I have hepatitis b just found out through blood work I have c how did I not know?

I have had hepatitis b for 17 years. I am in good health. Show no systems. I applied for life insurance and found out that I had hepatitis c. I was not aware of this. I found this to be disarming. My ALT was 51 expected range 0-45. All other test result showed average. I contacted hepatitis b from being raped. However, when and better yet how did I get hepatitis c?
I do not take any medications causing liver problems. I am 50 years old an about 30 pounds over the required. I smoke 1/2 pack a day. My alcohol comsumption is 4 to 5 drinks twice a week. This is my details to you to provide better results for information. The bottom line question for me is how did I come up with hepatitis c?

You could have gotten hep c (HCV) the same way you got hep b (HBV). The risk factors for HCV are similar to HBV. Many people have HCV and don't find out for years or even decades because the symptoms are so subtle or they may even be asymptomatic. You must not drink alcohol, as alcohol causes both HCV and HBV to replicate faster as well as causing scarring to the liver in and of itself. When you have two kinds of hepatitis, your liver is under attack by a double whammy. You should get vaccinated against Hepatitis A so you don't get that, too. A hep A infection can be fatal when you also have other kinds of hepatitis. I don't mean to scare you, but you need to know this so you can be protected. The best thing to do in addition to quitting drinking, is to get a liver biopsy to determine what condition your liver is in. The biopsy is the bottom line in finding out how much scarring (called fibrosis) has occurred. You should look into treatment in order to decrease your chances of cirrhosis, liver cancer, and/or the need for transplantation. The liver is a very tough organ and can withstand a lot of damage before it gives off symptoms. I've know many people who don't know they have HCV until they start to have signs of liver failure. 10,000 people die each year waiting for a liver, so it is imperative that you don't ignore this because you feel fine now. Treatment can take care of both types of hepatitis. The success rate of treatment depends on what genotype you have (genotype is a subtype of hep c). Usually, when someone has both HBV & HCV, the HCV becomes dominant. The treatment drugs (pegylated interferon & ribavirin) can treat both types of hep. I did the treatment over 7 years ago, and have been blessed to have cleared the virus.
Best wishes to you.

HCV is spread through BLOOD. HBV is spread through all bodily fluids in general. You could of gotten HCV in a million different ways. Chances are it was rape, since it is violent and can cause open wounds to where HCV could transmit had the man had blood in his semen. Report It

Hepatitis C
Like hepatitis B, hepatitis C can lead to cirrhosis or liver cancer. Also like hepatitis B, hepatitis C is transmitted from person to person through blood or other body fluids.

Hepatitis C is the most serious type of hepatitis - it's now one of the most common reasons for liver transplants in adults. Every year, thousands of people in the United States die from the virus. And there's no cure and no vaccine.

An estimated 4.1 million Americans are currently infected with the virus. The most common way people become infected is through sharing drug paraphernalia such as needles and straws. People also get hepatitis C after having unprotected sex with an infected partner. Before 1990, many people got hepatitis C through blood transfusions, but better blood screening and handling procedures now mean that this rarely happens.

The medications currently used to treat hepatitis C are effective in controlling the disease in some people. However, hepatitis C treatments are not very easy to take, especially because some require frequent injections.