How Do You Find Out If You Have Hepatitis C

How Do Doctors Treat Hepatitis C

Doctors treat hepatitis C with antiviral medicines that attack the virus and can cure the disease in most cases.

Several newer medicines, called direct-acting antiviral medicines, have been approved to treat hepatitis C since 2013. Studies show that these medicines can cure chronic hepatitis C in most people with this disease. These medicines can also cure acute hepatitis C. In some cases, doctors recommend waiting to see if an acute infection becomes chronic before starting treatment.

Your doctor may prescribe one or more of these newer, direct-acting antiviral medicines to treat hepatitis C:

• peginterferon alfa-2a or peginterferon alfa-2b

You may need to take medicines for 8 to 24 weeks to cure hepatitis C. Your doctor will prescribe medicines and recommend a length of treatment based on

• which hepatitis C genotype you have
• how much liver damage you have
• whether you have been treated for hepatitis C in the past

Your doctor may order blood tests during and after your treatment. Blood tests can show whether the treatment is working. Hepatitis C medicines cure the infection in most people who complete treatment.

Hepatitis C medicines may cause side effects. Talk with your doctor about the side effects of treatment. Check with your doctor before taking any other prescription or over-the-counter medicines.

For safety reasons, talk with your doctor before using dietary supplements, such as vitamins, or any complementary or alternative medicines or medical practices.

Encouraging Others To Get Tested For Hepatitis C

While the odds of passing on the hepatitis C virus are low, you should still tell anyone at risk that you have hepatitis C. You should tell sexual partners, spouses, and family members. Your infection may be difficult to discuss, but anyone at potential risk must know. That way, they can get tested and treated if needed. Read more on why you should get tested for hepatitis C.

Show Sources

Paul Berk, MD, professor of medicine and emeritus chief of the division of liver disease, Mount Sinai School of Medicine, New York City chairman of the board, American Liver Foundation.

Alan Franciscus, executive director, Hepatitis C Support Project and editor-in-chief of HCV Advocate, San Francisco.

Thelma King Thiel, chair and CEO, Hepatitis Foundation International.

David Thomas, MD, professor of medicine, Johns Hopkins School of Medicine, Baltimore.

Howard J. Worman, MD, associate professor of medicine and anatomy and cell biology, College of Physicians and Surgeons, Columbia University, New York City.

The American Gastroenterological Association.

Hepatitis C And Blood Spills

When cleaning and removing blood spills, use standard infection control precautions at all times:

• Cover any cuts or wounds with a waterproof dressing.
• Wear single-use gloves and use paper towel to mop up blood spills.
• Clean the area with warm water and detergent, then rinse and dry.
• Place used gloves and paper towels into a plastic bag, then seal and dispose of them in a rubbish bin.
• Wash your hands in warm, soapy water then dry them thoroughly.
• Put bloodstained tissues, sanitary towels or dressings in a plastic bag before throwing them away.

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Complications Of Hepatitis C

If the infection is left untreated for many years, some people with hepatitis C will develop scarring of the liver .

Over time, this can cause the liver to stop working properly.

In severe cases, life-threatening problems, such as liver failure, where the liver loses most or all of its functions, or liver cancer, can eventually develop.

Treating hepatitis C as early as possible can help reduce the risk of these problems happening.

But Even If You’ve Been Cured It Can Have Lifelong Health Implications

“Hepatitis C is a lot more than just a liver disease,” Reau says. “It has been associated with many medical conditions, such as an increased risk of developing diabetes, kidney disease and cancer.”

While curing hepatitis C significantly reduces the risk of serious complications, like liver failure, liver cancer and the need for transplantation, it doesn’t completely eliminate the health risks associated with the disease.

“Hep C is linked to scarring of the liver or cirrhosis and the more scar tissue that develops, the greater the likelihood of complications,” Reau says. “If there is a lot of scarring, you will need lifelong monitoring.”

Reau also recommends leading a healthy lifestyle to help prevent re-infection and further liver damage: Limit alcohol consumption, control your weight, avoid high-risk activities and manage diabetes if you have it.

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All Adults Pregnant Women And People With Risk Factors Should Get Tested For Hepatitis C

Most people who get infected with hepatitis C virus develop a chronic, or lifelong, infection. Left untreated, chronic hepatitis C can cause serious health problems, including liver damage, cirrhosis, liver cancer, and even death. People can live without symptoms or feeling sick, so testing is the only way to know if you have hepatitis C. Getting tested is important to find out if you are infected so you can get lifesaving treatment that can cure hepatitis C.

