Hepatitis C
Definition:
Hepatitis C is an inflammation of the liver caused by infection with the hepatitis C virus. Risk factors conclude blood transfusion, blood products, renal transplantation, intravenous injecting drug use, sexual transmission and maternal-fetal transmission etc. Its clinical features are familiar with hepatitis B. The harmfulness in hepatitis C is awful than hepatitis B and is the most prevalent liver disease in the world. Most patients with hepatitis C may develop cirrhosis and liver cancer.
Infection routes:
1. Spreading via blood. Blood transfusion and blood products uses are the main risk factor of hepatitis C. The infection rate after transfusion relates to blood donors’ HCV carrier status. The high risk crowd in HCV infection include, blood-exposed patients like haemophile, gynecologists, obstetricians, patients treated by surgery, thoracic surgery cardiopulmonary bypass patients, renal transplantation hemodialysis patients, tumor patients, and intravenous drug users and so on.
2. Unsafe sex with an infected person or with several partners.
3. Mother to infant transmission. An infected mother can transmit the virus to the baby during delivery or shortly thereafter.
4. Daily contact. Although blood transfusion is the main spreading way, 15% to 30% patients with sporadic hepatitis C have no histories of blood infection or intestinal infection. Hepatitis C patients’ blood, semen, vagina secretionor, breast milk, and other body fluid may have HCV. So sexual and daily contact may have a low rate in spreading HCV.
Clinical features:
Most people with hepatitis C have no symptoms. Hepatitis C is often detected during blood tests for a routine physical or other medical procedure. If the infection has been present for many years, the liver may be permanently scarred -- a condition called cirrhosis. In many cases, there may be no symptoms of the disease until cirrhosis has developed. These symptoms could occur with hepatitis C infection, jaundice, abdominal pain (right upper abdomen), fatigue, loss of appetite, nausea, vomiting, low-grade fever, pale or clay-colored stools, dark urine, generalized itching, ascites and bleeding varices (dilated veins in the esophagus).
1. Delitescence is about 2 to 26 weeks, average is 7.4 weeks.
2. Patients with hepatitis C have better clinical conditions than those with hepatitis B. It is often the type of subclinical anicteric hepatitis C with a lower transaminase peak value. The features are difficult to perceive.
3. Single aminotransferase is increased, and it remains for a long time or fluctuates repeatly.
4. The state of short latent hepatitis C is serious. Its symptoms are obvious and often with jaundice. Less of them will develop chronic hepatitis. While the long latent hepatitis C and mild hepatitis C or anicteric hepatitis C is easier to be chronic disease.
5. The chronicity of hepatitis C is easier than that of hepatitis B. According to observation and investigation, at least 80% of patients with acute hepatitis C ultimately develop chronic liver infection, and 25% develop cirrhosis. 25% of patients may develop liver cancer.
Can hepatitis B and hepatitis C occur simultaneously？
Transmission route of hepatitis C is familiar with that of hepatitis B. So, a person can be suffered the two hepatitis diseases at the same time. According to some relevant reports, the rate of superinfection of hepatitis B and hepatitis C can reach to 25%. In most areas, HCV antibody has been inspected in blood serum of patients with chronic hepatitis B, so this is a powerful evidence for the coinfection of hepatitis B and hepatitis C. When patients with hepatitis B take the injection, blood or blood products without virus antibody check, he/she may easier suffer hepatitis C. Patients with hepatitis B are too weak to control HCV copy in body, and this will be another important reason of superinfection.
If somebody suffered hepatitis B and hepatitis C at a same time, it must get a severe liver damage. Half of the patients with severe chronic hepatitis B simultaneity have hepatitis B and hepatitis C. So chronic hepatitis B patients must pay more attention on hepatitis C.
Diagnosis：
HCV infections are not just the patients with hepatitis C. The viruse carriers with no symptoms are often having no obvious liver damages. The diagnosis standards have two aspects, one is whether the HCV marker is positive or not, the other is whether liver is damaged or not and if get damaged, how the severity degree of damage. HCV markers conclude serum anti-HCV and HCV RNA. Checks on liver damages conclude liver function, B- ultrasound and liver tissue pathology. Hepatitis C can be considered as HCV marker coexists with liver function damage index. The person who only have HCV marker and without the evident of liver damages can be called no symptoms HCV carrier. Completely know the status, prognosis of liver damage are very important for curing hepatitis C.
