'%20x='0'%20y='0'%20height='100%25'%20width='100%25'%20%0A%20%20%20%20%20%20%20%20%20%20xlink%3Ahref='data:image/jpg;base64,/9j/2wBDAAYEBQYFBAYGBQYHBwYIChAKCgkJChQODwwQFxQYGBcUFhYaHSUfGhsjHBYWICwgIyYnKSopGR8tMC0oMCUoKSj/2wBDAQcHBwoIChMKChMoGhYaKCgoKCgoKCgoKCgoKCgoKCgoKCgoKCgoKCgoKCgoKCgoKCgoKCgoKCgoKCgoKCgoKCj/wgARCAAHAAoDASIAAhEBAxEB/8QAFgABAQEAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAYH/8QAFQEBAQAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAQT/2gAMAwEAAhADEAAAANWhQh//xAAgEAACAQMEAwAAAAAAAAAAAAACAwEABBIFBxEiFEFR/9oACAEBAAE/AL6b2Sd46RZHHQZbhJTz99U3c3RUsNbEXuYTiXUa/8QAFhEBAQEAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAgAR/9oACAECAQE/AFpv/8QAFhEBAQEAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAQAS/9oACAEDAQE/AF0X/9k='%3E%3C/image%3E%3C/svg%3E)
Hepatitis C is a liver-damaging viral illness. It has the potential to produce both acute (short-term) and chronic (long-term) sickness. It can be potentially fatal as well in some cases.
This disease gets around through infected blood. If you share needles or take part in dicey medical processes like blood transfusions with unchecked blood, it can happen. Usually, longtime sufferers of this disease are given new-age antiviral medications to handle it.
Can these new medicines shake off chronic hepatitis C? Quite often, yes. But there's a catch. A lot of people with this disease don't know they have it. Mostly, this happens because it takes years for symptoms to show up.
Trending
The evil doer is the hepatitis C virus (HCV). It likes to travel through blood. So, if a sick person's blood gets into a healthy person's body, the healthy person gets the virus too.
Symptoms of hepatitis C
There are two types of hepatitis C:
Acute hepatitis C develops within six months of being subjected to the virus that causes it. This disease is a potentially short-term condition, but for the majority of people, acute infection evolves into chronic infection.
Chronic hepatitis C, if ignored, could lead to permanent infection. This might develop into major health issues, like liver damage and cirrhosis, even liver cancer and death.
Most people don't feel any symptoms. The early infection stage might show minimal signs in a handful of people.
These could be vague, flu-like indicators or liver problem signs like stomach pain or jaundice. As the liver's function diminishes, signs of advanced liver disease may become apparent.
Causes
The different types of this disease can be seen all over the globe. There are 67 subtypes and seven genotypes. Type 1 is the most frequent hepatitis C gene in the United States.
This disease was also disseminated through blood transfusions as well as organ transplants prior to comprehensive testing of the body's blood supply in 1992. The risk of passing it on to recipients of blood or blood-related products is now extremely minimal.
Sharing needles or other drug-related gear is the most common way people get this disease today.
Tattooing or piercing with instruments or inks that have not been sterilized after being used on someone with HCV can also spread the infection further.
People with this disease also pass it on to their offspring. Hence, children with infected mothers are highly susceptible to getting the infection too.
Other than this, sharing personal hygiene products like razorblades or toothbrushes might also result in the infection spreading from one person to another.
Treatment
The treatment plans may be different depending on your specific situations or in which part of the world you live.
Responsible for your care, a specialist medical assemblage consisting of doctors, nurses, and pharmacists is going to take care of it and tell you what sort of remedies can be used that are best for you.
Patients with this disease take antiviral drugs, which are capable of curing most cases.
If you suffer from acute hepatitis C, a doctor may advise you to wait until you have a chronic infection before starting therapy. Consult a liver specialist if your cirrhosis is caused by this disease.
Diverse cures, like medicines and surgery, among others, are used to manage health problems relating to cirrhosis. If your disease advances into liver damage and cancer, then liver transplantation might be necessary.
Most people with this disease who are treated now have a positive prognosis. The viral cure percentage is now greater than 90%, thanks to new medicines.
If you or your sexual partner have HCV and both of you have been in a stable as well as monogamous association, the chance of infecting or being infected by the other person is low.
Holding hands, kissing each other, sneezing or coughing, breastfeeding, or sharing dining utensils or glasses for drinking do not transmit HCV.
