Several decades ago, physicians used only one name for viral hepatitis - jaundice or Botkin's disease. But after numerous studies, the pathology was classified and it began to be denoted by different letters from A to F.
Hepatitis C - what is this disease?
Recently identified forms of the disease are called the initials of those from whom they were first discovered - TTV, GB. According to doctors, in the future the appearance of other varieties of the virus is not excluded. But now the most dangerous and widespread form of hepatitis is indicated by the letter C.
This is a viral pathology, the causative agent of which belongs to the category of Flaviviridae, a type of HCV or HCV. Hepatitis C was first discovered in 1989. If you look at it under a microscope, then this is a small spherical formation, which is covered with a shell.
The virus has many features that allow it to be identified.
- Damage to the liver with hepatitis C is always accompanied by concomitant pathologies of the internal organs, as well as all kinds of disorders in the immune system and metabolism.
- The virus easily deceives human immunity and is constantly being modified. That is why scientists regularly discover new varieties of the disease.
- How is hepatitis C transmitted? Infection occurs parenterally, that is, without the participation of the digestive system. First, the virus enters the bloodstream, and then into the liver parenchyma. Is hepatitis C contagious to others? Most often, it is transmitted through a dirty syringe at the time of injection. But it is possible that the pathogen enters the body through the mucous membrane, for example, during intimacy without a condom.
- About 15% of all patients have a chance of recovery from acute hepatitis C. And in other patients, the disease turns into a latent chronic form, which entails cirrhosis and liver cancer.
- Pathology develops as a chronic disease - this is one of the main features of hepatitis C. This is where the skin of patients may turn yellow for a short time or not change their color at all.
- The virus has a positive property. Intrauterine infection is not excluded, but it is quite rare.
Features
In 2004, hepatitis C was included in the list of socially significant diseases in the Russian Federation. This disease is most often found in a chronic form, and it is very difficult to control its spread, since there is simply no vaccine for it. About 90% of people injecting drugs are carriers of hepatitis C.
The chronic form of the disease has a feature: the virus can be present in the body in an inactive and active state. Moreover, this characteristic changes regularly. In this case, antibodies can be detected in the blood, and the virus itself may be absent. This means that there is a disease, but it cannot be cured at this phase.
Confirm or refute a suspected diagnosis using a comprehensive diagnosis, which includes:
- laboratory tests - determining the concentration of the virus and the number of specific antibodies;
- instrumental techniques - puncture of the parenchyma.
How long does the virus live
Is hepatitis C contagious to others? The resistance of the pathogen was studied in laboratory conditions. Using experiments, it was proved that the virus can persist on various surfaces, even on the syringe needle, for more than four days at room temperature. When using a syringe that was in the vein of a hepatitis C carrier, infection occurs.
Using a two-minute boil, you can make the pathogen inactive. It can do the same with ultraviolet radiation in 10 minutes.
What you need to know
The likelihood of contracting hepatitis C is highest with medical care errors and a variety of everyday situations. After all, the virus can enter the bloodstream even with microtrauma.
Is hepatitis C carrier contagious or not? In everyday conditions, a person with such a diagnosis practically does not pose a threat to others. After all, the main condition of infection is direct contact of the blood of the carrier with the bloodstream of a healthy person.
How many carriers of the virus live
After about 15-30 years, chronic pathology leads to severe, irreversible damage to the organ - cirrhosis of the liver. Due to the fact that the risk group consists mainly of young people under 30 years old, the risk of catastrophic consequences in 45-60 years, and possibly even earlier, is relevant. It is this outcome that expects about 20% of patients with chronic hepatitis C.
In addition, a person with a damaged liver suffers from a deterioration in the quality of his life. One of its main functions is reduced - the neutralization of metabolites after ingestion of alcohol and fatty foods. Blood stasis, which can occur due to a deterioration in the filtration capabilities of the liver, is not excluded.
Probable premature death of a patient with a diagnosis of hepatitis C, provoked by indirect causes. For example, due to a deterioration in liver activity, other serious defects can develop in the body.
The final stage of hepatitis C - cirrhosis of the liver manifests itself in the form of a total disruption of the organ, the emptying of small vessels and the formation of large flows of blood flow. This process is irreversible, it is almost impossible to eliminate it even with the help of modern techniques.
Due to the compaction of the parenchyma, stagnation in the abdomen appears. Against the background of this process, the walls of the arteries expand, which is fraught with rupture of blood vessels and severe bleeding. Sometimes patients with this diagnosis develop cancer of the damaged organ.
Signs of the disease
The main feature of hepatitis C is the absence or short-term jaundice of the skin. This shade of the cornea of the eyes and integument is a symptom of liver damage, or rather, a sign of an increase in the volume of bile pigment in the bloodstream. Bilirubin - this is the name of this pigment, it can penetrate the blood with various pathologies of the bile ducts or liver parenchyma.
