Health - Cocaine and hepatitis C, viral and bacterial transmisson

[zipoo]

I just read that you can get serious blood disorders by sharing cocaine. Sticking in the same key or whatever in a bag that just came out of someone nose with blood on it, visible or not. I would advise people not to share coke pickers. Be careful. This is more serious than having sex without a condom.

[Toria]

You think so? Last I heardyou can't get herpes, gonorrhoea, syphilis, pubic lice, or chlamydia from someone's nose...

[computergod]

I always wipe. I think I got a cold off someone once. With the high
probability of nose bleeds from coke use, and the associated irritation
mucus membranes it seems like a sure fire way to spread disease.



On a side note, 1/4" plastic tubing from a hardware store makes for good snorting.

[luckyatl13]

I have my own lucky piece. i let know1 use it but one time a friend had to and i just simply cut off the tip.

[luckyatl13]

i believe the main disease is hepatitis c

[mrbrowntung]

yea, hepititis c, thats what ive got. its almost impossible to know where you got it from. i at first thought it was this one time--well, first ill explain this box i had. for about 8 months i had this little snorter box i carried with me. it was a little 3"x2" box and i kept a razor, a straw and a small little ziploc baggie that i always put my coke into after i broke it all up. well, this one time my friend who had just started doin coke that night after a couple hours this one line he did after he brought the straw out of his nose there was some noticeable blood on it. i just wiped it off and thought everything was cool. thats what i naturally thought i mustve gotten it from. but after talkin to my doctor he said it could come from so many things. and now that i think about it, chances are thats not even where i got it from. that straw had gone through so many people for so long that its possible it probably wasnt even the noticeable blood on it that i got it from, it could very easily been from some tiny, tiny spot of blood that got on there that i never knew about. but then again, maybe it wasnt even from doing coke at all. hepitis c can transfer almost instantly from infected blood to 'healthy' blood, and it only takes 1 tiny littleamount of infected blood (so tiny thatit could bejust somelittle droplet that is damn near impossible to see with a naked eye)to infect all of your blood. which means, as my doctor pointed out to me, that i could have gotten it from sharing tweezers, finger nail clippers, ear rings, a toothbrush, etc. etc. with someone who was infected. my mom recently got done with treatment for it and her sister (my aunt) also has hepititis c so my mom thinks she got it frommy auntafter sharing ear rings with her when they were kids or something like that. as for my aunt, she probably got it from sharing needles because she used to be addicted to heroin for a long time.





but like i said, theres (in most cases) almost absolutely no way to ever really find out whereyou got it from. and after talkin with atleast 6 different doctors who specialize with it, they all are saying that its so easy to transfer it that its amazing there arent more people with it. so anyway, i mean it wouldnt hurt to be more careful with your straws and stuff like that that could possibly have a little bit of blood on it that might touch some of your blood. and why not clean it off anyway, only takes less than 10 seconds to do and it could prevent it. but then again...like i said earlier, chances are if you ever get it odds are it couldve so easily come from something in your everyday life and not from coke at all (and shit, not to scare you but its possible you might even already have it). so yea, zippos right, be more careful with stuff that you share with people that might get blood on it, but in the end i bet alot of people who use(d) coke and get the disease, it probably wasnt from coke-related material.





haha, sorry for typing so much, but well, im in a very 'talkative' mood(wink wink) Edited by: mrbrowntung

[luckyatl13]

yea i mean if say some1 used a bill and got blood on it. went into a gas station gave the bill to them and then the gas station gave it to u for change and u touched it then say somehow put ur hands in ur mouth u could get it. but im pretty sure it only lives like 24 hours to 48 hours outside the body

[whatsinaname]

Originally Posted by zipoo

&lt;P =Msonormal style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"&gt;&lt;FONT face="Times New Roman" size=3&gt;I just read that you can get serious blood disorders by sharing cocaine. Sticking in the same key or whatever in a bag that just came out of someone nose with blood on it, visible or not. I would advise people not to share coke pickers. Be careful. This is more serious than having sex without a condom. </font>

Did somebody say government propaganda?

[whatsinaname]

Did somebody say government propaganda?[/QUOTE]
Actually, I did some looking and...

Shared Straws Can Spread Blood Diseases Such As Hepatitis C
Just as shared needles can spread blood diseases between people, so can shared straws. A study by Bonkovsky and Mehta published in Am Acad Dermatol (2001 Feb;44(2):159-82) reported that blood and mucus on shared straws can spread blood diseases such as Hepatitis C between those who share the straw.

I suppose it could be a concern, but there is a big difference between getting a small amount of infect mucas membrane in your nose and getting an infected person's blood into yours.