Is It Safe To Take Aspirin Or Tylenol If I Have Hepatitis C

Tylenol is an over-the-counter pain killer. It can be harmful in high doses. If you have hepatitis or liver disease, then you can take Tylenol, but no more than 2,000 mg total over 24 hours. In general, this could be one 500 mg tablet every 6 hours, at the most. Acetaminophen is also included as an ingredient in some opiate medications and in some over-the-counter cold/flu medications, so please be aware of the dose of acetaminophen you may be taking from some combination medicines.

Aspirin, ibuprofen , naproxen , and other nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs , can be harmful if you have cirrhosis. They are safe in hepatitis patients who do not have cirrhosis. But, if a patient has cirrhosis, then NSAIDs cannot be taken at all. If you are not sure, always check with your provider.

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What Are The Different Types Of Blood Tests How Often Should I Get These Tests Done

There are several different blood tests, or “labs” that your provider may order for you. The tests measure the amounts of various proteins and enzymes that the liver produces. This is a way of finding out how damaged the liver is. Your provider can determine how often each test needs to be done. Please see Understanding Lab Tests for more details about the tests you may have.

Who Is At High Risk And Should Be Tested For Hepatitis C Infection

The U.S. Preventive Health Services task force recommends that all adults born between 1945 and 1965 be tested once routinely for hepatitis C, regardless of whether risk factors for hepatitis C are present. One-time testing also is recommended for:

• People who currently inject drugs or snort drugs, or ever did so, even once many years previously
• People with persistently elevated alanine aminotransferase level, a liver enzyme found in blood
• People who have HIV infection
• Children born to HCV- or HIV-infected mothers
• People who were ever on long-term hemodialysis
• People who got a tattoo in an unregulated setting, such as prison or by an unlicensed person
• People who received clotting factor produced before 1987
• People who received transfusions or organ transplants before July 1992, or who were notified that they received blood from a donor who later tested positive for hepatitis C infection
• Health care, emergency medical, and public safety workers after a needlestick, eye or mouth exposure to hepatitis C-infected blood

People who may have been exposed to hepatitis C in the previous 6 months should be tested for viral RNA load rather than anti-HCV antibody, because antibody may not be present for up to 12 weeks or longer after infection, although HCV RNA may be detectable in blood as soon as 2-3 weeks after infection.

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Prevention Is The Best Medicine

Even though hepatitis C rarely spreads within a household, if you or a family member have the disease, it’s wise to take precautions to prevent its spread especially if anyone in your home is immune compromised, or has cuts or open sores that increase the risk of infection.

In general, use these common sense preventive tips:

• Unless you are in a long-term, monogamous relationship, practice safe sex.
• Clean up spilled or dried blood with a bleach-based cleaning solution and wear rubber gloves.
• Do not share razors.
• Do not share toothbrushes. “Though hepatitis C is not transmitted through saliva, there might be blood on the toothbrush,” Reau says.

Note that hepatitis C is not transmitted by sharing eating utensils, hugging, kissing, coughing or sneezing.

How Can I Cover Medication Costs

New therapies called direct-acting antivirals are effective and can achieve cures of over 90%. Because these new therapies are very new, they remain very expensive. As such, drug coverage from both government and private companies may require that your liver disease has progressed to a certain stage before they are willing to cover the cost of these drugs.

Talk with your healthcare provider about financial support that may be available.

Below are useful resources when looking for financial assistance:Private health insurance or drug plansIf you have private health insurance or a drug plan at work, you may be able to have the medication paid through your plan. Please consult your private health insurance or drug plan provider to see if your drug is covered.

Publicly funded plansEach provincial and territorial government offers a drug benefit plan for eligible groups. Some are income-based universal programs. Most have specific programs for population groups that may require more enhanced coverage for high drug costs. These groups include seniors, recipients of social assistance, and individuals with diseases or conditions that are associated with high drug costs. For more details, please contact your provincial or territorial health care ministry, or click on the appropriate link below.

Yukon

Available Patient Assistance Programs for Hepatitis C treatment Holkira Pak Maviret

MerckCare Hepatitis C Program 1 872-5773 Zepatier

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How Is Hepatitis C Spread

Hepatitis C spreads through contact with the blood of someone who has HCV. This contact may be through:

• Sharing drug needles or other drug materials with someone who has HCV. In the United States, this is the most common way that people get hepatitis C.
• Getting an accidental stick with a needle that was used on someone who has HCV. This can happen in health care settings.
• Being tattooed or pierced with tools or inks that were not sterilized after being used on someone who has HCV
• Having contact with the blood or open sores of someone who has HCV
• Sharing personal care items that may have come in contact with another person’s blood, such as razors or toothbrushes
• Being born to a mother with HCV
• Having unprotected sex with someone who has HCV

Before 1992, hepatitis C was also commonly spread through blood transfusions and organ transplants. Since then, there has been routine testing of the U.S. blood supply for HCV. It is now very rare for someone to get HCV this way.

