The Best Hepatitis C Test And Accurate For You To Use

Hepatitis C is an infection caused by a virus that attacks the liver and leads to inflammation. Most people infected with the hepatitis C virus (HCV) have no symptoms. In fact, most people don't know they have the hepatitis C infection until liver damage shows up, decades later, during routine medical tests.

Hepatitis C is one of several hepatitis viruses and is generally considered to be among the most serious of these viruses. Hepatitis C is passed through contact with contaminated blood — most commonly through needles shared during illegal drug use.

Most people have no symptoms until the virus causes liver damage, which can take 10 or more years to happen. Others have one or more of the following symptoms :

# yellowish eyes and skin, called jaundice

# a longer than usual amount of time for bleeding to stop

# swollen stomach or ankles

# easy bruising

# tiredness

# upset stomach

# fever

# loss of appetite

# diarrhea

# light-colored stools

# dark yellow urine

Hepatitis C is chronic when the body can’t get rid of the Hepatitis C virus. Although some people clear the virus from their bodies in a few months, most Hepatitis C infections become chronic. Without treatment, chronic Hepatitis C can cause scarring of the liver, called cirrhosis; liver cancer; and liver failure.

Your risk of hepatitis C infection is increased if you :

# Are a health care worker who has been exposed to infected blood

# Have ever injected illicit drugs

# Have HIV

# Received a piercing or tattoo in an unclean environment using unsterile equipment

# Received a blood transfusion or organ transplant before 1992

# Received clotting factor concentrates before 1987

# Received hemodialysis treatments for a long period of time

# Were born to a woman with a hepatitis C infection

You can protect yourself and others from hepatitis C if you :

# do not share drug needles

# wear gloves if you have to touch another person’s blood

# use a condom during sex

# do not borrow another person’s toothbrush, razor, or anything else that could have blood on it

# make sure any tattoos or body piercings you get are done with sterile tools

# do not donate blood or blood products if you have hepatitis C

Testing for hepatitis C infection in people who have a high risk of coming in contact with the virus may help doctors begin treatment or recommend lifestyle changes that may slow liver damage. This is recommended because hepatitis C infection often begins damaging the liver before it causes signs and symptoms.

Basic Facts About Hepatitis A, B, and C

How you can contract it; Functions of the liver; What can happen when hepatitis progresses--fibrosis, cirrhosis, liver cancer, liver failure

Hepatitis is considered one of the most prevalent health problems of the 1990s. The World Health Organization reports that 1.4 million cases of Hepatitis A are treated annually worldwide. In the United States, close to 5 million adults have hepatitis B or C, and this may be only a small percentage of the total of infected individuals.

Hepatitis A:
Hepatitis A (HAV), the most prevalent type of hepatitis worldwide, strikes more than 150,000 people in the United States annually.

Hepatitis B:
Each year, more than 250,000 people contract hepatitis B (HBV) in the United States.

Hepatitis C:
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) estimates that up to 30,000 individuals acquire hepatitis C (HCV) infections in the United States each year. In other parts of the world, the rates of infection and numbers in infected individuals range as high as 20 percent of the population. Called "an emerging public health threat" and the "silent epidemic," hepatitis C is a leading cause of cirrhosis and liver cancer, and is now the leading reason for liver transplantation in the United States.

Risk factors

Major risk factors for Hepatitis A
The CDC lists household or sexual contact, day care attendance or employment, and recent international travel to areas with poor sanitation as major known risk factors for infection with hepatitis A. Eating food prepared by infected food handlers and using contaminated needles are other risk factors.

Major risk factors for Hepatitis B
In the United States, the major risk factors for hepatitis B are unprotected sex with multiple partners and intravenous (IV) drug use.

Major risk factors for Hepatitis C
The major risk factors for acquiring hepatitis C are IV drug use and transfusion of blood or blood products prior to 1992. Other risk factors also contribute.

