Hepatitis C is a kind of virus that affects the human body and works towards damaging the cells in the liver. The virus enters the body when you come in touch with someone who is carrying the virus in their blood.
The hepatitis C virus can be transmitted when the blood of a person comes in contact with your wound or any part of the body where the virus can seep in. Often, when using needles, especially in treatments that require vaccinations or when getting tattoos, these viruses can get transmitted.
If you have symptoms of hepatitis C, consult with a doctor for a diagnosis to specifically determine the cause and the appropriate method of hepatitis C cure.
How To Diagnose Hepatitis C?
In order to diagnose hepatitis C, doctors usually check lifestyle habits to prescribe a test for hepatitis C cure. Mostly, people who are at high risk of contracting the syndrome are advised to be tested. Here is a list of reasons that might inspire doctors to suggest a test for hepatitis C cure:
- If you have indulged in injecting illicit drugs
- If you have indulged in inhaling illicit substances
- If your mother had hepatitis C in the prenatal stage
- If you get abnormal results in your liver function test with no apparent cause
- If you are a healthcare worker with a high risk of coming in contact with blood samples or needles
- If you were treated with clotting for hemophilia before 1987
- If you are undergoing hemodialysis treatments for a long period of time
- If you underwent any organ transplant or blood transfusions before 1992
- If you were born between the years of 1945 and 1965
- If your sexual partners are carrying infections of hepatitis C
- If you have been to prison
- If you or your sexual partners are carrying HIV infections.
There are other blood tests that need to be taken if the preliminary tests detect traces of hepatitis C. In case you test positive for a need for hepatitis treatment, you will be advised to get additional tests for further diagnosis:
- Tests to help identify the genotype of the infecting virus
- Tests to measure the quantity and degree of the infection caused by the hepatitis C virus.
There are tests to detect the amount of liver damage in your body. The following tests help determine the effects of chronic hepatitis C:
- MREs or Magnetic resonance Elastography combines magnetic resonance imaging technology to create patterns as a result of sound waves. It displays the gradients with visual mapping to help determine the stiffness. This stiffness is a sign of the need for hepatitis cure since the organ is suffering from fibrosis. These are signs of hepatitis C.
- Transient elastography uses ultrasound waves to map the measures of dispersal speed. This helps indicate the level of damage to the tissues and the amount of stiffness as signs of hepatitis C.
- Liver biopsy uses a thin needle to collect tissue directly from the liver for further testing in the laboratory.
- Blood tests help indicate how much fibrosis has occurred in your liver due to signs of hepatitis C.
You can also opt for transient elastography which is an alternative method for diagnosing the level of liver damage as a result of a need for Hep C treatment.
Hepatitis C Treatment
Hepatitis C treatment can be administered in many ways. Here are a few means of providing hepatitis C cure:
Antiviral Medications
Antiviral medications are designed to keep the effects of the hepatitis C virus away. The aim of the hepatitis C treatment is to ensure that there are no traces of the hepatitis virus at least for 12 weeks after the treatment ends.
Hep C treatment involving antiviral medication has advanced in recent times. The results from the analysis of the effects of these drugs on people who seek Hepatitis C cure have been positive. In most cases, the patients have reported fewer adverse effects of the drug and the required treatment time was a lot shorter.
The medications that the doctors provide for hepatitis C cure are specially targeted to help people with certain inherent conditions as well. The method of hepatitis C treatment will also depend on the genotype of the hepatitis C virus. The doctor will determine the ideal Hep C treatment based on any current medication and treatments used formerly.
Vaccinations
There are no hepatitis C cures available in the form of vaccinations. However, in case you are suspected of contracting hepatitis C, your doctor may suggest a precautionary vaccination for hepatitis A and B. This is to ensure that the chronic condition of hepatitis C is not aggravated by the hepatitis A and B viruses, which also have the potential to destroy the tissues in the liver.
Liver Transplant
In some cases, when the hepatitis C cure is sought at a later stage, the patient may have damaged their own liver to a large extent. At this point, the only possible method of treatment is to replace the damaged liver with a healthy one.
Often, these liver transplants involve deceased people who donate their livers. People also donate parts of their liver during a liver transplant most of the time.
A liver transplant itself may not be able to help prevent the infection from harming the body altogether. While getting a liver transplant is an excellent solution for removing the toxins in the damaged liver, it does not eliminate the problem. The infection may return after the transplant and damage the new liver as well.
After the liver transplant for hepatitis C cure, you will need to continue a treatment plan of antiviral medications to keep the problem in control. Some targeted medications can serve well towards finding a hepatitis C cure after the surgery.
Hepatitis infection is one of the most dangerous viral infections that affect the human body. If you spot signs of hepatitis C in yourself or someone you know, seek Hep C treatment right away. Seeking early treatment for signs of hepatitis C can actually help regulate functionality in the liver. You can also opt for surgery and medication for highly effective methods of keeping the problem at bay in the long run.
