Hepatitis C is one of the most prevalent diseases in the world with an estimated 71 million globally who have chronic Hepatitis C infection. It is caused by the Hepatitis C virus and is a bloodborne disease that spreads mostly through the blood veins. It spreads preliminarily due to unsafe injection practices or unsafe health care. This virus infects the liver and in time, develops into cirrhosis, liver failure or liver cancer. Most people do not know that they have Hepatitis C until they are diagnosed with some form of liver damage, which may take many years. Hence it is essential to get timely checks done so that the various treatments for Hepatitis C can be put to use.
Hepatitis C virus causes both acute and chronic infection. Acute infection neither has severe symptoms nor is life-threatening and usually clears out within six months of diagnosis with little treatment. On the other hand, Chronic Hepatitis C virus infection increases a risk of life-threatening liver diseases. About 20% those who contract this virus develop liver cirrhosis within 20 years.
Treatment for Hepatitis C is dependent on many conditions like:
- Liver damage.
- Pre-existing health conditions.
- Amount of viral infection in the body.
- Hepatitis C genotype detected.
There are different ways in which this disease is treated. Acute Hepatitis C virus usually remains untreated as this kind of Hepatitis is asymptomatic and therefore stays dormant or undetected in a person for very long periods of time. Hepatitis C virus is transmitted in the following ways:
The most common manner of the spread of this virus is sharing needles for drug injections.
- Inadequate sterilization of needles and syringes.
- Transfusion of infected blood.
- Sexual contact with an infected person.
- Mothers infected with the virus who deliver babies.
People affected with Acute Hepatitis C are mostly, but not necessarily, asymptomatic. Typical symptoms of being infected with chronic Hepatitis C include fever, fatigue, nausea, decreased appetite, vomiting, joint and abdominal pain and jaundice. These can be dealt with through the available treatments for Hepatitis C.
There are different ways of dealing with both kids of Hepatitis infections. Treatment is not always required in all cases of Hepatitis C as the immune system’s response to the virus sometimes helps clear the virus out. If that doesn’t happen and the virus stays in our system for a long time, usually, tests are conducted to check the liver strength first before zeroing in on a system of medication. Treatment for hepatitis C usually consists of the following:
Medication
Medicines for Hepatitis C are expensive, cause a lot of side effects and may not work on everyone affected by the virus. All of that is now steadily changing with science making a lot of strides in Hepatitis virus treatment. Medicines like Sofosbuvir, Daclatasvir and the Sofosbuvir/Ledipasvir combination are prescribed in the WHO guidelines and achieve cure rates above 95%. These medicines were not available in a lot of low and middle-level income countries. That problem has now been solved through the use of generic medicines and consists an integral part of the treatments for Hepatitis C.
There are separate guidelines issued by the WHO for individuals and medical professionals to contain the spread of this virus.
Since there is no available vaccine for Hepatitis C, we must try and reduce risk exposure to this virus with the following measures:
- Maintain hand hygiene in healthcare settings.
- Promote safe use of injections.
- Dispose of medical waste like needles and syringes effectively.
- Effective screening of donated blood.
- Training health personnel on the risks associated with bloodborne diseases.
- Promotion of the benefits of using condoms.
- Individuals
- Seek knowledge of cause and effects of Hepatitis C.
- Get immunized with Hepatitis A and B to counter infections to the liver.
- Timely medical therapy including antiviral therapy. Antiviral treatment is successful in about 50-90% of people treated.
- Regular health check-ups for timely monitoring of liver health.
The treatments for Hepatitis C are surely accessible, but prevention remains a long way to keep the disease at bay. Until the mid-90’s, there was no known cure for Hepatitis C. The medicines that were available have had severe side effects. Eventually, with the help of strides in medical science, medical practitioners started restricting the virus by protecting the liver and strengthening the immune system towards potential diseases. A person is considered cured if there is no virus in their bloodstream six months after they stop the intake of every kind of antiviral.
These drugs may, however, set you back by tens of thousands of dollars in the USA. People affected with the Hepatitis C virus are strongly advised to check if their insurance companies cover these medicines, or they can look into drug company programs that provide financial assistance to many based on certain criteria.
Treatments for Hepatitis C can be long, tiresome and costly. But you are not alone in this fight. This virus is largely prevalent in developing countries, and developed countries have access to medical developments as well as advanced medical assistance to combat this silent disease.