The first signs of hepatitis C:
- general fatigue, weakness, and severe apathy;
- reduced ability to work;
- loss of appetite;
- soreness in the right hypochondrium, which indicates inflammation or dyskinesia in the gallbladder;
- an increase in the size of the liver, which is felt during palpation - only a doctor can detect this symptom, but the patient himself can only feel fullness in the area of the organ;
- persistent fever is not excluded.
In addition, the patient may experience symptoms that are not related to the liver. This is another feature of hepatitis C.
Here are the main symptoms that are not related to the liver:
- damage to the myocardium and joints;
- various vision problems;
- rashes from papules on the mucous membranes and skin;
- damage to the bladder and kidneys.
None of these symptoms is specific, but almost always indicates damage to the liver and other organs that interact with it.
Other signs of the virus can be detected by instrumental and laboratory studies.
Hepatitis C in infants
- Not more than 7% of cases of transmission of the virus during pregnancy from mother to child were recorded. Moreover, infection is possible only in the active phase of the development of the disease.
- The sick mother’s breast milk is absolutely safe for the baby if there is no damage to the nipples of the woman and the oral cavity of the baby.
- Specific antibodies leak through the placenta, so in a child up to a year they can be found in the blood.
- The first signs of hepatitis in infants appear in the same way as in adults. The main symptom is yellowness of the skin.
- Intrauterine infection is completely excluded in children born to infected mothers if antibodies disappear from the blood at the age of one year.
- Infants with a family history of hepatitis C should be under the supervision of doctors in the early years of their lives.
Transmission ways
Is hepatitis C contagious to others? You can answer this question by understanding the general transmission routes of the virus. In approximately 25% of adults and 50% of children, it is not possible to identify the cause of the disease. Most often, the virus is transmitted through intravenous drug administration. Another common route of infection is through sexual contact. But there is one condition for transmission - there must be damage on the mucous membranes of the reproductive organs. In another way, the virus will not enter the body.
There are other ways of infection. For example, often the virus enters the body during various medical procedures:
- drug injections, blood transfusion;
- dental interventions;
- sessions in the cosmetologist’s office associated with a violation of the integrity of the skin.
Some claim that the virus can enter the body through the bites of blood-sucking insects.
Is hepatitis C contagious to others? The virus can be transmitted, for example, using a common shaving machine. But this disease is definitely not transmitted by airborne droplets.
Oral-fecal infection, characteristic of forms A and E, is not excluded in the case of hepatitis C, but with a lesser degree of probability. This transmission method is possible if a person has a damaged mucous membrane of the digestive tract.
Is chronic hepatitis C contagious or not? The virus carries a danger to a healthy person with any form of the disease. Even if at some time it is inactive, it still remains in the body and can be transmitted to other people.
Is hepatitis C sexually transmitted
Infection in this way is possible, but due to the characteristics of the pathogen, genital infection is not considered common. The same applies to domestic transmission.
Is hepatitis C sexually transmitted when using a condom? The main condition for the virus to enter the body is damage to the skin and mucous membranes, which manifest as minor or severe bleeding. That is why the use of a condom is not in this case a panacea for the disease.
Treatment features
Therapy of chronic and acute hepatitis is significantly different. Treatment of the latter form is aimed at stopping the main symptoms of the pathology, protecting the body from further destruction, as well as restoring its main functions.
A patient with acute hepatitis C is prescribed intravenous injections of solutions that stimulate the elimination of harmful toxins from the body. Additionally - vitamins and choleretic drugs.
A feature of the treatment of the acute form of the disease is the mandatory use of immunocorrectors. This need is due to the properties of the virus. For other types of hepatitis, such an acute treatment course is not advisable.
Diet
An important role in the treatment is played by a special diet.
In the acute form of hepatitis C, patients are recommended to follow a diet that is called table No. 5. The menu of such a diet includes:
- slightly dried baked goods;
- milk and vegetable soups;
- lean meat;
- low-calorie fish;
- dairy products;
- drinks without gas and sugar;
- fruits.
It is strictly forbidden to use pickled, fried, smoked, canned dishes. You can not eat pickles, pickled, sour, salty, spicy foods.
Chronic disease therapy
In the treatment of chronic hepatitis C, various immunomodulators are necessarily used:
- interferons and their stimulants - "Reaferon", "Roferon", "Intron A";
- correctors of cellular or humoral immunity - Amiksin, Cycloferon.
Doctors sometimes change their selected drugs for hepatitis C. If a patient develops a fever, he will be prescribed physiotherapeutic procedures and antipyretic drugs.
Additionally, antiviral drugs, such as Ribavirin or Remantadine, may be prescribed.
How to prevent the disease
Prevention measures for each person are individual. The main thing is to know if viral hepatitis C is contagious to others, and remember the basic precautions.
It is recommended to monitor the sterility of instruments used during various medical and cosmetic procedures. During sexual intercourse, barrier contraception should be used and hygiene rules must be followed. It is very important to protect damaged areas on the skin and mucous membrane, especially when in contact with strangers.
Now you know if hepatitis C is contagious to others, and you can protect yourself from the virus.