Hepatitis generally refers to the inflammation in the liver. Viruses causing hepatitis invade the liver cells causing dysfunctioning and swelling.
Commonly hepatitis is of three types, hepatitis A, hepatitis B, and Hepatitis C.
Hepatitis C infection can be chronic or acute. Generally, 50% of acute infections become chronic because the body cannot eliminate the virus.
Causes: Hepatitis C is caused by the Hepatitis C virus generally called HCV. The virus is transferred to the healthy person via various methods such as:
Blood to blood contact with contaminated blood.
The infected syringe or other equipment.
Sexual contact without proper contraceptive barrier method.
Mother to newborn baby via blood.
Unregulated and unprotected tattooing.
Hepatitis C viruses do not spread by breathing, talking, walking, and kissing with the infected person.
Symptoms: People do not develop any symptoms during the acute stage and it is easier to transmit to others. The symptoms rarely appear at the chronic stage and thus the doctor called it a "silent epidemic".
However, some of the common symptoms which appear as the disease progresses from acute to chronic stage are:
Abdominal pain
Fever
Nausea
Jaundice
Dark urine
Joint pain
Clay-colored stool
Fatigue
Diagnosis: Hepatitis C is diagnosed with the help of a blood test:
First blood test: The first blood test is performed to check the hepatitis B antibody in the blood. The positive results of the test indicate that the person has been exposed to the virus but do not show any evidence of ongoing infection.
Second blood test: The second blood test means the Hepatitis C RNA test which is used to check whether the virus is still present in the blood or not.
Third blood test: A third blood test known as the genotype test is done to detect the type of Hepatitis C virus. If a patient has been exposed to Hepatitis C for a long duration of time then several tests are done to check the liver damage or other existing severe damage including various other blood tests and ultrasound scans.
Treatment: There are several modern treatment methods that can cure hepatitis C infection. This treatment involves a cycle of antiviral medication for about 8 to 24 weeks.
One of the most effective antiviral medications involved direct-acting antiviral medicines (DAAs) that were approved in 2013 as a well-tolerated Hepatitis C drug. The most common side effects of DAAs include fatigue and headache. DAAs work by targeting the Hepatitis C virus life cycle and disrupting the reproduction of cells.
Before using DDA medication the treatment method was very lengthy and the cure rate was also less.
Read:- How to cure Hepatitis B
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