended up in the hospital with a severe infection for 2 weeks, and since I was out of it for most of those 2 weeks I am thinking it could have happened there. But the others here are right--now that we have it, we have to take steps to make ourselves better. Keep us posted on your progress. Hugs.

hi, i don't know exactly how i got it either; maybe from the dentist when i had my wisdom teeth out in the 70ies or maybe from snorting cocaine? it would be nice to know how we got this, but in the end it doesn't really matter where it came from.

i do wonder why 'prevention" isn't talked about more? you know, like telling people to make sure they ask their dentist how they sterilized the equipment; and tell kids to not share straws or dollar bills...don't share toothbrushes, etc.

Hi, guess that question plagues everyone... and their families. When my husband was diagnosed, I was furious! I thought it was contracted like HIV. You might be surprised how many have that same wrong idea. Of course, I was tested immediately, no sign of it, and my doctor did set me straight. After we found out that 5 others on his crew on the river boat had hep c, we finally figured out that it must have passed from one man who everyone knew had some kind of hepatitis. They constantly had nicks and scrapes on hands and pulled on same ropes and chains. Sounds reasonable to me that you could have gotten it at the landfill... who knows what you could have come in contact with! Not everone who gets it was an IV drug user. He never did IV drugs, although he smoked a lot of pot and snorted coke a couple of times back in 70's.

Hubby and I have no for sure answers where we got HCV from either. His may have come from drug use and mine was probably from surgeries or even from him. The virus is a lot easier to spread then most doctors admit. When we live in close quarters as a couple, we have sex, share nail clippers, use one anothers razor, all sorts of fixing one anothers wounds and such. The virus is blood born and can live up to 72 hours outside the body. Your job back then may have given you diseases but not likely HCV. In all honesty, it doesn't matter where it came from. What matters is can you live with it or do you need to treat? Has it caused damage? Is it worth going thru treatment that can make you worse. Or yes, it can cure you.. Take your time to learn all you can.

I am not for sure how I got it either but the fact remains HOW don't matter,bottom line we do and that is reality.At first I racked my brain too! not worth stressing over.

I was going to point out that it doesn't have to be from IV drugs, but I see others made that point...just in case you don't know, it can come from snorting drugs..
Also, about the time period that the virus is able to infect someone when outside of the body, I've heard it 'lives" that way longer than the AIDS/HIV virus does.
I don't know if it fits this topic, but I want to say, I am amazed at how many nurses and doctors, even , have taken my blood samples , or inserted an IV line, where I've had to instruct them that they need to be wearing gloves!
When I've asked them why they aren't already wearing them they have said "it's harder to feel for your veins with the gloves on".