Protecting others

The hepatitis C virus is transmitted through infected blood. However, if someone comes into direct contact with this blood they will not become infected in most cases because the skin acts as the first line of defence and stops the virus from entering their bloodstream.   The risk of infection becomes greater if there are open wounds on the skin, which sometimes cannot be seen. Therefore, if you are infected with hepatitis C, you should try to prevent your blood coming into contact with anybody else just in case. This can generally be achieved using common sense, for example:

• Avoid high-risk behaviour (for example, sharing needles or syringes)
• Cover all open wounds
• Tell people at risk so that they can take precautions (for example, nurses taking blood samples)
• Do not share personal items with potential for blood-to-blood and tissue contact, such as toothbrushes, razors, nail scissors etc.