Hepatitis C is unfold from person to man or woman thru direct contact with infected blood, and may end up a persistent contamination with devastating lengthy-time period consequences at the liver. Because no vaccine for hepatitis C is to be had, prevention is through remedy and schooling.
“There are methods of preventing hepatitis C," stated Steven Scaglione, MD, an assistant professor of drugs inside the division of hepatology at Loyola University Health System in Maywood, Ill. "One way is to save you folks that don’t have it from getting it. The other manner is to save you humans who have it from spreading it."
Today’s remedies for hepatitis C can bring about what is referred to as a sustained virologic response — basically a treatment — for maximum sufferers. That means the virus drops to undetectable tiers and might no longer unfold to others.
Preventing Spread of Hepatitis C
The first step is locating out whether you have got hepatitis C. “Up till now, screening for hepatitis C was danger-primarily based," said Dr. Scaglione. "Now the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has modified that." Though the CDC has constantly endorsed which you get examined for hepatitis C when you have hazard factors, the company's new recommendation is that you be screened once in case you had been born among 1945 and 1965 — even if you have no recognised hazard elements.
Risk elements for hepatitis C encompass any touch with blood from a person infected with hepatitis C. For instance, risks include being the kid of a mother who had hepatitis C, having a records of injection drug use, receiving a blood transfusion or organ transplant earlier than 1992, or being a fitness care worker uncovered to human blood.
“The purpose for the [screening] advice is that people born from 1945 to 1965 make up three-fourths of anybody with hepatitis C, three-fourths of all of us with liver disorder from hepatitis C, and 3-fourths of everyone who dies from hepatitis C,” said Scaglione.
Don’t proportion private objects like your toothbrush or razor.
Use needle protection precautions in case you use intravenous drugs, don’t percentage needles.
If you have a couple of sexual partners, practice safe intercourse.
If you're in a long-term monogamous dating, your companion must be tested, but you do now not want to change your sexual practices.
Avoid alcohol, manage your weight, get a few exercise, and consume a wholesome food plan. Alcohol and obesity could make hepatitis C infection more difficult to treat.
Preventing People From Getting Hepatitis C
Before 1992, having a blood transfusion or organ transplant became a hazard component for hepatitis C, however this is no longer the case. “The possibilities of getting hepatitis C from a blood transfusion at the moment are less than one in 1,000,000," Scaglione stated. "Dental devices and clinical instruments are now not a danger, as they're routinely sterilized."
Today, the No. 1 motive of hepatitis C transmission is injection drug use. An article in Clinical Infectious Diseases in 2013 cited that a hepatitis C virus epidemic is being fueled in the United States via teens who use intravenous drugs. Recommended prevention strategies encompass decreased sharing of drug equipment, increased screening, increased remedy, and needle alternate applications.
Ways to keep away from getting hepatitis C encompass:
Not sharing personal care items that would have blood on them.
Not the use of intravenous tablets.
Not getting a tattoo or body piercing from an unlicensed practitioner.
Practicing secure sex.
Make Getting Screened a Priority
“You could have hepatitis C and haven't any signs," Scaglione stated. "Hepatitis C virus isn't the same as hepatitis B and HIV — it could be cured. That’s a very good cause to get tested and get treated."
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