What Is Hepatitis C?

Symptoms C is a sneaky virus. You may not have any symptoms at all. Most people don’t. Your doctor could check you liver and see only a little damage. You might not get diagnosed until he spots a problem with your liver enzymes after a routine blood test. Early Stages The disease is called acute when you first get it. The symptoms are similar to those of the flu. They may include: Fatigue Poor appetite Stomach pain and nausea Diarrhea Muscle and joint pain

Chronic Hepatitis If you don’t get diagnosed and treated, you could have the disease for years and not know it. Doctors call this the chronic form, because it lasts a long time. Some people who've had it for a while get liver cancer. You can be infected with the hepatitis C virus and have no symptoms. Your doctor could find it when he checks your blood and sees that your level of certain liver enzymes is high. If that happens, he'll follow up with other tests to confirm you have the disease. Antibody Test The first way to check for the infection is a blood test for the hepatitis C antibody. Your body makes this when it’s infected with the virus. The doctor can take blood and send it to a lab, or use a rapid test called OraQuick. It gives results in about 20 minutes. If the antibody test doesn't find anything, then you probably don't have hepatitis C. But if you’ve been exposed within the past 6 months, you’ll need to be checked again later to be sure. The antibody test isn't perfect. It may show a hepatitis C infection when you don’t have one. It could be positive even if you had it in the past and your body cleared the infection. You can live many years with hepatitis C and not even know you have it. But without treatment, you could start getting symptoms and have complications of cirrhosis (liver scarring). What to Expect if You Get Cirrhosis

In the early stages of hepatitis C, your liver still has enough cells to do its many jobs. But with time, more cells die, and pressure builds up in the vein leaving the liver. When that happens, symptoms of cirrhosis like jaundice may show up. These are some possible complications of cirrhosis:

Swelling in your legs and abdomen, which can lead to a serious bacterial infection. Enlarged blood vessels in your esophagus or stomach, which can burst and cause serious internal bleeding. This requires immediate medical attention. Enlarged spleen , which may lead to a low white blood cell or platelet count. Gallstones , from bile (fluid made by the liver) not flowing freely to and from your gallbladder. Greater sensitivity to drugs because your liver can’t filter them from your blood. Resistance to the hormone insulin, leading to type 2 diabetes. Kidney and lung failure. Problems fighting infection.