Can Hep C be cured on its own?

[Johndoe4889]

I am here asking this question because for a year I have been dealing with this jumble of a mess! I go to a lab to get blood test done because I overthink a lot and just wanna be healthy. Everytime I go to the lab they do a test on Hep C and say that I have antibodies so I go to a clinic and speak to a doctor 1 on 1 to get a further test and they do a deeper dive I guess to see if it’s active or not and after a week I got my results telling me I am negative. Was it possible that it left naturally? Should I still be worried? Can it come back after years since it might have went away on its own? This is the second time by the way! A year ago I got blood work done at a lab and said I had antibodies so then I went to a clinic to speak to a doctor and they said the same thing! That it was negative! I don’t do anything bad I have no clue on how I even got this dang virus I hate needles and blood I read that’s how you get it! I’m just baffled and scared any ideas? Any helpful input would put me at ease. Thanks!

[Cynthia_Schneider]

You can be introduced to HepC yet not contract it. It happened to me also, i got tested it came back positive then got tested again a few months later & my dr. Was like "Who told you that you have HepC?" Made me feel so stupid but apparently if ur introduced 2a small amount of HepC ur body (if ur healthy) can fluch it out.... but once that happens you r VERY sensitive to it so be careful!

[flyinlynn]

“ Positive (reactive). This means you’ve been infected with HCV. But false positives are surprisingly common. More than 1 in 5 people who test positive don’t actually have hepatitis C. Possible reasons include:

In as many as 1 in 4 people, the HCV goes away without treatment. But even after this “natural clearance,” the HCV antibodies will always be in your blood.
No test is foolproof. And false positive errors happen more often in groups of people -- like medical workers stuck with tainted needles -- who have low odds of having HCV.
The test may mistake HCV antibodies for those for lupus, rheumatoid arthritis, and other conditions.
Babies born to mothers with hep C probably have HCV antibodies. But most newborns aren’t actually infected.”

https://www.webmd.com/hepatitis/hepatitis-false-test-results

[flyinlynn]

Was it possible that it left naturally?
Yes about 20 to 25% of people can beat the hep c virus without treatment. But once infected even if you don’t have the virus in your blood stream you will forever test positive for hep c antibodies. Antibodies are not the virus they are made by your bodies immune system when it tries to fight an invading virus. Once your body has made antibodies it will continue to make them so you will always test positive for antibodies. So there is no reason to have a hep c antibody test the result will always be positive


Should I still be worried?
No

Can it come back after years since it might have went away on its own?

Yes if you have a risk of having hepatitis c infected blood enter your blood stream you can get an entirely new infection. Having been infected in the past offers no immunity to future infection. If that were possible there would be a vaccine available for hep c which at present there is no effective vaccine, no means to prevent transmission other than avoiding risky behaviors like sharing IV drug needles, or engaging in rough sexual practices like BDSM where an exchange of blood might occur, or having multiple sexual partners and not practicing safe sex. Those are known hep c transmission risk factors.

As was said earlier there are a number of people who don’t know how they contracted hep c. Also there is a small possibility the hep c antibody test could be reacting to something in your blood other then hep c antibodies and the result is a false positive for hep c antibodies. Never the less there is no reason for you to have any future hep c antibody tests the result will always be positive.

Congratulations on not being infected with hep c

Best of luck to you  

[flyinlynn]

About 25% of people who become infected with hep c are able to beat it on their own without medical intervention. Those people just as anyone who was ever infected will likely test positive for hep c antibodies for the rest of their lives but when tested for the virus itself with the HCV RNA by PCR test will have no detectable virus circulation in their blood stream Mei infected they are not currently infected with the hepatitis c virus.

“ Hep C cured without treatment? Clearing up misinformation

There is a lot of confusion about hep C and its ability to “go away”. I think this misconception happens for a couple of reasons.

Many people don’t feel sick when they have the virus and therefore assume it is in remission or dormant.
There is a small percentage of people who clear the virus spontaneously on their own, without treatment. The other 80% go on to host the virus and need treatment.”

https://hepatitisc.net/living/go-away-on-own/

[orphanedhawk]

Tests aren't 100% accurate. Although hep C isn't cured on it's own, it also doesn't cause damage to everyone who gets it. And many people who do get it,have no idea how they got it.