Hep B related--what should I do?

[BeckyBird]

I think I already know the answer, but I wanted to run this dilemma by you.

I have 2 kids--DS 8, fully vaxxed, and DD 18months, not vaxxed at all. So, in August, I have been invited to a party for some family friends. They are out of state, about 4 hours away. There is a person there who has Hepatitis B, and almost died from it. A close family friend, who will most likely come in contact with the baby. This person, from what I've heard, still has to take medication, so I assume might still be contagious? I don't know.

So, would I be stupid to drive all the way there, and possibly expose us all to HepB? I don't know if I've been vaccinated for it, and I know my DD has not. I believe my son had the vax, but nothing is 100%!  Or, am I falling into a trap of fear, because let's face it--you never know who might have a disease. We could be in contact with diseases every day, and never know it. This person claims to have gotten it from construction work, so it might be easier than I thought to transmit!

I feel so guilty for thinking this, but it worries me as a mother. Part of me wants to let my DD grow a little more, to have a stronger immune system, before I take her to visit. That's probably what I'll do. I guess I just wanted to talk this over with other nonvaxxing moms, to see what you would do in a similar situation.

P.S. I'm not interested in the vaccine....lol!

[emmy526]

"The hepatitis B virus can be spread when blood, semen, or another body fluid that is infected with the hepatitis B virus enters the body of an uninfected person. Among the common methods of transmitting hepatitis B are unsafe sexual practices and sharing contaminated needles. Transmission of the virus may also occur when an infected woman transfers the disease to her baby during childbirth."

source: http://hepatitis.emedtv.com/hepatitis-b/hepatitis-b-transmission.html

I would ask how your construction worker friend caught that disease from work.  

I have never heard of casual Hep B transmission through sneezing or coughing. If your friend cuts him/herself and bleeds, then you or your family member put an open wound of yours on it and have blood to blood contact, then yes, you can catch hep b that way... are you likely to do that? 

[alimac]

Your friend caught it from doing construction work and I have a friend who got HIV from fighting.  Ya right.  Didn't have anything to do with the strippers he used to sleep with on a regular basis.

You catch Hep B the same way you catch HIV.  Blood, Semen, bodily fluids from one person entering the other.

[Marnica]

No worries Becky - unless your children will be having sex or shooting up with this person (NOT!)  then you are good to go!!  

[BeckyBird]

Haha, you ladies crack me up! He's actually a friend of my mother's, our family friend, and she told me that he used to "party" back in the good ol' days. Who knows?

So, this is my own thread, I know, but I found some interesting articles. There might need to be a further investigation on the transmission of HepB through sweat. http://www.medpagetoday.com/InfectiousDisease/Hepatitis/5166 Hepatitis B found in sweat of Olympic wrestlers.

In theory, if this is true, then sweaty/bloody construction workers could pass infection to one another. 

I think I'll go to the party, and stop letting fear rule my life lol! Thanks for the responses too

[member234098]

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Edited by member234098 - 6/2/12 at 1:18pm

[Shanesmom]

Better safe than sorry