Treatment of Hepatitis C. Inflammation from the viral infection hepatitis C harms your liver. It normally requires therapy to go away, and over time, it can seriously harm the liver. The hepatitis C infection can now be cured with new drugs. However, a lot of people are unaware that they have it and don’t have any symptoms. blood is the primary way that hepatitis C is transferred. The hepatitis C virus is contracted by coming into contact with an infected person’s blood. When people share needles for injecting narcotics, transmission frequently happens. Hepatitis C is thought to affect 2–4 million Americans, according to researchers.
TREATMENT OF HEPATITIS C
The HCV virus is the cause of hepatitis C, a liver illness. By coming into contact with contaminated blood, you can contract the virus. Screening tests can identify the infection even if you don’t have any symptoms. It can be cured with new drugs. However, if left untreated, it can result in cirrhosis, liver failure, or liver cancer as well as chronic liver disease.
Signs
The majority of people do not exhibit any hepatitis C symptoms. You may experience symptoms when your body first starts to identify and combat the virus. This is the infection’s “acute” stage.
It may result in:
Pain in the abdomen
Light-colored excrement and/or dark-colored urine
Flu-like symptoms, such as body pains, nausea, tiredness, and fever
Jaundice (yellow discoloration of the skin or whites of the eyes)
After years of chronic (long-term) hepatitis C infection, you may start to experience symptoms if you don’t have any acute ones. These indicate that your liver function is being impacted by the virus.
In addition to all of the symptoms listed above, you may also:
Bloody vomit or blood in your poop
Frequent or severe bruising and bleeding
Reddish or dark-colored palms with itchy skin throughout
Your skin has tiny, spider-like blood vessels.
enlarged abdomen as a result of fluid accumulation
Treatment
The main treatment for hepatitis C is direct-acting antiviral drugs. These are swallowable tablets. Different virus strains (genotypes) are treated by at least a dozen DAAs.
The following drugs are frequently prescribed: Elbasvir/grazoprevir (Zepatier®)
Pibrentasvir
ledipasvir/sofosbuvir
Epclusa®
Voxilaprevir
Other therapies can be necessary if you have had hepatitis C for a long period and have significant liver damage. Not all damage can be undone, but some can. The effects of liver illness may require therapy.
Doing everything you can to shield your liver from more damage is crucial when you have liver disease. It could indicate:
Giving up or reducing alcohol use
Give up smoking
Receiving a hepatitis A and B screening
Maintaining your schedule of routine medical examinations
Prevention
However, avoiding contact with contaminated blood is the sole method to prevent infection. Although researchers are still working on a vaccine, there is currently no effective treatment for hepatitis C. The virus mutates rapidly and comes in a wide variety. Because of this, creating a vaccination that works against all the mutations is difficult.
Summary
Also, when you find out you have hepatitis C, you may be shocked and upset. You might not know how or when you got it, and you might not feel ill. Being informed, however, puts you in a far better position than being ignorant. Since hepatitis C can be cured, you can avoid long-term damage by getting it early.