Contents:
- Medical Video: What is Hepatitis C and Why Should You Care?
- What is hepatitis C?
- Can I get hepatitis C through dialysis treatment?
- Can I get hepatitis C from a blood transfusion?
- How do you know if you have hepatitis C?
- Is hepatitis C a serious disease?
- Are there treatments available for hepatitis C?
- How to prevent hepatitis C?
Medical Video: What is Hepatitis C and Why Should You Care?
What is hepatitis C?
Hepatitis C is a viral infection that can cause liver disease. Hepatitis C spreads through contact with blood from an infected person.
Your risk of getting hepatitis C will increase if:
- Injecting illegal drugs
- Receiving blood transfusions or solid organ transplants before 1992 when better testing of blood donors was available.
Rarely, hepatitis C can be transmitted through:
- Transmitted through an infected mother to her baby during childbirth
- Having sex with an infected person
- Stay with an infected person and use the same items as a razor and toothbrush
- Exposure to sharp instruments contaminated with infected blood, such as needles used for tattoos, piercings and acupuncture (these needles must be carefully cleaned and disinfected before use, or disposable needles should be used).
Can I get hepatitis C through dialysis treatment?
The risk of getting hepatitis C through your treatment is likely to be small because strict infection control measures are used in current dialysis units. However, there are some reports that hepatitis C has spread between patients in the hemodialysis unit where supplies or equipment may have been used between patients. If you are a long-term hemodialysis patient, you should be tested for hepatitis C.
Can I get hepatitis C from a blood transfusion?
The possibility is small because of better blood donor testing, which has been available since 1992.
How do you know if you have hepatitis C?
A blood test is available to check hepatitis C. People who are at increased risk must be tested (see list What is hepatitis C?). The doctor may do a combination of tests to make a diagnosis. Many people who have hepatitis C do not experience symptoms and feel fine. For some, the most common symptom is extreme fatigue.
Is hepatitis C a serious disease?
Hepatitis C is serious for some people but not for others. Most people affected by hepatitis C carry viruses for the rest of their lives. Most of these people have some liver damage, but many do not feel pain from this disease. Some of them with liver damage due to hepatitis C can develop liver injury and liver failure, which may take years to develop. Others do not have long-term effects.
Are there treatments available for hepatitis C?
Yes. There are drugs available to treat hepatitis C. The combination of interferon alfa-2b and another drug called ribavirin has shown a better success rate than treatment with interferon alpha.
How to prevent hepatitis C?
At present, there are no vaccines available for hepatitis C. However, researchers are working to develop vaccines, and may be available in the future. Meanwhile, the following steps can help prevent hepatitis C:
- Do not inject illegal drugs
- Don't share toothbrushes, razors or other personal care that might have been infected with their blood
- Follow safe sex guidelines
- If you are considering doing a tattoo or piercing, make sure the tattoo artist or piercer follows good health practices such as hand washing and using disposable gloves
- Vaccinating against hepatitis C.
