Hello,
I requesting information on Hepetitis C. A close personal friends of mine has contracted the disease.
I was requesting the information to be on...
A) The sym.
B) Treatments
C) Anything else you think would be of use.
Thank you for your time and effort.
Reply: --------------------------
The symptoms of Hepatitis C are generally mild, intermittant and recurrent. Most of the patients I have with hep c get mild nausea and abdominal bloating every few to several weeks. Some women compare it to premenstrual symptoms or early pregnancy. Few patients vomit. Usually with the nausea comes fatigue and some achiness. Generally they do NOT get jaundiced (yellow eyes and skin).
Unfortunately there is no vaccine yet as with A and B and there are no specific antibiotics for it yet. Interferon usually is reserved for temporary relief of severe problems from hepc. We don't know a lot about transmission except that it is mainly transmitted by blood transfusions (before 1991) and intravenous drug abuse. It is much harder to get it through sex, but partners should use condoms to reduce the risk.
People with hep c should not drink any alcohol and should avoid medications that irritate the liver. Unfortunately, it may be that most people with hep c will go on to have cirrhosis after twenty years, but we just don't have enough info to know for sure.
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Paul Hunter, MD - Family Doc.
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