A contagious liver illness known as hepatitis C can cause cirrhosis, liver failure, and liver cancer. Hepatitis C can be fatal if untreated. Early detection might reduce the risk of liver damage.
What is Hepatitis C?
Hepatitis C is a viral infection that damages the liver and causes inflammation. The virus is disseminated through contact with contaminated blood, such as by sharing needles or using unsterile tattoo supplies.
Most people don't exhibit any symptoms. Those who do experience symptoms of hepatitis C may experience weariness, nausea, appetite loss, and yellowing of the skin and eyes.
What are the symptoms of hepatitis C?
Acute Hepatitis C- Most sufferers of acute hepatitis C don't exhibit any symptoms. If they do, symptoms usually start to manifest two to twelve weeks following exposure. Symptoms of acute hepatitis C include:
- Fever
- Exhaustion
- Stomach ache
- Joint pain
- Sometimes jaundice
- Loss of appetite
- Nausea or vomiting
- Dark urine
- Clay-colored stool
Chronic hepatitis C– When the body is unable to rid itself of the infection, hepatitis C turns chronic. Chronic hepatitis C may remain a silent disease for years together until the liver is damaged to an extent that it shows certain symptoms as listed below:
- Bleeding easily
- Bruising easily
- Fatigue
- Poor appetite
- Jaundice
- Dark-colored urine
- Itchy skin
- Ascites (fluid buildup in abdomen)
- Edema (swelling) in legs
- Weight loss
- Hepatic encephalopathy leading to confusion, drowsiness and slurred speech
- Spider angiomas (spiderlike blood vessels on skin)
Chronic hepatitis C, if left untreated, can result in:
- Cirrhosis, or scarring of the liver
- Liver failure
- Liver tumour or cancer
What are the causes of hepatitis C?
If the blood of someone who has hepatitis C virus (HCV) enters your body, you could contract the disease. The main causes of hepatitis C include:
- A needle or sharps injury
- If you cut yourself and HCV-infected blood gets on it or gets in your eyes or mouth
Risk factors involved
- Undergoing chronic kidney dialysis
- Frequently come in contact with contaminated blood or affected people at work (such as a health care workers)
- Have unprotected intercourse with an HCV-positive person
- Conceived by a mother with HCV
- Obtained an HCV-positive organ transplant from a donor
How is hepatitis C diagnosed?
Very few patients are diagnosed with HCV infections that are recent because the infection is frequently silent. When an individual later develops chronic HCV infection, the illness frequently goes untreated since it is asymptomatic for decades before symptoms appear as a result of severe liver damage.
A hepatitis test is done using blood tests. HCV antibody test is the most common test used to detect HCV infection. If this initial test denotes a positive result, additional tests may be ordered including the viral load detected by polymerase chain reaction (PCR) to quantitatively detect the virus itself, along with a genotypic test to detect the genotype of the virus.
How to prevent hepatitis C?
Since there is no effective treatment or vaccination for hepatitis C, prevention relies on lowering the risk of infection in hospitals and among other high-risk groups.
Prevention recommendations include-
- Not sharing needles or other equipment used with illicit drugs
- Testing donated blood for HBV and HCV (as well as HIV and syphilis)
- Training healthcare professionals about personal safety and safe disposal of tools
- Using barrier contraception during sexual activity and practice safe sex
- Not sharing personal care articles like toothbrushes, razors, nail and hair clippers, and scissors with others
- Using safe medical injections
- Carefully choosing safe tattoo and piercing parlors
Hepatitis C treatment
Most instances of hepatitis C can be cured with the use of direct-acting antiviral medications (DAAs). However, it is significant to remember that hepatitis C can be acquired multiple times. After a successful course of treatment, the patient needs to take precautions against future infections.
Agilus Diagnostics, a subsidiary of Fortis Healthcare Limited
