Hepatitis C causes few (if any) symptoms during the initialacuteinfection and often clears on its own.
Henry Steadman / Getty Images
How Do You Get Hepatitis C?
You canacquire hepatitis Cby coming into contact with the blood of someone infected with HCV.
Henry Steadman / Getty Images
In the United States, the vast majority of infections are among injecting drug users.
It is also not spread through food or water.
Hepatitis C Symptoms
Thesymptoms of hepatitis Cvary by the stage of infection.
Theacute stageis the period immediately following exposure to the virus.
Acute Symptoms
The majority of people initially infected with HCV areasymptomatic(meaning without symptoms).
Most cases develop within 30 years of the acute infection, causing ever-worsening symptoms as the liver damage mounts.
This is when damage to the liver is so extensive that it is no longer functional.
Signs of decompensated cirrhosis include:
Without treatment, decompensated cirrhosis will lead toliver failureand death.
Symptoms in Females and Males
The symptoms of hepatitis C are the same whether you arefemaleormale.
HCV genotypes 2 and 3 are less common forms seen in North America.
As a bloodborne infection, injecting drug use is the most common risk factor for contracting HCV.
when you’ve got HCV antibodies, you will always have HCV antibodies.
The averagewindow periodfor HCVwhen antibodies are below the level for detectionis between eight and 11 weeks.
HCV RNA Test
HCVRNA testsdetect the genetic material of HCV.
Unlike HCV antibody tests, HCV RNA tests can identify HCV relatively quicklyusually in one to two weeks.
This can be useful in detecting acute infections.
For those without decompensated cirrhosis, cure rates are closer to 99%.
On occasion, the drugribavirinmay be added to the treatment plan.
Upon completion of treatment, your response will be evaluated with a succession of HCV viral load tests.
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