Hepatitis C: the main symptoms, signs and how to treat?

Hepatitis C is a disease that affects liver and caused by hepatitis b virus. The disease can take several different forms, from light, when hepatitis a affects the liver just a few weeks, to severe forms, which for years undermines health of the patient and passes in cirrhosis or malignant tumour.

Virus transmission can occur through contamination by blood. Today, there are 150 million people who are carriers of chronic hepatitis C, and yearly fatal hepatitis ends at 350 thousand patients.

Hepatitis C is highly contagious disease, which develops from the moment of infection of the blood. Thus, the degree of prevalence of viruses which have devastating effects on the liver, the hepatitis C lead. It is important to note that the greatest danger the virus poses to people who are predisposed to infection.

How is the infection

It is worth noting that the disease has no geographical boundaries or preferences of climatic zones and hepatitis C are common throughout the world and in some countries the degree of infestation of the population reaches 5%. However, such high performance is the result of using the injections, unsafe medical equipment.

As the main way of infection is contact with infected blood, you can highlight the following points, in which the risk of hepatitis C increases many times:

• Blood transfusions with the virus during organ transplantation from a carrier of the virus, or the transfer of blood products;
• In the implementation of the contaminated injection needle in the medical institutions;
• In the use of drugs that enter the body through injections;
• During pregnancy hepatitis C is transmitted from a sick mother to child.
• While promiscuity;
• By sharing personal hygiene items with a carrier of the virus.

Attention! The virus can be transmitted through breast feeding or through tactile contact, and through the simple exchange of fluids, a kiss.

The symptoms of the disease

Hepatitis a incubation period that can last up to six months. You should know that immediately after the introduction of the virus into the blood, 80% of people just don't feel any different, and do not notice symptoms. But if a person susceptible to the virus of hepatitis, it is possible to note the following symptoms:

• High temperature;
• Fatigue and the lack of appetite;
• Often marked by nausea and severevomiting;
• Acute pain in the abdomen;
• Changes of urine color to dark, and feces grey;
• The beginning of yellowing of the sclera.

Chronic hepatitis b develops after infection in 80% of cases, while more than half of it goes into the development of diseases of the liver. Less than a quarter of patients diagnosed with cirrhosis and up to 5% of infected patients die from cancer.

Diagnosis of the disease hepatitis C

The hepatitis C diagnosis impossible, simply because there are no external symptoms, and the patient does not feel any symptoms. A simple detection of antibodies is not significant, because it indicates the presence of hepatitis now or previously.

Diagnosis is made on the basis of the test nucleic acid with an antibody to the virus. In the course of the procedure to identify RNA virus. And to assess the prevalence of liver cirrhosis or cancer, are used special tests, biopsy, ultrasound.

It is important to the implementation and early testing, which can at the initial stage of development of the disease to prevent many problems and as early as possible will help to treat the disease. But the main thing is the possibility of developing countermeasures for the transmission of the virus on. Early testing in some States tailored the screening to patients who have the highest risk of infection. A classification:

• People with transplanted organs and transfused blood;
• Current and former drug users who have injected drugs by injection;
• Patients on hemodialysis;
• Doctors, nurses, employees of medical facilities;
• HIV-infected patients, including Today universal tools, vaccines against the virus have not been developed. However, to treat the disease, the medications such as "Ribavirin" and "Interferon". Therapy is a combined character. It is worth noting that, despite the fact that Interferon can be unbearable for some patients, it has the most positive effect. Just, first, not every patient gets the treatment, and secondly, it responds immediately to treatment is not every genotype, all this leads to the fact that hepatitis C remains goes untreated, although amenable to complete cure.

  Furthermore, medicine is constantly developing new antiviral drugs, which can have a much more positive effect in the treatment of hepatitis C, and have a wider tolerance.

  As you can see with the treatment of sarcoidosis, a disease damaging the lungs. To know more useful information — neverhurt.

  Prevention of the disease

  For the primary prevention of today nothing can be attributed due to the fact that it is impossible to hold it against hepatitis C.

  However, there are times that reduce the risk of infection:

  • Injections should only be carried out with disposable syringes;
  • The exception of dangerous transfusion of blood products;
  • Cessation of drug use;
  • Only protected sex with a new sexual partner;
  • The rejection of tattooing.