What does active hepatitis c mean?

Answer 1

Hepatitis C is a blood borne infection of the liver. This means that you get it by blood to blood exposure. Unlike hepatitis B, it does not always come and go and leave no trace behind. This form of hepatitis can become chronic, meaning you will have it with you either always or for a very long time. This is a dangerous disease in that it causes changes in the liver tissue. Some of these changes are scarring, bridging, and fatty deposits. It can cause cirrhosis of the liver and jaundice (yellow skin). Active means that the virus is still living in your body, insidiously eating away at your liver, sometimes without the knowledge of the person carrying the disease.

Most people don't even know they have hepatitis C when first infected, it is so mild. It can only be acquired through blood to blood contact with an infected person. It is rarely transferred to an unborn baby, and rarely transferred by sex. It is commonly transferred through shared needles, razors or by tattoo needles that are not properly sanitized. You can give it to someone else.

It can lead to liver cancer, and even death. Symptoms you would see would be liver pain, flu-like symptoms, and an enlarged liver. Doctors can tell if you have it by a simple blood test, and they can monitor ongoing damage to your liver by another simple blood test.

There is treatment for this disease, but it is not always successful. It is commonly alpha interferon, which is a type of chemotherapy combined with an antiviral drug. The treatment is not always pleasant and does have side effects of symptoms of the flu, and similar symptoms to other chemo treatments, but not normally loss of the hair. The treatment takes up to a year of frequent injections and oral medication. You normally inject yourself. The nurse will show you how to do it. It is worth the side effects to fight for your health, maybe your life.

This disease is the commonest cause of liver transplants in the USA. If you think you have been exposed, you should be tested. Ask your MD for a test even if you don't think you have been exposed but have the symptoms of liver pain, which is below the lower portion of the right side of your rib cage, and flu-like symptoms, like fever, chills, nausea, etc. You don't have to have all the symptoms of the flu to have it. You may, or may not.

It can hide in your body for years, and the symptoms can come and go, and many people can live a normal life and never be treated, but it is a gamble I would not be willing to take.

I am a nurse, and I contracted hepatitis C. I found out about it three months before I subsequently discovered I had breast cancer, so I had to interrupt the treatment for hepatitis to go into treatment for Breast cancer. The chemo I had during breast cancer must have helped somehow, because I had normal liver function tests for about six years. Then they started creeping up again, and my "viral load" (the amount of virus they can detect in your body by a blood test) was high. So I started treatment again, which lasted an entire year. I took pills every day and injected myself three times a week. Since then, I have not had an abnormal liver function test, and my viral load is undetectable by the most sensitive tests, so I am reportedly "cured." FYI-I have also been breast cancer free after a year of treatment for that, since 1992.

I did have a liver biopsy, which is a long needle inserted directly from the outside of your abdomen and into the liver, without anesthesia. I do have permanent bridging and scarring of my liver. I had fatty deposits, too, but those will go away now that I am cured. But the damage has been done. I still have a chance to develop liver cancer. but I am taking steps against that by trying to care for myself.

One of the most important things you can do to prevent liver damage if you have chronic active hepatitis C is to stop drinking all Alcoholic Beverages. Never again drink. It enhances the effects of the hepatitis on your liver. and alcohol is damaging enough to the liver on its own. Another cause of liver damage is Tylenol (acetaminophen). You should switch to another pain reliever - ask your doctor what else you can take if you take pain relievers a lot. Anytime you are prescribed a medication, ask your doctor how it is metabolized. It will either be metabolized by the kidneys or by the liver or some combination of the two. If it is highly metabolized by the liver, there is a chance it could cause liver damage if you have chronic active hepatitis C. I still refuse to take anything like that. Take those steps, and eat a healthy diet, get plenty of rest and sleep, and exercise regularly. Drink plenty of water. Ask your doctor what other steps you can take to protect your liver.