Help me with Hep c understaning I might have been exposed?

Question

Im a Police officer, and the other day I had arrestted a drug user who had bled on my handcuff. After drpping him off at jail I got back my cuffs and sprayed them down with Lysol then wiped them down with Viraguard Antiseptic Wipes (says effective for Hep) Then after the I viewed no visable blood. Aprox 41hrs later Next shift,I rinsed them off and when i went to dry them off I used a hand blow dryer in a public bath room, which was pointed up, and spray some of the dripping water from the cuffs back into my face and eyes. I am very scared I might have got a tiny amount of miroscopic blood in my eyes. Please HElp! There was no visable boold and if there was it would have been dried up.

No blood visible sprayed in my eyes, just water off the cuffs that might have went over a microscopic amount of blood and that virus might have gotten a ride from a drop of water into my eyes.... Just very nervous

Answer 1

hiv dies after exposed to air ... hep can live alone on something for at least 12 hours

if your that worried though, go to the ER and have them pump you up with gamma globulin ... and one other thing, ; i'll edit post if i remember the name ... EDIT <interferon>

ps .. no offense but kid's probably spit in yor burger every time they see your cruiser role up thru the fast food drive thru anyway

ps to whoever said it's rare .. i knew 3 people who got it (and one died) thru eye exposire .. in my 14 years of nursing work

Answer 2

Hep C can live on surfaces outside the body for up to 4 days. Report the incident, get tested, and get retested as recommended.

Answer 3

theres a very very small chance of that happening..hep c is contracted through sharing needles or blood transfusion (blood-to-blood)...or have it checked but the incubation period would take several weeks

Answer 4

You SHOULD be alright.  But if it will put your mind at ease you may want to go into your Dr. for a Hep test.  It's better to be safe and sure than it is to worry like crazy.