[adzket]

there is minimal risk involved from shering snorting tubes with people. if you are woried just give it a wipe to make shure or use your own. but taking drugs is probibly more of a risk anyhow and by doing them we put ourself at risk all the time.

[zipoo]

Originally Posted by adzket

. but taking drugs is probibly more of a risk anyhow and by doing them we put ourself at risk all the time.

minimizing teh risk is still a good thing,andincreasing awearness is a good way to go. also taking drugsis more a persnal risk while spreading diseaseis involving others in your risks.

[4chanspy]

edited. Article below.
please post article like heretic.ape has done below instead of links, links can move and it's easier for everyone that way.
thanks

benga

Reputation Comments on this post:

Linking disease to a particular plant/animal or country is key to discovering causes and cures. Good work.

[Heretic.Ape.]

Hepatitis C Virus Infection in Cocaine Users: A Silent Epidemic

Researchers at the Medical College of Wisconsin have found that up to one-third of cocaine users who thought they were healthy may be infected with hepatitis C. Hepatitis C can lead to chronic hepatitis, cirrhosis of the liver and even liver cancer. There is no cure or vaccine.
It has been suggested by some researchers that Hepatitis C infection may be the major cause of liver disease in the United States. The use of alcohol may make the effects of Hepatitis C on the liver more severe.
"Our observations suggest a significant epidemic in an unsuspecting population with little regular access to health care," notes study author Harold H. Harsch, MD, Associate Professor of Psychiatry at the Medical College. "These individuals also form a large pool for the continued transmission of Hepatitis C to the general population. As this reservoir of virus increases, even what may be minor transmission channels, such as sexual activity, ear piercing and tattooing will become more significant."
The study screened cocaine users who volunteered for a study of how the brain reacts to cocaine. Of the 144 people screened, 47 were found to have Hepatitis C, while only seven tested positive for Hepatitis B and only two for HIV. Of the 144, 56% were African-American, 81% were male, 75% were never-married, and 55% were unemployed. The average age was 36. None of the subjects had ever received a blood transfusion.
Twenty-nine percent who tested negative for Hepatitis C reported intravenous drug use, while 77% of those testing positive for the disease reported IV drug use. Those who tested positive for Hepatitis C tended to be three to four years older than Hepatitis C-free patients.
One of the most surprising findings was that about 14% of those with Hepatitis C said they had never used intravenous drugs. This suggests that there are other ways for the spread of the disease among cocaine users, such as sharing straws to snort cocaine, particularly if nosebleeds occur. For Hepatitis C to be spread, the virus generally must enter the bloodstream through the skin or mucous membranes. Hepatitis C does not spread as easily through sexual contact as Hepatitis B or HIV.
A recent study of blood donors who tested positive for Hepatitis C found that intranasal cocaine use, sexual promiscuity, intravenous drug use, history of transfusion and ear piercing among men were risk factors.
It was only in the late 1980s that a test was developed to identify Hepatitis C. While screening for Hepatitis B and HIV has become routine at hospitals, drug centers and blood banks, Hepatitis C is sometimes overlooked. The Medical College study suggests it may be widespread among cocaine users, including those who smoke crack cocaine.
The Medical College study appeared in the June 2000 issue of Community Mental Health Journal. Co-authors of the study are John Pankiewicz, MD; Alan S. Bloom, PhD; Charles Rainey, MD; Jung-Ki Cho, MD; Lori Sperry, PhD; and Elliott A. Stein, PhD.

from http://healthlink.mcw.edu/article/971122496.html




Tell swiy to exercise caution and he should be fine... maybe use his own straw or needle in the future?
h.a.

[Cakes]

If it was the straw, I'd figure this would also be seen in the crank stats (if there were such a thing).

Perhaps it is the guys who process or harvest the coke.

or it is the coke it's self. Hepatitis is a disease that is associated with being dirt-borne? and so perhaps these agricultural products are hosts.

I spoke to a medical doc in person lately and he literally LOL'd at me when there was a moment when he thought I might be insinuating that hep C could be caused by ANYTHING other than IV use or a transfusion.

I'm curious to hear reports of the 'cure'. SWIM told me it took him 9 months and made him feel like he wanted to die.

[MrG]

Calm down, Hep C is a blood-borne virus. In that there would need to be direct blood contact - through shared needle use or, maybe (as there has been no direct proof yet) blood to nasal mucous membrane through shared cocaine straw use.

But then again, who the hell would use someone's straw that had blood all over the top of it?

SWIM only ever shares straw's with his wife. If ever he is snorting with someone else he simply rolls his own bank note up and uses that. Who wants someone else's snot in their nose?

