Hepatitis C

Hepatitis C is a viral infection of liver causing redness and inflammation. Hepatitis C virus (HCV) spreads through inflected blood from one person to another. Weekly Injection and medications is advised to cure the patient.

There may be no symptoms in some patients suffering from Hepatitis C virus for years, as a result of that liver swells and gets inflated causing liver cirrhosis and liver failure.

Extent of the problem

Around 1-4% of the Indian population suffers from hepatitis C viral infection. It spreads by transfusion of inadequately screened blood and blood products, cross-infection through dialysis machines, sharing used needles and shaving razors and through unprotected intercourse.

Signs and Symptoms

Patients may not have any signs or symptoms, fever and flu may often appear. After 3 to 4 weeks of viral infection prominent signs and symptoms include:

• Joint pain
• Nausea
• Vomiting
• Dark urine
• Fever
• Influenza
• General weakness
• Dark stools

Causes

Causes and effects of Hepatitis C are mainly due to infected blood transfusion from a carrier or infected person to a healthy person. You may get infected by HCV if you:

• Share used needles with others/strangers
• Share snorting device for banned drugs
• Do not use protection while having sex with infected person
• Sharing body art/tattoo device with infected person
• Have unhygienic consumables
• Are infected and conceive, your baby gets infected with HCV

Risk Factors

Some people are at high risk of getting hepatitis c virus as they are more involved in diagnostic and laboratory works of testing infected blood samples of patients. Some risk factors include for:

• Lab technicians and people working in diagnostics
• Child born to HCV infected mother
• People sharing drugs through injection with infected person
• People having unprotected sex with infected person
• Unhygienic food sharing and exchanging razors with infected person

Types

There are two types of Hepatitis C Viral infection that are mainly categorized on the extent of liver damage by HCV infection.

• Acute Hepatitis C: In this kind of Viral infection HCV patient remains unaffected for 6 months and usually gets cured with antibiotic therapy. The lesser is the damage to liver and disease is completed cured
• Chronic Hepatitis C: In this kind of liver damage the infection gets worse with time and patient undergoes multiple treatment therapy and still recovery is slow, as liver cirrhosis spreads across all tissues rampantly

Prevention

You can prevent Hepatitis C by taking vaccination as an initial care. Medicine and vaccine are prescribed depending on the HCV genotype. Some preventive measures include:

• Not to share injection needles with infected people
• Stay hygienic in public places and healthcare areas
• Wear protective gloves and apron while working in healthcare setups like, diagnostic and laboratory
• Say no to unprotected sex with new partner
• Use medically approved floor cleaners and hand wash in healthcare setup

Treatment

All patients with hepatitis C viral infection should be treated with anti-viral therapy. Treatment consists of Peg-IFN (injection) and ribavirin (tablets) combination therapy. The duration of treatment depends on the subtype (genotype) of the virus. Genotype 1 and 4 requires 48 weeks of therapy, whereas genotype 2 and 3 require 24 weeks of therapy. Response to treatment must be assessed at regular intervals -4 weeks, 12 weeks, at the end of treatment and 3 months after stopping treatment. If the virus remains undetectable at 3 months after completion of treatment, you are cured! In genotype 1 the chance of cure is around 40-60% and for genotype 2 and 3 the cure rate is 70-80%. Newer drugs known as Directly Acting Anti-Virals(DAAs) like Sofusbuvir and Simeprevir in combination with ribavirin have been extremely effective in clearing the Hepatitis C virus. These medicines are now freely available in the world market, but caution needs to be exercised regarding their use and need to be taken only under the guidance of your Hepatologist. They require shorter treatment duration and the cure rate are as high as 90 to 95%.

WHY Rela Hospital

The Rela Hospital Advantage

Rela Hospital is one of the best hospitals for hepatitis C treatment in Chennai, India. Top hepatologists, expert dieticians and world class medical amenities are available at Rela Hospital.

Expert Doctors:

Rela Hospital’s is founded by Dr. Mohamed Rela, he is one of top liver doctors for viral hepatitis treatment in Chennai, India. Rela Hospital’s staff is efficient to provide best treatment for hepatitis C in Chennai.

Patient Testimonials:

Rela Hospital is dedicated for safeguarding patient health privacy, kindly request for a patient review and feedback in patient relationship cell. Rela Hospital has treated international patients and has huge satisfied and happy patient community.

Patients have acknowledged about Rela Hospital care and facilities in testimonials as the best acute hepatitis c treatment in Chennai. Rela Hospital is adept to procure latest medicines for Chronic Hepatitis C treatment from all over the world. Rela Hospital’s Research and development section provides latest liver drugs and hepatitis c treatment guidelines as prescribed by WHA.

Call for an appointment with our liver expert and know more about hepatitis treatment medications at Rela Hospital. Best liver care is our motto at Rela Hospital!

Inquire today and book an appointment

Call +919384681770

Or, request a call back from our Rela Hospital patient help desk.