Hepatitis C - the greatest form of viral hepatitis. He is called «affectionate killer». We decided to talk about the virus that causes this disease, and how infected them. We hope that this article will help readers to figure it out in a pile of often controversial information and relieve trouble.
Content
Hepatitis C (previously called «hepatitis neither») transmitted during contact with blood (including sexual contact if there was a contact with the blood of a partner). Hepatitis C can lead to the development of chronic hepatitis, completed by cirrhosis of the liver. It can develop asymptomatic for 10-40 years.
When the hepatitis C virus penetrates into the liver, it invades its cells and begins to multiply. As a result, an increasing amount of cells is replaced by a connecting cloth. Symptoms of the disease are not manifested until such damage to the liver comes, in which its functions are disturbed. This period can last from 10 to 40 years, depending on the rate of progression of the disease. To accurately predict the rate of development of the disease in a particular person is impossible.
How is hepatitis with hepatitis?
Hepatitis C is transmitted through contact with blood patient with hepatitis per person. Below are various ways of infection with hepatitis C:
- Use of common needles and syringes with patients with hepatitis in intravenous drug administration
- Repeated or repeated use of needles in medical practice
- Serious surgical operations
- gender transmission. The risk to infect hepatitis C through sexual contact with a permanent partner does not exceed 3-6%
- Transfer to a child from mother during childbirth
- blood transfusion or its products
- Infection when applying a tattoo, piercing
- Instrumental manipulations when visiting a dentist
Li hepatitis with family members (through household contact)?
There is a slight risk of infection with hepatitis C through domestic contacts, so you should not use the same blades or toothbrushes and other objects on which traces of blood or other organism fluids may be. Women, patients with hepatitis C, should be avoided by sex contacts during menstruation.
What are the signs of hepatitis with?
-
It begins very gradually, often without a pronounced pregen period
- proceeds mainly in the form of light shapes, however, in most cases becomes chronic (this feature served as the basis for calling HCV «affectionate killer»)
- on the background «Light flow» In patients, liver and spleen can significantly increase, not corresponding in their size and density; neither the severity of the flow
- sometimes recognized only when the patient has already formed cirrhosis of the liver
- often proceeds with periodic enzymatic exacerbations, which are usually not recognized by clinically.
Acute and chronic hepatitis with
Acute hepatitis in most cases easily proceed. In case of hepatic insufficiency, a tendency to hemorrhages and bleeding, drowsiness, progresses jaundice. In the hospital, supporting therapy (intravenous fluid administration) is carried out, monitor blood indicators and correlate biochemical changes (for example, very low glucose levels).
Most patients are recovering, but sometimes there are cases of death from severe or lightning hepatic cellular insufficiency. The causes of death in acute hepatitis are liver cellular insufficiency, bleeding, the development of severe bacterial infection or renal failure.
If the inflammatory process in the liver persists for 6 months, this indicates the development of chronic hepatitis. In many patients, chronic hepatitis proceeds asymptomatic. The diagnosis can be established only in the case of the development of severe complications of liver diseases or in the following situations:
- If the patient infects his sexual partner who develops acute hepatitis
- By screening in blood transfusion centers
- When identifying elevated levels of hepatic enzymes in the blood.
