All kinds of hepatitis C information

 

Hep C Info

News Feeds

Kev's Story

Kev's Regimen

Therapies

Disability

 Member Stories

HepFriends

Event Pics

Memorial Wall

We Need You!

General Health

Contact

Home


Our volunteers work diligently to help you understand hep C.


  


Tattoo Time Bomb

Infectious Ink

by Erin Verkler

Another reason to regret that late-night tattoo: It could deliver the liver-destroying hepatitis C virus (HCV) in a more dangerous manner.
 
 People with tattoos are just as likely as IV drug users to have HCV, a University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center study of 626 people suggests. But IV drug users were six times more likely to have the early warning signs of infection--nausea, fatigue, or jaundice--that can lead to quick detection and treatment. Why? While contaminated drug needles shoot large quantities of HCV directly into the bloodstream, tattoo needles pierce just the skin, introducing the virus into the bloodstream slowly and in smaller amounts. As a result, HCV symptoms may not show up for 20 years.

Page 1 of 1

Erin Verkler is a former Prevention intern

The National Hepatitis C Coalition, Inc. thanks Erin Verkler and Prevention Magazine for permission to reprint this article.

 

 

SITE CONTENTS
| Hep C Info | HepChat | Kev's Story | Kev's Regimen | Inspiration |
| Hep C Stories | Events Pics | We Need You |
| HepSites |
Memorial Wall | Singles List | Therapies |
 
| Guestbook | Contact Us |
General Health |
| HOME |

 

NHCC logo......we're here for hep C patients and families  

 Any issues concerning this website should be sent to:

Be sure to include the words "HEP C" in the subject line of your correspondence. Otherwise, it may be deleted unopened due to the extreme problem with spam.

Last Updated January 03, 2007