An inflammation or swelling in the liver means hepatitis, and when this liver inflammation occurs due to a specific RNA virus, it leads to chronic inflammation, and then it is known as hepatitis C. Different type of viruses named as A, B, C, D, and E are known to affect liver and thus produce hepatitis A, hepatitis B, hepatitis C etc. Other than just inflammation this virus also causes scarring on the liver, referred as cirrhosis of the liver. This has a tendency of multiplying swiftly and does not allow developing or forming natural antibodies in the required manner. It is a silent destroyer of healthy liver cells. It is sometimes possible to be untraceable for a long period of time, may be years.

How do we get hepatitis?

• The hepatitis virus basically spreads through an infected syringe or infected blood. Drugs addict or regular blood donating persons are more prone to get infected.
• Making tattoo or having your body pierced could also be a possible reason for this infection.
• It is rare that one gets infected with this virus through sexual activity.
• Mother-to-baby infection is possible, but it is rare.
• Transplant of organs or kidney dialysis can also be one of the factors of transmission of this virus.
• Hepatitis C never spreads with the touch, saliva, sharing food, air or water.

How to know it’s hepatitis C: Symptoms
The gravidity period for HCV ranges from 2 weeks to 6 months, followed by fever, nausea, abdominal pain, vomiting, fatigue, joint pain, dark urine, loss of appetite and jaundice. Most of the people do not get these hepatitis C symptoms at an early span of time. These hepatitis C symptoms are not so rare, and thus, even after getting these symptoms, one cannot point it to the HCV. It is hard to recognize hepatitis without a proper diagnosis or professional consulting. But the patients in the forward stage are likely to experience more dire hepatitis C symptoms, such as blood through the rectum, pale eyes, depression, weight loss, or exhaustion.

Diagnosis of HCV
HCV at an early stage shows very common symptoms and that is why it is not easy to say if a person is going through HCV or not, a proper diagnosis is a must. It is diagnosed in two steps.

• Serological test

A serological test is done for the screening of anti-HCV antibodies which does identify patients with the infected virus.

• Nucleic test

If a patient is diagnosed and stated as positive for anti-HCV antibodies, a nucleic test is needed for ribonucleic acid (RNA) to get confirmation for chronic.

After a patient is diagnosed with the chronic HCV infection, they should have an analysis of liver damage for cirrhosis and fibrosis.

Treatment for hepatitis C
It is not compulsory that HCV always requires a treatment, an acute infection in some people can be cleared out by the highly responsive immune system. The curing rate of HCV depends on several factors, depending on the treatment provided and the strain or intensity of the infection.

Daclatasvir, Sofosbuvir, and Sofosbuvir/Ledipasvir combination are the most preferred injecting procedures as per the WHO guidelines and are designed to achieve the success rate of curing up to 95%. These suggestive medicines by WHO are much more safe, effective, and better-tolerated as compared to other therapies.

Preventions needed

Primary preventions:
The prevention of HCV mainly depends upon the reduction of virus exposure, as the vaccines for HCV are still not available. Primary preventions involvement as recommended by WHO include:

• Proper and safer use of injections in health-care organizations or individually.
• Safe disposal of sharp materials and waste.
• Use of gloves and washing of hands during and after the surgical treatment.
• Donated blood should be tested for hepatitis B or C.

Consistent and correct use of condoms.

Secondary and tertiary preventions:

• Counseling or knowledge of infection and treatment can be quite useful.
• For chronic infection, regular checkups and monitoring should be done.
• Timely vaccinations for hepatitis should be taken at an early age.

Factors which exasperate early development of liver infections or cancer are:

• Smoking
• Alcoholic Beverages
• Liver noxious drugs
• Stress leading lifestyle
• Hereditary proneness to cirrhosis
• Chemical exposure

Only for the personal knowledge or information, a few commonly advised medicines for hepatitis C are listed below, but patients are not recommended to go through any type of medication without consulting their physicians.

• Chelidonium Majus:
  The drug is prepared through the flowers of a plant usually known as Celandine. For homeopathy, it is the most common drug used for hepatitis C. It acts as a positive agent for restoring the liver functioning back to normal.
• Bryonia Alba:
  Homeopathy has added another magnificent drug to the list which is prepared from a plant known as wild hops. It is prepared from the roots of the same. It’s one of the most frequently used drugs in hepatitis C.

• Kali Carbonicum:
  When potassium carbonate is treated through the process known as potentization, it evolves into a drug Kali Carb, which is powerful enough to be used for the treatment of infections like HCV. It is used as a stress-fighting medicine for the body.

However, you must always consult your doctor before undergoing any treatment or taking any medicine.