Description

Hepatitis C is a viral infection that causes swelling of the liver, called inflammation. Hepatitis C can cause serious liver damage. The hepatitis C virus (HCV) spreads through contact with the blood that has the virus.

New antiviral medications are the treatment of choice for most of the people with the course, called chronic hepatitis C infection. These drugs can often cure the chronic hepatitis C.

But many people with hepatitis C do not know they have it. This is mainly due to that the symptoms can take decades to appear. Thus, the united states preventive Services Task Force recommends that all adults between the ages of 18 to 79 years of age be tested for hepatitis C.

The detection is for all, even those who have no symptoms or known liver disease.

Symptoms

Each long-term hepatitis C infection starts with what is called an acute phase. Acute hepatitis C usually is not diagnosed, because it rarely causes symptoms. When there are symptoms in this phase, they may include jaundice, fatigue, nausea, fever, and muscle aches.

Long-term infection with the hepatitis C virus is called chronic hepatitis C. Chronic hepatitis C doesn't usually have symptoms for many years. The symptoms appear only after the virus damages the liver enough to cause them.

Symptoms may include:

  • Bleeding easily.
  • Bruising easily.
  • Fatigue.
  • Not wanting to eat.
  • Yellowing of the skin, called jaundice. This might appear more white people. Also, yellowing of the sclera of the eye in white, Black and brown people.
  • Dark-colored urine.
  • Itching in the skin.
  • The accumulation of fluid in the area of the stomach, called ascites.
  • Swelling in the legs.
  • The loss of weight.
  • Confusion, drowsiness and slurred speech, called hepatic encephalopathy.
  • Spiderlike blood vessels on the skin, called angiomas spider.

Acute Hepatitis C infection does not always become chronic. Some people remove the infection from their bodies after the acute phase. This is called spontaneous elimination of the virus. Antiviral therapy also helps to clear acute hepatitis C.

Causes

Hepatitis C infection is caused by the hepatitis C virus (HCV). The infection is spread when the blood that has the virus enters the bloodstream of a person who is not affected.

Worldwide, the hepatitis C infection presents itself in several forms, called genotypes. There are seven genotypes and 67 subtypes. The most common hepatitis C genotype in the united States is of type 1.

Chronic hepatitis C follows the same course, no matter what the genotype of the virus infection. But the treatment can vary depending on the viral genotype. However, new antiviral drugs can treat many of the genotypes.

Risk factors

Screening for hepatitis C

The united states preventive Services Task Force recommends that all adults between the ages of 18 to 79 years of age be tested for hepatitis C. the Detection is very important for people at high risk of exposure. This includes:

  • Anyone who has ever injected, snorted or inhaled an illegal drug.
  • Any person who has atypical liver test results in which the cause was not found.
  • Infants born of someone who has hepatitis C.
  • Pregnant people during the pregnancy.
  • Health care and emergency workers who have been in contact with blood or been stuck by a needle.
  • People with hemophilia who were treated with clotting factors before 1987.
  • People who have had long-term hemodialysis.
  • The people who received donations of blood or organ transplant before 1992.
  • The sex partners of persons with a diagnosis of hepatitis C infection.
  • People with HIV infection.
  • Men who have sex with men.
  • Sexually active people to start taking medicine to prevent HIV , the so-called pre-exposure prophylaxis, or PrEP .
  • Anyone who has been in prison.

Complications

The Hepatitis C infection, which continues over many years can cause serious complications, such as:

  • The scarring of the liver, called cirrhosis. The scarring can occur after decades of hepatitis C infection. The scarring of the liver makes it difficult for the liver to work.
  • Cancer of the liver. A small number of people with hepatitis C infection of getting cancer of the liver.
  • Liver failure. A lot of scarring can cause the liver to stop functioning.

Prevention

The following could protect you from infection by hepatitis C:

  • Stop using illegal drugs. If you use illegal drugs, seek help.
  • Be careful about the piercings and tattoos. For piercing or tattoos, look for a store that is known to be clean. Ask questions about how the equipment is clean. Make sure that the employees use sterilized needles. If the employees don't answer the questions, look for another shop.
  • Practice safe sex. Do not have unprotected sex with any partner whose state of health does not know. Do not have sexual relations with more than one partner. The risk that couples who have sex with other contracting hepatitis C through sex is low.

Diagnosis

If a screening test shows hepatitis C, other blood tests may:

  • Measure the amount of hepatitis C virus in the blood, which is called the viral load.
  • Show the genotype of the virus.

Evidence of liver damage

One or more of the following tests look for liver damage of chronic hepatitis C.

