Hepatitis C is a viral infection that causes inflammation of the liver. This sometimes leads to serious liver damage. The hepatitis C virus is spread through contaminated blood.
Until recently, treatment of hepatitis C required weekly injections and oral medications, and due to other health problems and unacceptable side effects of these two treatments, many people with hepatitis C virus were unable to use these treatments.
But all of that has changed. Now, chronic hepatitis C virus is usually curable with medications taken by mouth every day for two to six months.
About half of patients infected with hepatitis C still do not know they have the virus This is mainly because they do not have any symptoms, which can take decades to develop. For this reason, the US Preventive Services Task Force recommends that all adults ages 18 to 79 be screened for hepatitis C, even those who have no symptoms or known liver disease. The group at greatest risk of infection includes everyone born between 1945 and 1965 — a group five times more likely to be infected than those born in other years.
Symptoms
Long-term infection with the hepatitis C virus is known as chronic hepatitis C virus. Chronic hepatitis C is usually a "silent" infection for several years, until the virus has damaged the liver enough to cause signs and symptoms of liver disease.
Signs and symptoms include
Bleeding easily
bruising easily
fatigue
poor appetite
yellowing of the skin and eyes (jaundice)
dark urine
itchy skin
Fluid buildup in your abdomen (ascites)
swollen both legs
Weight loss
Confusion, drowsiness and slurred speech (hepatic encephalopathy)
Spider-like blood vessels on your skin (arachnoid hemangiomas)
All chronic hepatitis C infection begins in an acute phase. Hepatitis C is not usually diagnosed because it rarely causes symptoms. When signs and symptoms do appear, they may include jaundice, along with fatigue, nausea, fever, and muscle aches. Acute symptoms appear one to three months after exposure to the virus and last two to three months.
Acute hepatitis C does not always turn chronic. Some people clear HCV from their bodies after the acute phase, a result known as spontaneous viral clearance. In studies of people infected with HCV, spontaneous viral clearance rates ranged from 15% to 25%. Acute hepatitis C responds well to antiviral therapy.
the reasons
Hepatitis C infection is caused by the hepatitis C virus (HCV). The infection spreads when blood contaminated with the virus enters the bloodstream of an uninfected person.
Globally, hepatitis C exists in several distinct forms, known as genotypes. Seven distinct hepatitis C genotypes and more than 67 subtypes have been identified. The most common genotype of hepatitis C in the United States is type I.
Although chronic hepatitis C follows a similar course regardless of the virus genotype, treatment recommendations vary depending on the virus''s genotype.
risk factors
The risk of hepatitis C infection increases if
You are a health care professional who is exposed to infectious blood that may be transmitted when the skin is punctured with an infectious needle
Have you ever injected or inhaled illegal drugs?
infected with human immunodeficiency virus
you made a tattoo or piercing in an unclean environment using unsterilized equipment
You had blood transfusions or organ transplants before 1992
Concentrates of clotting factors received prior to 1987
You''ve had dialysis treatments for a long time
You were born to a mother infected with hepatitis C virus
Have you ever been to prison?
You were born between 1945-1965, the age group with the highest rate of hepatitis C infection
Complications
Hepatitis C infection that persists over many years can cause major complications, such as
Liver scarring (cirrhosis). Decades after infection with hepatitis C, cirrhosis may develop. Scarring of your liver makes it difficult for it to do its job.
Liver Cancer. A small number of carriers of hepatitis C infection may develop liver cancer.
liver failure Advanced cirrhosis may cause the liver to stop working.
protection
Protect yourself from hepatitis C infection by taking the following precautions
Stop taking illegal drugs, especially if you inject them. If you use illegal drugs, get help.
Be careful about body piercing and tattoos. If you choose to get a piercing or body tattoo, look for a reputable place. Ask questions in advance about how to clean the equipment. Make sure employees use sterile needles. If the staff doesn''t answer your questions, look elsewhere.
Have safer sex. Do not engage in unprotected sex with multiple partners, or any partner whose health is uncertain. Infection may occur through sexual contact between couples in a monogamous relationship, but the risk is low.
