Hepatitis C is an infectious disease of the liver. According to statistics, this disease affects more than 170 million people on the planet. It is detected annually in 3-4 million patients, and in recent years, young people are increasingly hearing a terrible diagnosis. Consider why hepatitis C occurs, life expectancy in this disease and possible methods of its treatment.
Essence of the disease
Penetrating into the liver, hepatitis C virus multiplies rapidly. Destroying cells and causing their death, it provokes the development of an ongoing inflammatory process. Replacing healthy liver cells with connective tissue, the hepatitis C virus provokes the occurrence of cirrhosis, liver failure, and even malignant neoplasms.
Transmission routes
Infection occurs mainly through the blood. Among the most common causes of the virus entering the human body are:
· Repeated use of needles by drug addicts;
· Blood transfusion of a patient with hepatitis C to a healthy person;
· Work of medical personnel with infected biological fluids.
It is proved that there is a chance of infection through sexual contact, but this happens quite rarely (in no more than 5% of cases). A similar percentage of the probability of becoming a carrier of the virus is observed when the baby passes through the birth canal. To date, there is no sufficient evidence base on the transmission of the virus through breast milk during feeding. With household contacts, this disease is not transmitted.
Virus genotypes
With a diagnosis of hepatitis C, life expectancy depends on the genotype of the virus that has infected the body. In modern times, 6 genotypes with various subtypes have been identified. So, most often viruses of genotypes 1, 2, 3 are found in the blood of patients. The most severe course is characteristic of hepatitis C, which was caused by the virus of the 1b genotype.
Symptomatology
Unlike other forms of chronic viral hepatitis, hepatitis C is characterized by a protracted and milder course. The incubation period of the disease varies from 20 to 140 days. Often the symptoms of the disease for a long time are completely absent, which makes timely diagnosis impossible. Suspicion of hepatitis C in the initial phase of the disease should occur in the presence of signs such as:
· Rapid fatigue, loss of strength, general weakness;
Vomiting, nausea, lightening of the stool, belching mixed with bile;
Prolonged fever, joint pain, chills;
· Icteric staining of the mucous membranes and skin;
· Pain in the liver.
In addition, some patients complain of headaches and itchy skin. With the development of the disease, a violation of appetite appears. In most cases, hepatitis eventually develops into a chronic form. However, about 20% of patients still manage to achieve full recovery. Symptoms of chronic hepatitis C include:
· Weakness, fatigue and drowsiness. In the morning, the patient wakes up hard and prefers to lie in bed for a long time without getting up.
· Change in sleep patterns. Patients are characterized by insomnia at night and drowsiness during the day. These manifestations may indicate the development of hepatic encephalopathy.
· Dyspeptic disorders are rapidly increasing: vomiting, nausea, loss of appetite.
The ailment in a chronic form can last for decades. Many people with hepatitis C live without even knowing that their body has been hit by a serious virus.
Diagnostics
To detect hepatitis C, a potential patient should undergo an enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) to detect the presence of special antibodies (anti-HCV) in the blood. However, in this study, the probability of obtaining a false-positive result is quite high (when a person is actually healthy, but the test claims that he is sick). In order to confirm the result obtained, an analysis performed by the method of recombinant immunoblotting is used. But at the same time, a positive result indicates only the presence of antibodies in the body, but not the presence of the virus itself.
In the early stages of the disease, when a sufficient amount of antibodies has not yet been developed, a recombinant immunoblot and ELISA can diagnose hepatitis C negative, while in reality the virus has already settled in the human body. For this reason, the most reliable research method is PCR diagnostics (polymerase chain reaction), which allows to detect not only the presence of hepatitis C virus in the blood, but also determine the degree of viral load.
Hepatitis C treatment
Doctors' reviews indicate that this disease is treatable, only the main thing is to recognize its presence in a timely manner and consult a doctor. The choice of treatment is always individual and depends on the gender of the patient, the genotype of the hepatitis virus, the degree of liver damage. Antiviral drugs are often prescribed, as well as drugs whose action is aimed at enhancing the body's defenses. A combination of two drugs is used: interferon-alpha and ribavirin. Interferon is a protein that is produced naturally in the body in response to hepatitis virus. The drug strengthens the immune system to fight infection. Ribavirin is a drug that inhibits the reproduction of the virus. For the treatment of patients with complicated or severe illness, protease inhibitors (Boceprevir, Insivec) are also usually prescribed. Antiviral activity is inherent in these drugs, which greatly complicates the process of virus replication.
Sofosbuvir, an RNA polymerase inhibitor that makes it virtually impossible for the virus to multiply in the liver cells, is considered one of the latest developments in the field of antiviral therapy for hepatitis C. Medical tests have shown the high effectiveness of the drug and confirmed the safety of its use.
Treatment results
In general, the treatment of almost 100% of patients infected with viruses of the 2nd and 3rd genotypes ends in complete recovery. While the effectiveness of the fight against hepatitis C virus of the 1st genotype is only 50%. The probability of recovery depends on the individual characteristics of the disease, the patient himself and the professional qualities of the treating specialist.
Life expectancy for patients with hepatitis C
The virus itself does not constitute a mortal danger, it only contributes to the course of pathological processes that shorten the life of a sick person. It is impossible to designate a specific time period that is common for all infected people, when the destruction occurring in the body leads to death. With a disease such as hepatitis C, life expectancy depends on many factors, which include:
· Virus transmission route;
· Age and gender of the patient;
· State of immunity;
· Duration of infection;
· Timely treatment;
· Maintaining a healthy lifestyle;
· The presence or absence of concomitant chronic diseases (obesity, diabetes mellitus).
In 30% of patients, the progression of the disease can occur 50 years after infection, and therefore such people have every chance to live long. Also, in 30% of infected people, the time period after hepatitis in its initial stage before the development of cirrhosis is less than 20 years. In people who abuse alcohol, cirrhosis develops after 5-8 years. In addition, children and the elderly are difficult to tolerate the disease.
Hepatitis C Patient Life
Patients with hepatitis C must take all necessary measures so as not to infect healthy people. Also, patients need to adjust their lifestyle: to limit as much as possible or, even better, completely abandon the use of alcohol, not to burden themselves with heavy physical labor, to exclude spicy and fried foods from the diet.
It is useful to play sports, eat right, eat as many fruits and vegetables as possible. Caution should be exercised when taking nutritional supplements and vitamins that can adversely affect the liver. Hepatoprotectors and homeopathic medicines that cleanse and support the liver are recommended. Regular tests and examinations will help monitor the viral load. It is important to strengthen the immune system, activating the body's defenses to fight the virus.
With the diagnosis of hepatitis C, the life span can be increased by each person, for this it is necessary to take the treatment of the disease very seriously and follow all the recommendations of a specialist.