Best Methods to Cure Hepatitis C

Best Methods to Cure Hepatitis C

Hepatitis C is one of the most prevalent diseases in the world with an estimated 71 million globally who have chronic Hepatitis C infection. It is caused by the Hepatitis C virus and is a bloodborne disease that spreads mostly through the blood veins. It spreads preliminarily due to unsafe injection practices or unsafe health care. This virus infects the liver and in time, develops into cirrhosis, liver failure or liver cancer. Most people do not know that they have Hepatitis C until they are diagnosed with some form of liver damage, which may take many years. Hence it is essential to get timely checks done so that the various treatments for Hepatitis C can be put to use.

Hepatitis C virus causes both acute and chronic infection. Acute infection neither has severe symptoms nor is life-threatening and usually clears out within six months of diagnosis with little treatment. On the other hand, Chronic Hepatitis C virus infection increases a risk of life-threatening liver diseases. About 20% those who contract this virus develop liver cirrhosis within 20 years.

Treatment for Hepatitis C is dependent on many conditions like:

  • Liver damage.
  • Pre-existing health conditions.
  • Amount of viral infection in the body.
  • Hepatitis C genotype detected.

There are different ways in which this disease is treated. Acute Hepatitis C virus usually remains untreated as this kind of Hepatitis is asymptomatic and therefore stays dormant or undetected in a person for very long periods of time. Hepatitis C virus is transmitted in the following ways:

The most common manner of the spread of this virus is sharing needles for drug injections.

  • Inadequate sterilization of needles and syringes.
  • Transfusion of infected blood.
  • Sexual contact with an infected person.
  • Mothers infected with the virus who deliver babies.

People affected with Acute Hepatitis C are mostly, but not necessarily, asymptomatic. Typical symptoms of being infected with chronic Hepatitis C include fever, fatigue, nausea, decreased appetite, vomiting, joint and abdominal pain and jaundice. These can be dealt with through the available treatments for Hepatitis C.

There are different ways of dealing with both kids of Hepatitis infections. Treatment is not always required in all cases of Hepatitis C as the immune system’s response to the virus sometimes helps clear the virus out. If that doesn’t happen and the virus stays in our system for a long time, usually, tests are conducted to check the liver strength first before zeroing in on a system of medication. Treatment for hepatitis C usually consists of the following:

Medication

Medicines for Hepatitis C are expensive, cause a lot of side effects and may not work on everyone affected by the virus. All of that is now steadily changing with science making a lot of strides in Hepatitis virus treatment. Medicines like Sofosbuvir, Daclatasvir and the Sofosbuvir/Ledipasvir combination are prescribed in the WHO guidelines and achieve cure rates above 95%. These medicines were not available in a lot of low and middle-level income countries. That problem has now been solved through the use of generic medicines and consists an integral part of the treatments for Hepatitis C.

There are separate guidelines issued by the WHO for individuals and medical professionals to contain the spread of this virus.
Since there is no available vaccine for Hepatitis C, we must try and reduce risk exposure to this virus with the following measures:

  • Maintain hand hygiene in healthcare settings.
  • Promote safe use of injections.
  • Dispose of medical waste like needles and syringes effectively.
  • Effective screening of donated blood.
  • Training health personnel on the risks associated with bloodborne diseases.
  • Promotion of the benefits of using condoms.
  • Individuals
  • Seek knowledge of cause and effects of Hepatitis C.
  • Get immunized with Hepatitis A and B to counter infections to the liver.
  • Timely medical therapy including antiviral therapy. Antiviral treatment is successful in about 50-90% of people treated.
  • Regular health check-ups for timely monitoring of liver health.

The treatments for Hepatitis C are surely accessible, but prevention remains a long way to keep the disease at bay. Until the mid-90’s, there was no known cure for Hepatitis C. The medicines that were available have had severe side effects. Eventually, with the help of strides in medical science, medical practitioners started restricting the virus by protecting the liver and strengthening the immune system towards potential diseases. A person is considered cured if there is no virus in their bloodstream six months after they stop the intake of every kind of antiviral.

These drugs may, however, set you back by tens of thousands of dollars in the USA. People affected with the Hepatitis C virus are strongly advised to check if their insurance companies cover these medicines, or they can look into drug company programs that provide financial assistance to many based on certain criteria.

