the correct way to spell the illness is:
hepatitis C
you should read about it.....
hepatitis C
Function: noun
Date: 1980
: a hepatitis caused by a single-stranded RNA virus (family Flaviviridae) that is usually transmitted by parenteral means (as injection of an illicit drug, blood transfusion, or exposure to blood or blood products)
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If you've been diagnosed with hepatitis C, you may have asked your doctor for the special blood test that detects it -- a very responsible move that, depending on the stage of your disease, may help save your liver from serious damage and could even save your life. Chances are you requested the test after becoming aware that this form of hepatitis is increasing rapidly around the world -- and may produce few or no symptoms until significant liver damage has occurred. Now, for your family's and friends' protection, they should also be tested for this contagious disease.
Description
Hepatitis C -- caused by the hepatitis C virus (HCV) and mainly transmitted through contact with infected blood -- leads to inflammation of the liver. Hepatitis C can be life-threatening, yet many people who have it don't even know it. That's because this disease generally progresses gradually over as long as 40 years or more, often eventually leading to cirrhosis of the liver, liver cancer, and/or other serious liver problems. Over half of the cases of hepatitis C reported each year become chronic, even with treatment.
Everyone with this disease is potentially infectious. If you've been diagnosed with hepatitis C, you have an important role to play in keeping other people from getting it. Because HCV is transmitted in blood, others may be infected through sharing razors, needles, toothbrushes, or nail files or through tattooing, body piercing, or acupuncture done by an infected person. Just one exposure may be enough to transmit the infection. Although hepatitis C accounts for 90% of cases related to blood transfusions, this is now a rare cause of the disease, because donor blood has been tested for it since 1989. HCV may occasionally be transmitted through sexual contact. Some 40% of people infected with HCV have no identifiable history of exposure to it.
Unlike hepatitis A and B, previous infection with HCV does not produce immunity. There also is no vaccine for HCV, and the hepatitis A and B vaccines do not provide immunity against hepatitis C.
Symptoms
Hepatitis C usually produces few or no symptoms early in its course -- and when they do occur, they resemble the symptoms of many other medical conditions. The symptoms may be very mild and flu-like -- for example, fatigue, loss of appetite, abdominal pain, joint pain, headache, fever, and nausea. This is why so many people with HCV don't know they're infected. Hepatitis C does not usually cause the jaundice (yellowing of the skin and eyes) common in other liver diseases, but it can occur.
Treatment
Currently, the only FDA-approved medication for treating hepatitis C is a drug called interferon alfa-2b. About half the people with hepatitis C who are treated with this drug have a good initial response (significantly lowering of the levels of HCV in the body). Another agent, ribavirin, can sometimes be used with interferon and may result in more improvement. Finally, everyone known to be infected with HCV should avoid alcohol -- to prevent further liver damage -- as well as certain medications that also can affect the liver. Your doctor can tell you which medications are safe for you and which you should avoid.
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hapatitis c info