 

Hepatitis

Basic Facts About Hepatitis A, B, and C

How you can contract it; Functions of the liver; What can happen when hepatitis progresses--fibrosis, cirrhosis, liver cancer, liver failure

Hepatitis is considered one of the most prevalent health problems of the 1990s. The World Health Organization reports that 1.4 million cases of hepatitis A are treated annually worldwide. In the United States, close to 5 million adults have hepatitis B or C, and this may be only a small percentage of the total of infected individuals.

Hepatitis A
Hepatitis A (HAV), the most prevalent type of hepatitis worldwide, strikes more than 150,000 people in the United States annually.

Hepatitis B
Each year, more than 250,000 people contract hepatitis B (HBV) in the United States.

Hepatitis C
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) estimates that up to 30,000 individuals acquire hepatitis C (HCV) infections in the United States each year. In other parts of the world, the rates of infection and numbers in infected individuals range as high as 20 percent of the population. Called "an emerging public health threat" and the "silent epidemic," hepatitis C is a leading cause of cirrhosis and liver cancer, and is now the leading reason for liver transplantation in the United States.

Risk factors 

Major risk factors for hepatitis A
The CDC lists household or sexual contact, day care attendance or employment, and recent international travel to areas with poor sanitation as major known risk factors for infection with hepatitis A. Eating food prepared by infected food handlers and using contaminated needles are other risk factors.

Major risk factors for hepatitis B
In the United States, the major risk factors for hepatitis B are unprotected sex with multiple partners and intravenous (IV) drug use.

Major risk factors for hepatitis C
The major risk factors for acquiring hepatitis C are IV drug use and transfusion of blood or blood products prior to 1992. Other risk factors also contribute.

Revealed More Clearly About Symptoms of Hepatitis

Hepatitis is the Greek term for liver inflammation. It is characterised by the destruction of a number of liver cells and the presence of inflammatory cells in the liver tissue.
Hepatitis can be caused by viruses that primarily attack the liver cells, such as hepatitis A and B. Patients with glandular fever, caused by the Epstein-Barr virus, can also suffer from an attack of hepatitis.

The symptoms of acute hepatitis vary considerably from person to person. Some patients have no symptoms at all, and in most cases, children only show mild symptoms.
In the early stages: tiredness, general malaise, slight fever, nausea, poor appetite, changes in taste perception, pressure or pain below the right ribs caused by an enlarged liver, aching muscles and joints, headache, skin rash.
The jaundiced phase: yellowing of sclerae (the whites of the eyes), skin and mucous membranes, dark urine, light-coloured stools, around this time, the other symptoms subside.
The recovery phase: tiredness that can last for weeks.
The symptoms Chronic hepatitis : Many patients have no symptoms. Tiredness, an increased need for sleep, aching muscles and joints. Periodic light pressure or pain below the right ribs – enlarged liver. Jaundice is a very late symptom of chronic hepatitis. It is a sign that the disease has become serious.

Signs and symptoms of hepatitis A
The hepatitis A virus (HAV) is found in the faeces of someone infected with the virus. It only takes a tiny amount of faeces getting inside another person’s mouth to cause hepatitis A infection. Personal hygiene, such as careful hand washing, can minimise the risk of the virus being passed on. HAV is a common infection in many parts of the world where sanitation and sewage infrastructure is poor. Often people become infected with HAV by eating or drinking contaminated food or water.
Hepatitis A is also classed as a sexually transmitted disease (STD) because it can be passed on sexually, particularly during activities such as anilingus (rimming). The washing of genital and anal areas before sex, and the use of condoms or dental dams can help to prevent this risk.Hepatitis A can affect all age groups. Once a person is exposed to the virus it takes between 2 and 6 weeks to produce symptoms.
It is possible to experience mild or no symptoms whatsoever, but even if this is the case the person’s faeces will still be infectious to others. Many people who become infected with HAV will have symptoms that include:
A short, mild, flu-like illness; nausea, vomiting and diarrhoea; loss of appetite; weight loss; jaundice (yellow skin and whites of eyes, darker yellow urine and pale faeces); itchy skin; abdominal pain.
The infection usually clears in up to 2 months, but may occasionally recur or persist longer in some people. Once a person has been infected and their body has fought off the virus they are permanently immune.