Treatments for Hepatitis C can be long, tiresome and costly. But you are not alone in this fight. This virus is largely prevalent in developing countries, and developed countries have access to medical developments as well as advanced medical assistance to combat this silent disease.

Related Reading

Tips for Buying the Best Dog Food

Tips for Buying the Best Dog Food

Most of the dogs do not have a food fuss and may eat almost anything that you feed them. Dogs are not choosy at all when it comes to food and nutrition. Hence, it is important to make sure that the food that you are purchasing for your dog is healthy. The landscape of dog food has been developing by leaps and bounds in recent times. There is a wide variety of options to choose from in the online and offline market. Given the wide range of options that are available today, buying the best dog food might seem to be a confusing task indeed. All the commercial pet food that is available in the market today is regulated by the FDA. Therefore, most of the products do contain nutritious, healthy, and safe ingredients. But it does help to know certain basic factors you should look for while buying food for your dog. Prioritize on the nutritional guarantee The best dog food, which meets the dog’s needs adequately has a statement written on the label of the product, from the Association of American Feed Control Officials. Buy from some of the best dog food brands, such as Fromm Family Foods, Earthborn Holistic, Nature’s Variety Instinct, and The Honest Kitchen.
Different Types of Kitchen Cabinets Available for Your Home

Different Types of Kitchen Cabinets Available for Your Home

The most important aspect when designing your kitchen is deciding on the type of cabinets. In addition to functionality, kitchen cabinets score on aesthetics as well. Once the layout is planned, you can go ahead with choosing the cabinets. If you’re remodeling your home or just the kitchen, what you need to consider are the types of cabinets that furnish your kitchen. Here are a few types of kitchen cabinets that you can choose from. Base cabinets These kitchen cabinets are mounted on the floor and they are placed after checking out the floor plan. A major part of your job in the kitchen is on these base cabinets, which hold and support the countertops. These base cabinets are combined to carve out kitchen islands. A number of base cabinets are fused/set against one another and installed on site. The base cabinets, in addition to supporting the countertops, serve as drawers to hold your cutlery and appliances. Wall cabinets Mounted on the walls, these cabinets can store everything, right from your cookware to cookbooks. In terms of design, they offer utmost flexibility. Wall cabinet kitchen is available in varying heights, multiple widths, and custom depth options. This customization helps you to fit in your stuff of varying shapes and sizes into the wall cabinets.
How to Pick the Right Dog Food for a Sensitive Stomach

How to Pick the Right Dog Food for a Sensitive Stomach

In today’s world, where you are presented with over a dozen choices for every item you would purchase for your own kitchen, it is not surprising that you have an equal number of options for your dog’s food. However, choosing the perfect brand and formula for your dog out of a range of options in the market is not an easy job. Your pet depends on you and trusts you to make the right choice for them. Therefore, it is imperative that you do your research about the products available in the market, understand what your dog needs, know what might be your pet’s problems, and then make a sound decision. What is a sensitive stomach? Dogs are known to have voracious and large appetites. Keeping that in mind, it is normal to assume that they have strong stomachs. They can eat close to anything be it sweets, bakes, chewy gum, hard leather or even woolen socks for that matter! It always so happens that the strongest of them are prone to allergies and can develop a disorder which is medically translated as a sensitive stomach. This might be due to a sudden change in the food habits or even due an infection picked up from somewhere.
All You Need to Know about Cat Food

All You Need to Know about Cat Food

For cat owners, cat food is a hot topic. You need to think about it in different aspects. The best thing is to know which ingredients are good for cat food and which are harmful. If you are aware of this, you can get an idea about the quality of the cat food just by going through the label. It is always sensible to stick to one brand of cat food. However, you may also want to try and prepare cat food yourself. There are also various options for wet cat food as well. Cat’s love for fish is universal, so you can do without going for expensive cat food. Nevertheless, whether you buy it or prepare cat food at home, you need to ensure that the food contains enough nutrition and calories. You would need to have some idea about the ingredients that must be present in cat food and make a worthy selection for your cat. Basic ingredients present in good cat foods Cats need a variety of nutrients to stay healthy and active; they need various vitamins, minerals, fats, proteins, and oils. The following is a brief explanation of the basic ingredients that should be present in cat foods.