Hepatitis C is a serious issue and one needs to keep oneself fully informed about this virus in order to save health and getting affected from the serious side effects. A patient tends to go through the stage of a kind of inflammation of the liver. The condition is brought in to action by the Hepatitis C virus.
Hepatitis C can also be referred to as the type of Hepatitis that shows symptoms similar to the flu.
This is the reason that most people are not aware of the fact that they have been infected with the virus of Hepatitis C. The virus is only detected when the person visits a health care practitioner for a medical examination.
There are several causes of transmission of this serious condition including tattooing, body piercing, sharing needles, unprotected sex, blood transfusion, sharing of drugs and sharing of personal items such as a razor.
This disease can easily spread via a blood -to- blood contact.
There is no specific treatment available for Hepatitis C. However, health care practitioners often recommend the patients to go for a bed rest and have plenty of liquids. This has to be followed in conjunction with a healthy diet routine and complete abstinence from alcohol.
In case, you have been suffering from only mild Hepatitis C, you would see a difference in your condition just within two or three weeks. The complete recovery would take about four to eight weeks.
However, if you have been defected with chronic Hepatitis C, your health care practitioner will recommend protein interferon acquired from synthetic sources. This treatment is helpful in improving the functionality of the liver and eliminates the symptoms of this condition.
You may have to suffer from certain side effects such as headaches and fever. These side effects may not affect some patients at all. Only 10-40 per cent of Hepatitis C patients are prone to these side effects.
The treatment provided for Hepatitis C completely depends on the amount of damage that has been done to liver by the viruses.
Sometimes, treatment is not considered to be an only option. This is because the medicines used widely to treat Hepatitis C produce serious side effects.
The actual goal of treatment given to Hepatitis C is to exterminate the infectious virus from the patient’s body as early as possible. The length of the term depends of the damage done to the liver and the effect of medicines on the patient’s body.
- Anti-viral medications used to treat Hepatitis C
A) Peginter feron to fight off the infection.
B) Combination of interferon antiviral therapy and ribavirin to enhance the chances of eliminating the virus from the body.
The disease is serious. Hence, it is very important to keep tabs on the symptoms of this disease and most importantly, take as much as preventative methods as possible.
You need to be really cautious when getting blood from someone or getting a medicine injected in to your body.
There is no vaccination that can save you from this disease. Preventive measures and watching out for the symptoms would be wise steps to take.
Thelma
What is the frequency in hepatitis and how do you get it? how is it past down to a person? how do you prevent it.
Jacob
In Dec 2003, the results of the hepatitis B virus immune assessment indicate the presence of antibody to hepatitis B surface antigen.
In Dec 2007, the hepatitis screen results indicate that the HBs antibody is nonreactive.
Is it possible theoretically the above could happen?
Statistically, is there any case showing that the antibody level may be decreasing over time after immunization?
Tammy
What is hepatitis? Hepatitis is an inflammation of the liver. It is usually caused by a virus. There are several kinds of hepatitis. Some of these types affect humans but there are also other types that affect animals such as dogs and cats. Most people probably know of the types that affect humans, however.
What are some of the symptoms of hepatitis? If you have hepatitis, you will probably know that something is wrong. Symptoms include fever, nausea, headache, fatigue, muscle pain, loss of appetite and sometimes jaundice.
Hepatitis can be fatal but most people can recover when they get treatment. So how does a person get hepatitis? Well, it typically comes from an infected person but it depends on the type that you have.
Hepatitis type A is also called the Infectious Hepatitis and is called by a virus that is carried in human waste. It can be transmitted by contaminated food or coming in contact with someone with the virus. Hygiene is important and there is a vaccination for the disease.
Hepatitis B is also called Serum Hepatitis and is typically transmitted through the virus in blood, saliva or semen. This type can be transmitted through sexual contact or contact with the blood such as cuts, bites and contaminated needles. Blood transfusions can also spread this type of hepatitis and a pregnant mother can spread it to her child.
Hepatitis C is most often caused from blood transfusions and is not very common now since there are ways of testing and scanning the blood. It can lead to cirrhosis and liver cancer. There is also a type D or Delta Hepatitis that is a severe combination of the delta virus and hepatitis B. There are also types E and G.
Hepatitis is one of many reasons why you should not share needles or have unprotected sex. If you do think you may have hepatitis, you should seek help immediately.
Ralph
Hepatitis C is a virus infection that affects the liver, and can lead to chronic hepatitis, to cirrhosis and even liver cancer.
In 1990 in the whole world were known to exist 170 million of people infected with hepatitis C virus, and World Health Organization said that every year there appear 3-4 million new patients. The prevalence of the HCV is higher in Southeast Asia and the Indian subcontinent, northern and central Africa, the eastern Mediterranean, and the Ukraine.
In many countries there is a lack of screening and testing for HCV among people and so there might be more infected people than we are aware of.
In Western Europe and US, Hepatitis C is more frequent than Hepatitis B and is the most common cause of end-stage liver disease, patients requiring a liver transplant after some years of chronic hepatitis C.
It is believed that in US, 1.8% of the population carries the virus, meaning that 4.9 million US citizens are infected.
Relying on demographic studies, it seems that most people infected with HCV are now 30 to 50 years old, meaning that most infections occurred between 1960 and 1985, when the test for HCV were not discovered yet.
The current incidence of HCV is less than 20 per 100,000 people per year in US.
Even though in 1995 only 25,000 new cases have been discovered, mathematical models suggest that the world will not get rid off HCV so easily, and only by 2030 the prevalence will decline to 1%. Until then there will appear new cases every year of chronic hepatitis C and of cirrhosis, which will require liver transplant.
HCV transmission began in the era of blood transfusions. Using contaminated blood, needles, acupuncture and hemodialysis contributed to the virus’s transmission. Also, using drugs and practicing non-protected sex was a way of getting the infection. Transmission from infected mothers to the baby during pregnancy is also possible. It was also observed that HIV infected people got HCV more easily than others.
The virus that causes Hepatitis C is part of the Flaviviridae family; it is small, measuring about 40 to 60 nm in diameter and is composed of proteins. The scientists have sequenced the genome and identified the functions of the proteins.
The virus has the ability to mutate quickly and that is why scientists have a problem in developing an efficient vaccine against it.
For Hepatitis C virus the period of incubation is 2 to 26 weeks, and 75% to 85% do not recover well and develop chronic hepatitis, cirrhosis, even liver cancer. They can also spread the virus to other healthy persons. Symptoms of infection are jaundice and fatigue for 20-30% of the patients; for the rest of the infected ones, symptoms are usually mild and nonspecific.
The fact that HCV patients develop HCC is not a good thing for the country’s economic, because this means giving more money for hospitalization, treatment and day care.
If you want to find out more resources about hepatitis or even about hepatitis c information you should visit this website http://www.hepatitis-guide.com
Ramon
