Hepatitis C

What is hepatitis C?

From: MedlinePlus, National Library of Medicine

Hepatitis is inflammation of the liver. Inflammation is swelling that happens when tissues of the body are injured or infected. Inflammation can damage organs.

There are different types of hepatitis. One type, hepatitis C, is caused by the hepatitis C virus (HCV). Hepatitis C can range from a mild illness lasting a few weeks to a serious, lifelong illness.

Hepatitis C can be acute or chronic:

• Acute hepatitis C is a short-term infection. The symptoms can last up to 6 months. Sometimes your body is able to fight off the infection and the virus goes away. But for most people, an acute infection leads to chronic infection.
• Chronic hepatitis C is a long-lasting infection. If it is not treated, it can last for a lifetime and cause serious health problems, including liver damage, cirrhosis (scarring of the liver), liver cancer, and even death.

How is hepatitis C spread?

From: MedlinePlus, National Library of Medicine

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.

Who is more likely to get hepatitis C?

From: MedlinePlus, National Library of Medicine

You are more likely to get hepatitis C if you:

• Have injected drugs
• Had a blood transfusion or organ transplant before July 1992
• Have hemophilia and received clotting factor before 1987
• Have been on kidney dialysis
• Have been in contact with blood or infected needles at work
• Have had tattoos or body piercings
• Have worked or lived in a prison
• Were born to a mother with hepatitis C
• Have HIV
• Have had more than one sex partner in the last 6 months
• Have had a sexually transmitted infection (STI)
• Are a man who has had sex with men (MSM)

If you are at high risk for hepatitis C, your health care provider will likely recommend that you get tested for it.

What are the symptoms of hepatitis C?

From: MedlinePlus, National Library of Medicine

Most people with hepatitis C have no symptoms. Some people with acute hepatitis C do have symptoms within 1 to 3 months after they are exposed to the virus. These symptoms may include:

• Dark yellow urine
• Fatigue
• Fever
• Gray- or clay-colored stools
• Joint pain
• Loss of appetite
• Nausea and/or vomiting
• Pain in your abdomen (belly)
• Jaundice (yellowish eyes and skin)

If you have chronic hepatitis C, you probably will not have symptoms until it causes complications. This can happen decades after you were infected. For this reason, hepatitis C screening is important, even if you have no symptoms.

What other problems can hepatitis C cause?

From: MedlinePlus, National Library of Medicine

Without treatment, hepatitis C may lead to cirrhosis, liver failure, and liver cancer. Early diagnosis and treatment of hepatitis C can prevent these complications.

How is hepatitis C diagnosed?

From: MedlinePlus, National Library of Medicine

Providers diagnose hepatitis C based on your medical history, a physical exam, and blood tests.

If you do have hepatitis C, you may need additional tests to check for liver damage. These tests may include other blood tests, an ultrasound of the liver, and a liver biopsy.

What are the treatments for hepatitis C?

From: MedlinePlus, National Library of Medicine

Treatment for hepatitis C is with antiviral medicines. They can cure the disease in most cases.

If you have acute hepatitis C, your provider may wait to see if your infection becomes chronic before starting treatment.

If your hepatitis C causes cirrhosis, you should see a doctor who specializes in liver diseases. Treatments for health problems related to cirrhosis include medicines, surgery, and other medical procedures. If your hepatitis C leads to liver failure or liver cancer, you may need a liver transplant.

Can hepatitis C be prevented?

From: MedlinePlus, National Library of Medicine

There is no vaccine for hepatitis C. But you can help protect yourself from hepatitis C infection by:

• Not sharing drug needles or other drug materials.
• Wearing gloves if you have to touch another person's blood or open sores.
• Making sure your tattoo artist or body piercer uses sterile tools and unopened ink.
• Not sharing personal items such toothbrushes, razors, or nail clippers.
• Using a latex condom during sex. If your or your partner is allergic to latex, you can use polyurethane condoms.

Which doctor should you see?

The suggested department for discussing Hepatitis C is Hepatology, with a hepatologist / gastroenterologist as the relevant type of clinician. General physician / Family Medicine; paediatrician for children. Referral depends on symptoms.

This is an editorial referral starting point. The appropriate clinic depends on the person’s age, symptoms, previous diagnosis and local services. The first clinician can decide whether another specialty or a team is needed; a department label does not confirm the diagnosis.

How to prepare for an assessment

Bring a short timeline of the main symptoms: when they first appeared, whether they are constant or episodic, what seems to change them, and how they affect daily activities. Include previous reports, discharge summaries, current medicines and supplements, allergies, and any relevant family history. A dated record is more useful than trying to match every feature in an online article.

Ask the clinician what is already established and what remains uncertain. If a test is suggested, ask what question it answers, what its limitations are and how the result would change the next step. The information here is not an instruction to arrange every possible test. In children, bring growth, developmental and school information if it is relevant to the concern.

• What is known about the cause and extent of liver involvement?
• Which medicines, supplements or exposures should be reviewed?
• What follow-up is appropriate for the specific diagnosis and stage?

Treatment discussions and follow-up

Where the source describes treatments, these are an overview of possible care, not a prescription for an individual. Ask which option applies to the confirmed diagnosis, what benefit is expected, what adverse effects to watch for and how progress will be assessed. Availability, approvals and local practice can differ from the country described in the source.

Before leaving the appointment, clarify the next review date, who will communicate results, and whom to contact if the situation changes. Discuss difficulties with sleep, work, school, mobility, eating or emotional wellbeing when these are relevant. Practical support may require coordination between the treating clinician and other services.

The collected references do not establish a complete prevention or long-term outlook section for this entry. Missing information should not be interpreted as proof that prevention is impossible or that a particular outcome is inevitable. Ask what is known for the exact subtype, stage and personal circumstances, and which uncertainties remain.

When to seek emergency help

Severe breathing difficulty, collapse, new stroke-like symptoms, a seizure that is prolonged or repeated without recovery, uncontrolled major bleeding, or an immediate risk of self-harm require emergency help. In India, call 112 or reach the nearest emergency department. This is a general, non-exhaustive warning list; it is not a condition-specific triage tool.