How Do You Test For Hepatitis C

A simple blood test carried out by a healthcare professional will show whether you have the virus. You may also be given an extra test to see if your liver is damaged.

If youve got hepatitis C you should be tested for other STIs. It’s important that you tell your recent sexual partner/s so they can also get tested and treated. Many people who have hepatitis C do not notice anything wrong, and by telling them you can help to stop the virus being passed on. It can also stop you from getting the infection again.

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How Common Is Hepatitis C

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention think that 2.4 million Americans are infected with HCV. It is the most common infection carried by blood in the United States. Veterans have higher rates of hepatitis C than the rest of the country so it is especially important to discuss hepatitis C testing with your provider if you are a Veteran. But, Veterans are not the only ones with high rates of hepatitis C. Baby boomers have higher rates of hepatitis C than people in other age groups in the country as well. Often, people infected with hepatitis C are not aware of their infection because they have no symptoms and they do not feel ill so getting tested if you are at higher risk is important step.

Potential Symptoms You Should Know

Some people experience symptoms early on, but because many of those indicators are pretty general, they are not easily used to diagnose hepatitis C. For example, you may feel fatigued and just generally lousy for a little while soon after being infected, says Geoffrey D. Block, M.D., medical director of liver transplant at the University of Arizona College of Medicine in Tucson. But those symptoms could be a sign of so many other thingseven just the result of a poor nights sleep.

There are a few red flags to look out for, though. And if you have several of these things going on at oncevague as they may beits a good idea to see your doc and talk about hep C. These symptoms may include:

• Dark yellow urine

• Pain in the abdomen

• Yellowish skin and eyes

There are two important caveats here: First, if these symptoms show up at all, it would typically happen two to 12 weeks after becoming infected with hepatitis C . So if you engage in certain activities, including unprotected sex or sharing needles, and you start experiencing these things in the weeks following, get yourself to a doctor. Second, more than half of people who become infected with hepatitis C virus will go beyond the acute period and develop a chronic infection. In this case, its entirely possible you wont show any symptoms for several decades.

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Common Misconceptions About Hepatitis C

If you are diagnosed with hepatitis C infection:

• You can share food, drink, clothes, towels or cleaning materials
• You can eat or drink using the same utensils as others
• You can play with children, kiss and hug others
• You can attend school, day care and community pools
• There are no restrictions on school or sports
• Monogamous sexual contact with your partner may not require protection, as the risk of sexual transmission with routine sex practices is low
• Breast feeding is generally allowed for mothers with hepatitis C but should be avoided if there is breast injury or bleeding
• You can take acetaminophen safely up to 1.5 gm every 24 hours as needed

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The Latest Screening Recommendations

Because the vast majority of people with hepatitis C do not have symptoms, diagnosing the disease requires screeningbasically, a proactive testing method for a disease before someone is showing indications of illness. The latest recommendation from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention , updated in 2020, is that all adults over the age of 18 should be screened at least once in their lifetime, Dr. Fontana says. If you have ongoing risk factorsyoure currently using injection drugs or are on dialysis, for examplethen routine screening once per year is recommended. Pregnant women should also be screened for hepatitis C during each pregnancy.

If you dont know if youve ever been screened or if you have any of the known risk factors of hepatitis C, ask your primary care doctor about being tested. Some of the big risk factors include:

• Sharing needles or other equipment to prepare or inject drugs

• Getting tattooed or pierced with an unsterile needle

• Living with HIV

• Having a blood transfusion or organ transplant before 1992, when pre-screening blood for infections like HCV was poor

The test for hepatitis C should be covered by insurance, and should be given to anyone who asks, even if you dont feel comfortable disclosing exactly why you want it.

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How Hepatitis C Diagnosing Works

The screening process to diagnose hep C is done with a simple blood test. Its not usually included in the panel of tests you get at your yearly physical, but the lab can use the same tube of blood to test for hepatitis C if your doctor orders it, Dr. Fontana says.

Several tests are available, but in general, they look for antibodies in your blood. These antibodies are proteins that the immune system creates to fight off specific invaders, like the hepatitis C virus. So if youve been exposed to hepatitis C at some point in your life, the antibodies will reveal this fact, says Dr. Block.

If your blood test reveals that you do in fact have hepatitis C antibodies, another blood test will be done to find out two things:

There are seven different variations of hepatitis C, called genotypes. Some hepatitis C treatments are only effective against one specific genotype, while others can treat all of them, Dr. Block says. Knowing exactly how much virus is present and what its anatomy is will help your doctor figure out the absolute best way to treat it.

And if the second test does confirm a hepatitis C diagnosis, dont panic. Very effective treatments are available, and after about eight to 12 weeks, more than 90 percent of people are cured. Once you have a diagnosis, youre already halfway there.