Read It: "Wall Street Journal" Article About Hepatitis C

I'm one of many people with Hepatitis C who can't determine how I contracted the virus. A Wall Street Journal article, "Health Danger of Parties Past," published Sept. 20, 2010, speculates that "some former party animals may be carrying a harmful reminder of their youth and not know it." The "reminder" is Hep C.

The article describes circumstances - some innocent, some less so - under which people might have been exposed to virus-tainted blood.

People who used intravenous drugs, snorted cocaine with a shared straw, or had an unsterile tattoo or body piercing could be infected with hepatitis C and not realize it. Some people may have innocently been infected if they had a blood transfusion before 1992, when the blood supply began to be screened for the virus. Others may have contracted the virus simply by sharing a toothbrush or a razor... About 20,000 people are diagnosed with hepatitis C each year, and some two-thirds of those are middle-aged, having contracted the disease 20 or 30 years ago.

Could this explain my situation? Perhaps - 30+ years ago, while in my late teens and early 20s, I was a partier, but I avoided heavy-duty drugs. I borrowed my fair share of toothbrushes and razors, however.

Anyone looking for a quick overview of Hep C and Hep C treatments will find the article useful. And to the FDA: Please get the new treatments approved ASAP. Some of us really need them.