Hepatitis C Essay

Hepatitis C is an infectious disease caused by the hepatitis C virus (HCV) that primarily affects the liver. There are different types of hepatitis viruses, including hepatitis A, B, D, and E. Among the different viruses, hepatitis C is the most serious because it can be chronic and cause severe liver damage. During the initial infection people often have mild or no symptoms. Occasionally a fever, dark urine, abdominal pain, and yellow tinged skin is there. Early on chronic infection typically has no symptoms. Over many years however, it leads to liver disease and sometimes cirrhosis. A few cases, especially those with cirrhosis will develop complications such as liver failure, liver cancer etc. HCV is spread mainly by blood-to-blood contact associated with intravenous drug use, poorly sterilized medical equipment, needlestick injuries in healthcare, and transfusions. It may also be spread from an infected mother to her baby during birth. Getting a tattoo or piercing with unsterilized equipment also increases the risk of infection. Diagnosis is done by blood testing to look for either antibodies to the virus or its RNA. Testing is recommended in all people who
are at risk of having hepatitis C.
Hepatitis C affects both men and women. As a whole, the symptoms and complications of the disease are the same for both sexes. But the virus can affect women differently.

Symptoms of hepatitis C in women: Many women don’t have symptoms until the disease is in a later stage.
Women who have signs of the disease in the earliest stage may brush off symptoms or attribute them to other factors, such as anemia, depression, or menopause. Early symptoms of hepatitis C in women can include: fatigue, abdominal discomfort, muscle and joint pain, poor appetite.
Some hepatitis C infections are acute and the infection improves on its own without treatment within a few months. Acute infections are more common in women. Hepatitis C can also be chronic, in which infection doesn’t clear on its own, but rather progresses and damages the liver. Symptoms of chronic hepatitis include: bruising or bleeding, itchy skin, fluid retention in the stomach, swollen legs, unexplained weight loss, spider
veins.
Hepatitis C affects women and men differently. Women seem to be more protected against liver cirrhosis than men. Female hormone estrogen protects women from liver damage which makes them less susceptible to cirrhosis. If this is the case, the protective effect may diminish after menopause, when women’s bodies produce less estrogen. Out of those infected, about 85% will develop chronic Hepatitis C infection. The other 15% are lucky; their bodies get rid of the virus without medication. This phenomenon is known as spontaneous clearance. Sexual transmission of Hepatitis C is uncommon. Similar to HIV, Hepatitis C may be more efficiently transmitted through anal sex than through vaginal intercourse because of the greater risk of blood exposure. However, Hepatitis C is more likely to be sexually transmitted when a woman is having her menstrual period (from the menstruating woman to her partner) due to the presence of blood.
More people die annually with Hepatitis C than HIV, the virus that causes AIDS; but Hepatitis C education pales in comparison. Increased public health efforts have steadily improved Hepatitis C awareness, but most we still have a far way to go.