Facts about Hep C

Hepatitis means inflammation of the liver. Toxins, certain drugs, some diseases, heavy alcohol use, and bacterial and viral infections can all cause hepatitis. Hepatitis is also the name of a family of viral infections that affect the liver; the most common types in the United States are hepatitis A, hepatitis B, and hepatitis C.
Hepatitis C (Hep C) is an infectious liver disease caused by the hepatitis C virus (HCV). Hepatitis makes the liver swell and stops it from working properly. We all need a healthy liver to do many things to keep us alive. The liver fights infections, stops bleeding, and removes drugs and other poisons from the blood. The liver also stores energy for when you need it. It can range in severity from a mild illness lasting a few weeks to a serious, lifelong illness.
Hepatitis C can be either “acute” or “chronic.” Acute HCV infection is a short-term illness that occurs within the first 6 months after someone is exposed to the hepatitis C virus. For most people, acute infection leads to chronic infection. Chronic hepatitis C is a serious disease than can result in long-term health problems like cirrhosis of the liver, liver failure, liver cancer or even death.
Between 15 to 40 percent of people who get hepatitis C are able to fight off the virus during the early, or acute, stage, usually within six months. Between 60 and 85 percent of patients cannot get rid of the virus and develop a long-term, or chronic, hepatitis C infection. People with chronic hepatitis C will have the disease all their lives unless they are successfully treated with antiviral medicines.
Hep C can be transmitted through contact with the blood of an infected person
sharing drug needles
getting pricked with a needle that has infected blood on it (hospital workers can get hepatitis C this way)
having sex with an infected person, especially if you or your partner has other sexually transmitted diseases
being born to a mother with hepatitis C
sharing a razor with a Hep C infected person
In rare cases, you could get Hep C by getting a tattoo or body piercing with unsterilized, dirty tools
Hep C is NOT transmitted by:
shaking hands with an infected person
hugging an infected person
kissing an infected person
sitting next to an infected person
Many people with hepatitis C don't have symptoms.
However, some people with hepatitis C feel like they have the flu.
You may:
feel tired
feel sick to your stomach
have a fever
not want to eat
have stomach pain
have diarrhea
Some people have:
dark yellow urine
light-colored stools
yellowish eyes and skin
If you have symptoms or think you might have hepatitis C, go to a doctor.
Find more information at:
www.nlm.nih.gov
www.cdc.gov/hepatitis/HepatitisC.htm
www.liverfoundation.org/education/info/hepatitisc