[CHEMDUDE]

swims DR sugested that swim had come into contact with the c strain years ago which has caused his liver damage.swim is trying to gethis driving lisance back after blagging librium from the DR's (don't do this) swim had to change his address and the forms now ask if you have ever taken drugs (both legal+illegal)so being honest and not getting into troubledown the line,swim ticked the yes box.now swim has to have a medical to get the lisance back.but every time swim has been for the medical (3 times now) the results come back as saying swim is an allcoholic without even drinking.the tests them selfs only test two of your liver enzymes,if the test results come back and the count is high,they assume you are drinking to excess.but as stated b4,contact with the c strain causes liver damage.
but what swim wants to know is how he came into contact with it in the first place.swim has used needles b4 but never shared.swim has used coke/crack on many ocasions.this chemicals in the foodchain is a new concept on this subject to swim.can one come into contact with it through sex (hetrosexual)?..peace..c_d

[springplain]

Unfortunately there is strong evidence that 'not sharing' is not enough to prevent Hep C. Microscopic particles of blood containing the virus can be present anywhere in the injection setting - table, spoon ect. These particles can be transferred unintentionally onto the surface of your skin or into your works and end up being injected. The 'best practice' is to wash your hands first, clean the table (or area), use your own works, spoon, water, tie off and filters. When finished, make sure you clean up.

Hep C is blood borne. Sexual transmission is possible if there is a direct blood to blood contact. For example a tiny cut on the penis comes in contact with Hep C infected blood.

There is no evidence to suggest that Hep C is transmitted through the food chain although a vampire with gum disease could be in trouble.

[Nagognog2]

Yep. It isn't cocaine that is crawling with Hep C virus. It's some people's blood supply. The "researchers" no doubt offered free coke in a street-level newspaper for homeless people who commonly share needles. Ta Da! High levels of Hep C appear. Give dem resershers da medal!

[hwanner88]

i've seen some medical articles as well as postings by doctors on health forums expressing extreme doubt at the hypothesis that hep c can be transmitted via straw. the theory is that microscopic blood particles can be present on a straw (it doesn't have to be bloody) and can enter one's body via the nose (which has likely been battered from snorting). i am not a scientist, but that seems very unlikely to me. also, i've checked the statistics, and i think the number of estimated new cases of hep c in the united states yearly is in the 20,000s. very low number.

swim has only shared a straw with a couple people over the years, and often with his girlfriend. not only because of the theoretical hep c risk, but because it is a bit gross to share something you're sticking up your nose.

[Cakes]

Originally Posted by MrG

Calm down, Hep C is a blood-borne virus. In that there would need to be direct blood contact - through shared needle use or, maybe (as there has been no direct proof yet) blood to nasal mucous membrane through shared cocaine straw use.

or maybe from a bank note that i just bled all over before you got change from the store.

feeling calm now?

not that calm is bad. or that i should be concerned that i may be leaving traces of it on surfaces where my grandchild may crawl.

y'all seem to be forgetting that the researchers do not know a whole frigging lot. they developed a test for it how long ago?

and maybe you are also forgetting that this disease came from somewhere. unless you think that we have been carrying it since before monkey days?

[Cakes]

not that i ain't calm and all. cause there is a cure i guess. but this is all new to me.

[dbjay417]

its best not to share snorting implements anyway, much less with some one you don't know. Theres no need to share, any fast food restuarant is like a Fort Knox for straws. They're free and abundant.

[Cakes]

Originally Posted by MrG

he simply rolls his own bank note up and uses that.

computer printer paper works pretty well too.

[Dabdura]

Originally Posted by Cakes

computer printer paper works pretty well too.

I Agree, I never use one paper more than a day and always have some more, in case someone asks me to lend mine
And sticking up banknote up your nose is very stupid cuz the money is the most dirty thing on earth. you dont know who hold that banknote and where his hands were before he payed with that full of bacteria banknote.

Maybe the guy who lent you the banknote didn't wash hands after toilet, his girfriend gave him that money after blowjob and he fingered her in return, his girlfriend got that banknote from her father who works in morgue and none of them wash their hands. LOL

Reputation Comments on this post:

illustrative and supportive. thanks and welcome to dF

[PliersOfSociety]

Yeah. Sharing snorters is a bad idea. I receved a memo in a medical office in 1997 or 1998 where they were just discovering a possible link between HCV and intranasal cocaine use. I don't recall the specifics, but there were people showing positive who were either virgins or low-risk sex, no History of IV use or blood transfusions or transfers, and they were positive for HCV. The only link they could find was they had all shared straws with cocaine (with others - as I recall they didn't know each other).

Unrelated, but the memo was accompanied by another warning that latex gloves are not completely nonporous. Never researched that one any more.

So, if SWIY is snorting anything, don't share the snorting utensils.