Who Is At Risk

You may be at higher risk for infection if you :

• Sharing cutting equipments with an infected person, such as shaving razors, toothbrush, nail clipper
• Accidental exposure to the infected blood amongst health care or disposal workers
• Are an injecting drug abuser who shares needles
• Drug users who snort drugs through straws
• Use of contaminated skin-piercing instruments, commonly used in acupuncture, body-piercing, tattooing parlors
• Are infected and pregnant, the baby can be infected during childbirth
• Have unprotected sex with an infected person(s)
• Were a recipient of clotting factors made before 1987
• Received blood transfusions or organ transplants before 1992
• Have a chronic (long-term) liver disease
• Have been on long-term kidney dialysis

Diagnosis

Hepatitis C is diagnosed with a blood test. However, blood test for Hepatitis C is not part of the regular routine and unless you specifically ask for it, the infection can remain in your liver long-term and undiagnosed till severe symptoms show up.

Some people find out they are infected when they go to donate blood, because all blood donations are screened thoroughly for HCV.

Others learn they have Hepatitis C when they have to undergo a battery of blood tests for other medical problems. Abnormal level of liver enzymes is the foremost indicator that your liver may be infected or damaged.

If you test positive for Hepatitis C virus, the doctor may do a liver biopsy, where a sample of the liver is extracted and studied in the lab. You will be monitored regularly by the doctor as long-term Hepatitis C can cause fatal case of cirrhosis (scarring of the liver), liver failure and liver cancer.

Treatment

People with very mild cases of Hepatitis C need only to see their doctor for management of the disease. Nutritional advice and change in current lifestyle are some of the recommendations given by the doctor.

For those infected with chronic Hepatitis C, antiviral medications are given to the patient to suppress the virus and prevent further damaging the liver. Antiviral drug called peginterferon are usually given in combination with the drug ribavirin over a period of 6 to 12 months. Female patients and female partners of Hepatitis C infected patients are warned against getting pregnant during the drug therapy as it can cause malformation or even death of the foetus.

There are many side-effects of the drug therapy, either taken alone or in combination. The side-effects range from migraine, fatigue, depression, hair loss, muscle aches, anaemic and flu-like symptoms. During the initial weeks of treatment, the side effects are more severe than in the long run. Dosage is either decreased or the drugs are given during the night only.

Maintain a regular check-up with your doctor, who will run a series of blood tests to check on the level of the virus in the bloodstream and/ or if antiviral medication is needed and also to give the correct treatment.