Possible transmission of hep C?

[Tanya22]

I would like to ask the experts on Hep C community.
I just find out my mother im Law has Hep c, this is already a very sad news was us as she is great mother in law and great grandma to my kids. I am just educating my self and my husband about her condition and what is hep C.
But my main worry also is for my kids, specialy my older daughter, she use to have very bad acne, face with a lots of pimples she is 14 years old. And I know everything is comming to my mind and worry me. I remember about a month ago my mother in law has cold sores up the lips, and she give my kids a lots of kisses on the faces I think she forgot about her cold sores as I know cold sores can be spread this way. I am not concern much of transmiting cold sores to my kids like I am now worry abot my older daughter with bad acne. Is this possble transmiting hep c to her because of her acne. Can this way be possible? My mother in law was not bleeding at this time but acne and pimples can bleed sometimes could be as a good entry of Hep c? Cold sores can bleed  times to times to but she seems to have have couple of days old cold sores with no blood visible.
I dont know whatt to think I am a bit worry, since I read a lots of thinks like hep c is easy transmitted. My mother in law also can recall how she got hep C, she has some medical procedure long time ago, but not any blood transfussion or no drug use. Is very scary!
I dont know if I should test my kids I dont think I would like to do this but if I have to I will, to be on a safe side.
What I am asking is possible to transfer this way, kissing or touching on pimpels and acne with cold sores of person with hep c? Just worry. Thank you for your time.

[orphanedhawk]

To help calm your worries I'd like to tell you that I'm sure I got hep C before my kids were born. I wasn't diagnosed until after they were grown.
Despite not having any idea I had the virus, my kids don't have it.
My situation is common.
To repeat what was said previously, it transmitted via blood to blood.
The likelihood of a cold sore to acne transmission sounds slight at best.

[Dawn703]

Def agree, the likelihood would be so low. HCV is transmitted blood to blood. Your mother inlaw would have to have blood that got into an open sore on your kid(s). However, I also agree for peace of mind you could have them tested. It's a simple blood test and some labs have different pricing, call around for least expensive for HCV antibody test. Please continue to educate yourselves as much as possible, and your mother inlaw really should visit this forum. It's a great site, I know I have learned more here than I could have imagined.

[Idyllic]

I agree with ceanothus and could not have said it better myself.  Hepatitis C is treatable. I hope your mother-in-law is able to treat her Hepatitis C some day.

[ceanothus]

Hi Tanya,

You are making an excellent start in coming here for info! This forum is primarily where patients help other patients, so none of us are doctors, but we do have many members who are extremely well-educated about the Hep C virus, and if any of our newer members do accidentally give an incorrect answer it is usually corrected really quickly! There are also a lot of very good fact sheets available at http://hcvadvocate.org/hepatitis/factsheets.asp#Easy_eng. The HCV Advocate website is an especially good place to go for reliable information when you are first starting to learn about the disease. 

Your specific question is hard to answer with certainty. From all I know about HCV, I would guess that IF the cold sore was bleeding AND came into direct contact with an open sore from a blemish, then there could be some risk of transmission, but it is really pretty unlikely. HCV can be transmitted in a number of ways but there has to be infected blood making contact with the other person's blood somehow, and cold sore to acne seems like it would fall into the category of "technically possible, but not very probable". We'll see if any of our more expert members correct me on that! It might help you gain more perspective to realize that many on this forum (like me) had this virus for decades before we knew it or were diagnosed, and yet our long-time spouses have tested negative. Even an infected mother doesn't usually pass the virus to her child during pregnancy and childbirth, although that is a more significant risk (between 4-7%). 

Read and learn as much as you can about HCV, and make sure your mother-in-law knows about this forum too. She may need a little support in dealing with the disease, and we would be happy to help. If you have continuing concerns about your children having possibly been exposed, do talk to their pediatrician about testing. It is just a blood test, simple (though  maybe expensive),  but the peace of mind may be worth it. I hope this helps!