  • Magnetic resonance elastography (MRE). This non-invasive imaging can be done in place of a liver biopsy. Mixture of magnetic resonance imaging technology with the patterns formed by sound waves that bounce off the liver. This makes a map that shows the places where the liver is rigid. Stiffness in the liver tissue means scarring of the liver, which is called fibrosis.
  • Transient elastography. Another test of the stiffness of the liver is a type of ultrasound that sends vibrations in the liver. The test measures the rapidity of the vibrations that go through liver tissue.
  • The liver biopsy. This is often done by the use of ultrasound as a guide. It involves placing a thin needle into the liver to remove a small sample of liver tissue to be tested in a laboratory.
  • Blood tests. A series of blood tests can show the amount of scarring in the liver.

Treatment

Antiviral medications

The antiviral drugs, treatment of hepatitis C. it Is used to remove the virus from the body. The goal of treatment is to not have the hepatitis C virus is in the body for at least 12 weeks after completion of treatment.

Some of the new antiviral drugs, called direct action, have better outcomes, fewer side effects and shorter treatment times. The treatment can be as short as eight weeks. The choice of medication and length of treatment depend on the hepatitis C of genotype, if the liver is damaged, other medical conditions, and previous treatments.

Throughout treatment, the care team watches the treatment response to medications and side effects. Treatment with direct acting antiviral drugs typically lasts 12 weeks.

Due to the pace of the investigation, the treatments are changing rapidly. So it is best to discuss treatment options with a specialist.

Liver transplantation

To have a liver transplant may be an option for the serious liver damage of chronic hepatitis C infection. During a liver transplant, the surgeon removes your damaged liver and replaces it with a healthy liver. The majority of livers transplanted from donors with death. A small number come from living donors who donate a portion of their livers.

In most cases, a liver transplant alone is not a cure for hepatitis C. The infection is likely to return. This means that most of the treatment with antiviral drugs to prevent damage to the liver again. Several studies have shown that the new antiviral drugs cure hepatitis C after transplantation. Sometimes, the new antiviral drugs can cure hepatitis C before a liver transplant.

Vaccines

There is No vaccine for hepatitis C. however, a doctor will probably recommend vaccination against hepatitis a and hepatitis B viruses. These are the viruses that can cause liver damage, and make the hepatitis C worse.

Lifestyle and home remedies

Certain lifestyle changes may help control chronic hepatitis C. These measures may help to keep you healthier for longer and protect the health of others:

  • Stop drinking alcohol. Alcohol accelerates liver disease.
  • Don't use medicines that may cause damage to the liver. Review all medications that you take with your health care provider. You might need to not take certain medications.
  • Keep others from coming in contact with your blood.Cover the wounds you have. Do not share razors or toothbrushes. Do not donate blood, organs, or semen. Tell health workers that you have the virus. Tell your partner about your infection before you have sex. Always use condoms during sex.

Keep others from coming in contact with your blood. Cover the wounds you have. Do not share razors or toothbrushes. Do not donate blood, organs, or semen. Tell health workers that you have the virus.

Tell your partner about your infection before you have sex. Always use condoms during sex.

Preparing for your appointment

If you think you may be at risk of contracting hepatitis C, talk to your health care provider. If you are diagnosed with a hepatitis C infection, your doctor may refer you to a specialist in diseases of the liver, called a hepatologist, or infectious disease specialist.

What you can do

Consider the possibility of a family member or a friend with you to the appointment to help you remember the information that is obtained.

Make a list of:

  • The results of your test. If you are seeing a liver specialist for the first time after being diagnosed with hepatitis C, write down the results of the tests you have had. This includes a liver biopsy to check the damage of chronic infection and a blood test to know that hepatitis C genotype has.
  • Your symptoms, including any that may seem unrelated to the reason for which you scheduled the appointment, and when they began.
  • All the drugs, vitamins, and supplements you are taking, including dosage.
  • Questions to ask your health care provider.

Some basic questions to ask about the hepatitis C include:

  • Should I be tested for other causes of liver disease, such as hepatitis B?
  • You have the hepatitis C virus damaged my liver?
  • I need a treatment for infection with hepatitis C?
  • What are my treatment options?
  • What are the benefits of each treatment option?
  • What are the possible risks of each treatment option?
  • There is a treatment you think is best for me?
  • I have other medical conditions. How do these affect my treatment of hepatitis C?
  • My family should be tested for hepatitis C?
  • Is it possible for me to spread the hepatitis C virus to others?
  • How can I protect the people that surrounds me of the hepatitis C?
  • There are brochures or any other material that I can have? What sites do you recommend?
  • What is going to decide whether I should plan for a follow-up visit?
  • It is safe for me to drink alcohol?
  • What medications should I avoid?

Be sure to ask all the questions you have about your condition.

What to expect from your doctor

Your health care provider is likely to ask you questions, such as:

  • Have you ever received donations of blood or an organ transplant? If so, when?
  • Have you ever given yourself injections of illegal drugs?
  • Have you been diagnosed with hepatitis or jaundice?
  • Does anyone in your family has hepatitis C?
  • There is a history of liver disease in your family?
Symptoms and treatment of Hepatitis C