Hepatitis C is a liver infection that affects approximately 60,000 Dutch people and 250 to 300 million people worldwide. Hepatitis C occurs through blood contact and has only recently been cured. Read more about the causes, symptoms and treatment of hepatitis C below.
About Hepatitis C
Hepatitis C is an inflammation of the liver. The word hepatitis comes from Greek, where ‘hepar’ stands for liver and ‘itis’ stands for inflammation. In addition to hepatitis C, there are also other liver infections, including hepatitis A and hepatitis B. Hepatitis C has only been known since 1989. Two years later, blood in blood transfusions was also only checked for hepatitis C. Many people have therefore become infected with hepatitis before this time. C. Hepatitis C has only recently become treatable and is caused by a different virus than the viruses that cause hepatitis A and hepatitis B. About 70-80% of infected people develop chronic liver inflammation. In these people, hepatitis C remains in the body. Liver cirrhosis develops in 20-30% of people and liver cancer develops in 2-5% of people every year.
The liver and cirrhosis
The liver is one of the most important and largest organs in our body. It is located above the abdominal cavity and is protected by the ribs. The liver’s job is to cleanse our body of toxins. First of all, it identifies toxic substances, then breaks them down and converts them, after which they are excreted. Our liver also converts certain substances into essential products.The main tasks of the liver:
- Conversion and production of sugars.
- Conversion and production of proteins.
- Conversion and production of fats.
- Production of bile.
- Cleansing the body of toxins.
If the liver is overloaded by, for example, toxins, its functioning can be drastically reduced. This can lead to the condition liver cirrhosis. Liver cirrhosis attacks the tissue of the liver and replaces it with connective tissue. This is a permanent change and damages the liver. After all, connective tissue is hardly functional for the liver. If the liver is affected, the functioning of the entire body is affected. Liver cirrhosis can therefore result in death.
Causes
Hepatitis C is caused by a virus. This virus can cause liver infection – sometimes only after many years. We cannot yet vaccinate against hepatitis C. This is possible against hepatitis A and B. Hepatitis C is less contagious than hepatitis A and B. The risk groups for hepatitis C are people who received blood transfusions before 1991, because the virus only spreads through blood contact can be transmitted. People who use drugs and needles for injecting them are also at increased risk of hepatitis C. This also applies to people who have tattoos and/or piercings. Hepatitis C can also be contracted on the operating table, although the risk of this is small in the Netherlands. The virus is rarely transmitted through sexual contact and in daily interactions.
Symptoms
For a long time, one may notice very little or even nothing at all of the virus infection. However, complaints may arise over time. In most cases, there is already jaundice or liver cirrhosis . Complaints that may occur after infection with hepatitis C are:
- Severe nausea
- Unclear stomach complaints
- Prolonged fatigue
- Feeling bad about yourself
- Pain in muscles and joints
Therapy
As mentioned earlier, hepatitis C usually becomes a chronic disease. The doctor must decide whether to treat the disease or whether to wait for treatment. The latter is done if the patient is not yet experiencing any consequences of hepatitis C and therefore has no active inflammation in the liver. If treatment is initiated, it will be a complicated treatment that varies from person to person. A treatment plan is drawn up based on the condition of the liver, the symptoms, the type of virus and the condition of the person in question. Hepatitis C is caused by hepatitis C viruses, all of which are slightly different from each other. This affects the treatment. There is no so-called standard treatment for hepatitis C. This is a drug treatment. The medications usually used are Ribavirin and Peginterferons . These are virus-inhibiting medications that do not work equally well for everyone. Their aim is either to remove the virus from the body as best as possible, to inhibit its division or to reduce its effect. It is important that the action of the virus is suppressed or that the virus is removed. The possible liver damage it can cause is irreversible.
Prevent contamination
Infection by a hepatitis C virus can easily be prevented.
- Disinfect drug needles before use.
- Disinfect tattoo needles before use.
- Be careful with someone else’s shaver.
- Be careful when coming into contact with someone else’s (open) wounds.