Originally posted by 9007933:

http://forums.military.com/eve/forums?a=tpc&s=78919038&f=739197221&m=6331984331&r=3630049790001#3630049790001

My father served in Vietnam and was exposed to large amounts of Agent Orange. He died in 1989 while we lived in England. He had originally been diagnosed with some form of "viral infection", then was later diagnosed with "hepatitis non-A non-B". hepatitis non-A non-B is what they used to refer to hepatitis C as, since there was no official test for it and no treatments at the time. Also he had had for quite some time before hand, several upper-digestive problems. At the time of diagnosis with hepatitis non-A non-B (hepatitis C), it was assumed that he contracted it through a blood transfusion he received during open-heart surgery about 6 or 7 years earlier. In the past few days, while researching my own medical condition, I came across information regarding some health effects caused by Agent Orange that I was previously unaware of: esophageal and digestive complications, and liver complications that sometimes mimic the symptoms and effects of hepatitis C. Is it possible that what we thought to be hepatitis C was actually caused by Agent Orange?

Now, regarding my medical problem. I have a very prominent connective tissue disorder. I have so far been unable to find any doctor knowledgeable enough to diagnose it. After my own research, I feel that it may be a form of Ehlers-Danlos Syndrome (EDS) (info at http://www.ednf.org/index.php). There only seems to be one contradiction: EDS is completely hereditary, due to the fact that it's caused by mutated genes and/or DNA breaks; No one in my entire family history has had this disorder. I think that I may be the exception to the rule, because although no one in my family has/had it, Agent Orange would have the ability to cause a gene mutation that would create similar problems to EDS. By the way, I was born in 1984. Does anyone know if there is a correlation between AO and connection tissue disorders in the children of Vietnam Veterans? I also have asthma.

I would appreciate any info on the Hepatitis C issue or the EDS issue. I know that it would be "too-little too-late" for my father, but it's not too late for me....and I have my son to worry about, if it is genetic. Thank you for taking the time to read this. more