{"id":7211,"date":"2019-07-09T13:09:21","date_gmt":"2019-07-09T13:09:21","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/preferhome.com\/living-with-chronic-hepatitis\/"},"modified":"2019-07-09T13:09:21","modified_gmt":"2019-07-09T13:09:21","slug":"living-with-chronic-hepatitis","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/preferhome.com\/locations\/blog\/living-with-chronic-hepatitis\/","title":{"rendered":"Living with Chronic Hepatitis"},"content":{"rendered":"

In a few shorts weeks on July 28th, we recognize <\/span>World Hepatitis Day<\/span><\/i>, set aside to raise awareness about the millions of individuals living with chronic hepatitis, many of whom never know they even have the disease.\u00a0 In the United States, Hepatitis C is an important cause of chronic hepatitis. In fact, it is the most common reason an individual would need to undergo a liver transplant.\u00a0 Let\u2019s take a few minutes to better understand this disease and why it is also important for many seniors.<\/span><\/p>\n

What is Hepatitis C and how does infection occur?<\/b><\/h3>\n

Hepatitis C (HCV) is a virus that causes infection, inflammation, and damage to the liver.\u00a0 It is considered a blood-borne infection, meaning that transmission can occur with exposure to blood products or body fluids that may contain blood.\u00a0 Before the early 1990\u2019s when widespread testing became available, some individuals contracted HCV from blood transfusions or organ transplants. Today, the most common means of transmission is via injection drug use. The virus can also be contracted at childbirth if the mother is HCV positive.<\/span><\/p>\n

What makes Hepatitis C so dangerous is that only 20-30% of individuals will experience acute symptoms such as fever, nausea\/vomiting, jaundice, etc. This means that approximately 70% of individuals with HCV won\u2019t even know that they are infected unless they undergoing testing.\u00a0\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

When hepatitis C goes untreated for years, this causes progressive inflammation and can lead to permanent liver injury, and can increase the risk of liver cancer.\u00a0 This progression of disease is what makes hepatitis C the number one reason for liver transplant.<\/span><\/p>\n

Who should get tested?<\/b><\/h3>\n

Approximately 2.4 million individuals in the US are living with chronic Hepatitis C infection.\u00a0 For reasons that are not entirely known, approximately 75% of these individuals were born between 1945-1965.\u00a0 For this reason, the Center for Disease Control and Prevention, as well as other organizations, recommend that everyone born during this time period receive a screening test for HCV.<\/span><\/p>\n

Additionally, testing is recommended for anyone who received a blood transfusion or organ transplant prior to 1992, anyone who is on hemodialysis, or anyone born to a mother with HCV infection.\u00a0 Any current or former injection drug users, even if it was only one time in the distant past, should also get tested for HCV infection.<\/span><\/p>\n

Again, it is important to remember that chronic hepatitis C infection can be asymptomatic.\u00a0 Thus, it is important to detect the disease in at risk individuals so that treatment can be given before permanent liver damage occurs.<\/span><\/p>\n

What happens if I am diagnosed with Hepatitis C?<\/b><\/h3>\n

For anyone newly diagnosed with hepatitis C virus, it is essential to see a physician who is up to date on the most recent treatment guidelines.\u00a0 Significant medical breakthroughs have occurred in the last decade that makes a cure possible for up to 90% of persons with chronic HCV infection.\u00a0 In many cases, oral medications taken for 8-12 weeks may be all that is needed. While these medications still have some side effects, they are much better tolerated than the older medications that were formerly used to treat HCV before 2011. \u00a0 Additional diagnostic tests may also be needed to evaluate the degree of liver damage that has been caused by the virus. These may include blood tests and imaging tests. Your physician will be able to track the level of the virus over time until it is undetectable.<\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

In a few shorts weeks on July 28th, we recognize World Hepatitis Day, set aside to raise awareness about the Learn More<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":42,"featured_media":4230,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-7211","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-uncategorized"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\nLiving with Chronic Hepatitis - Preferred Care at Home<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"noindex, follow\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Living with Chronic Hepatitis\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"In a few shorts weeks on July 28th, we recognize World Hepatitis Day, set aside to raise awareness about the Learn More\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/preferhome.com\/locations\/blog\/living-with-chronic-hepatitis\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Preferred Care at Home\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2019-07-09T13:09:21+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/preferhome.com\/locations\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/09\/hepititisC_PCAH_Blog.jpg\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"1000\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"750\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/jpeg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"R. 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