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Gastroenterology
- Gastroenterology Introduction
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- Advice for people with Hepatitis C
Advice for People With Hepatitis C
People who are infected with hepatitis C need to take special precautions to prevent complications and to reduce the risk of spreading the disease to others. Here is what public-health officials recommend:
- Do not donate blood, semen or tissues.
- Avoid sharing razors, toothbrushes or other items that might be contaminated with blood.
- Avoid alcohol use. Abstinence is recommended to protect the liver from further damage.
- Sexual transmission is unlikely. Less than 5 percent of partners of infected people develop the disease. You may, however, choose to modify your behavior or use condoms or other barriers. Your sexual partner should be tested for hepatitis C.
- Get vaccinated against hepatitis A and B since infection with hepatitis C does not convey protection against other forms of hepatitis, which could compound liver damage.
- Visit your doctor every six to twelve months to check for symptoms and signs of liver disease. Lab tests should be performed to measure liver-enzyme levels and to look for evidence of active virus in the blood.
- Check with your doctor before taking any medications. Even some nonprescription drugs, such as acetaminophen, can harm the liver, particularly in those who already have liver damage.
- Don’t avoid normal social and work contact. Hugging, kissing, shaking hands, eating and preparing food are safe.
Options for Those Who Test Positive People who receive a "look-back" letter face several simple lab tests to determine if they have hepatitis C. If the results prove positive, people infected have a number of options. Here is what a panel of expert, convened by the National Institute of Health, concluded last year:
- Confirm a positive blood test with additional lab tests to rule out inaccurate results. Blood tests look for evidence of active virus and monitor liver-enzyme levels – one way to gauge how much viral activity is occurring in the liver.
- If results show normal levels of liver enzymes and no active virus in the blood, doctors may simply take a wait-and-see approach, testing the patient again in another six to twelve months. But if active virus is present or liver-enzyme levels are abnormal, many doctors recommend a liver biopsy. During the biopsy, a tiny amount of liver is removed by a needle and analyzed to grade the severity of the infection and to measure how much damage the liver has sustained.
- If the biopsy shows little damage, many doctors recommend simply monitoring the patient regularly with blood tests. But if there is extensive liver damage, treatment with alpha interferon may be prescribed.
Alpha interferon is the only medication approved for use in hepatitis C infections in the United States. But the drug is expensive and has many side effects. It is not advised for people who have normal liver-enzyme levels or those who have other health problems, such as rheumatoid arthritis, severe depression or other psychiatric disorders, nor is it recommended for people who are abusing alcohol or drugs, or those who have an immune system that is suppressed, such as someone who has had an organ transplant. The drug is given by injection three times a week.
During the interferon treatment, doctors regularly draw blood to test for virus levels and liver-enzymes levels. If neither has become normal within three months, then treatment is halted since it is unlikely to be effective.
If virus levels and liver-enzyme levels drop, the interferon treatment can be continued for 12 months. Enzyme testing is repeated at two-to-six-month intervals; tests for evidence of the virus are performed every six months. If there is no evidence of virus and if liver enzymes remain normal for six months, the chance for long-term recovery is excellent. Relapses have rarely been reported.
Hepatitis Resources
Center for the Disease Control and Prevention
Telephone: (888) 4HEPCDC, (888) 443-7232On the Internet:
http://www.cdc.gov/ncidod/diseases/hepatitisAmerican Liver Foundation
1425 Pompton Avenue, Cedar Grove. N.J. 07009-1000
Phone: (800) 513-9748Hepatitis Foundation International
30 Sunrise Terrace, Cedar Drove, N.J. 07009-1423
Phone: (800) 891-0707National Digestive Diseases Information Clearinghouse
2 Information Way, Bethesda, Md. 20892-3570
Phone: (301) 654-3810
FAX: (301) 907-8906
E-mail: nddic@aerie.com
Gastroenterology Introduction
Colorectal Cancer screening questionnaire
Colorectal cancer surveillance information
Advice for people with Hepatitis C