Symptoms of hepatitis C. How to protect yourself and your family from hepatitis

Hepatitis C belongs to the group of infectious liver diseases. Infection of a person occurs through the blood in which the virus is located. If the infected blood enters the bloodstream of another person, then it becomes infected. To date, hepatitis C has a fairly wide spread throughout the world. They infected about 2% of the world's population. Unfortunately, every year only more become ill. Symptoms of hepatitis C are not pronounced, and this is what ensures the constant spread of the virus.

The main cause of transmission of the hepatitis C virus is drug addiction. People who take drugs and use a single syringe are at risk for Hepatitis C infection.

In 70-80% of all cases the disease leads to the transition of the acute phase into a chronic one. Symptoms of hepatitis C may not manifest itself for a very long time, which provides new and new cases of the disease. Chronic hepatitis C is dangerous because at any time it can go to cirrhosis or malignant neoplasms of the liver, whose treatment is sometimes impossible.

Symptoms of hepatitis C

After the virus enters the human body begins a latent (silent) period of the disease, which can last from two weeks to a year. If the disease has begun acutely, then in 2-3 weeks the symptoms of hepatitis C will be manifested by pain in the joints, rapid fatigue, causeless weakness, dyspeptic disorders. In rare cases, the temperature may rise, even more rarely there is jaundice. Diagnosis of acute hepatitis C is not difficult, but in most cases occurs randomly on various medical examinations.

At the end of the acute phase, hepatitis C can both heal, and go into the chronic phase, as well as into the phase of virus carrying (the person is not sick at the same time, but is able to infect others). In 60-80% of cases, the disease goes to the chronic stage. This transition lasts for years. During this time, the liver cells are gradually destroyed, replaced by fibrin and lose their functions.

The work of the liver itself has been preserved for a long time. The first symptoms of hepatitis C in the chronic phase may appear only with the development of cirrhosis. There is jaundice, portal hypertension (the appearance of a venous pattern on the stomach), a strong weakness.

Treatment of hepatitis C

The main principle of treating the disease is a timely appeal to the therapist. Only a qualified specialist can conduct effective treatment of hepatitis C. The cost of it will be much lower, in contrast to self-treatment with various dietary supplements and herbal remedies. The treatment itself is of a combined nature and is aimed at restoring and maintaining liver function, as well as eliminating the infection itself.

Most often, timely therapy starts leading to a favorable outcome of the disease. In this case, a person who has hepatitis C, should remember the precautionary measures and do not use with family members one linen, cleaning supplies (washcloths, towels), razors, etc.