Treatments:
Current medical treatment for HCV is so limited.
Some patients with hepatitis C benefit from treatment with interferon alpha or a combination of interferon alpha and ribavirin. Interferon alpha is given by injection just under the skin and has a number of side effects, including flu-like symptoms, headaches, fever, fatigue, loss of appetite, nausea, vomiting, depression, and thinning of hair. Treatment with interferon alpha may also interfere with the production of white blood cells and platelets. Ribavirin is a capsule taken twice daily, and the major side effect is severe anemia (low red blood cells). Ribavirin also causes birth defects. Women should therefore avoid pregnancy during and for 6 months following treatment.
There are also natural approaches for dealing with HCV. The credible ones focus on protecting and supporting the liver and keeping the immune system healthy. There is some proof that you can use natural means to help you live a long and relatively healthy life with this virus and die of some other cause (preferably old age).
Recently, a version of interferon alpha with a longer half-life (pegylated interferon alpha) was introduced, and the longer half-life means the injections are taken weekly instead of the three times a week with standard interferon alpha. Pegylated interferon alpha and ribavirin lead to a sustained response in approximately 50% of patients.
People with hepatitis C should also be careful of taking vitamins, nutritional supplements, or new over-the-counter medications without first discussing it with a doctor. People with hepatitis C should avoid any substances toxic to the liver (hepatotoxic), including alcohol. Even moderate amounts of alcohol speed up the progression of hepatitis C, and alcohol reduces the effectiveness of treatment. Patients also suffer Fe excretive disorder and more Fe accumulation in body is harmful for health, so patients with hepatitis C must take the foods of high Fe content less or not. Patients should insist a reasonable diet structure by vegetable, fruits, bean products and fish primarily and build up a reasonable diet system in order to release liver’s burden.
In recent years, traditional Chinese medicine (TCM) preparation plays an important and special role in liver disease curing. Preparations like YHK and DTS are all have effects on protecting liver, reducing enzyme and receding jaundice. TCM preparations also make breakthrough in anti-hepatic fibrosis activity. It is evidenced that many TCM preparations have efficacy on inhibiting anti-hepatic fibrosis proliferation, debasing fibre cell viability, reducing portal hyension and improving microcirculatory in liver. Use these preparations in a right way can increase therapeutic effects and restrain side effects of anti-virus drugs.
Preventions:
Hepatitis C is not a digestive tract infection disease. Hepatitis B can not be cured radically, while 70% of patients with hepatitis C can be fully cured with earlier discovering and treatment. In accordance to investigation, incident number of hepatitis C is raising annually. There are just 5% to 10% of patients with hepatitis B may develop chronic hepatitis B, while 50% to 85% patients with hepatitis C who suffered chronic hepatitis C finally. In the group of liver transplant, almost 25% have hepatitis C and just 10% of them can take surgery for the short supply of donators. So it is important to pay more attention on prevention.
Hepatitis C has no obvious clinic features. A lot of patients know they have got hepatitis C until develop liver cirrhosis or even cancer, and it is too late. Currently there is no vaccine for hepatitis C. Person should avoid contact with blood or blood products whenever possible. Health care workers should practice universal precautions when handling blood and bodily fluids. Regular physical examination is very important for early finding, prevention and treatment.
Points for attention:
1. Put away anything that stained by the infected blood and using private commodities like, toothbrush and razor. Throw away the things contaminated by the menstrual flow after dipping in disinfector for two hours. Sexual transmission is low among stable, monogamous couples and using condoms while sex. Individuals having sex outside of a monogamous relationship should practice safer sex behaviors to avoid hepatitis C as well as sexually transmitted diseases, including HIV and hepatitis B.
2. To avoid contacting with blood or blood products whenever possible. Health care workers should practice universal precautions when handling blood and bodily fluids.
3. Give up drinking alcohol, because even a little intaking will worsen the disease.
4. Do not inject drugs of abuse, and especially do not share needles with anyone. Be cautious when getting tattoos and body piercing.
5. Choose the drugs that are no harm for liver while you have disease.
6. Do not eat foods with pigment and overfull preservative. Do not have mouldy foods and spoiled ginger.
7. More intaking of proteins and vitamins.
Hepatitis C VS YHK:
In all data that represent liver function status, the most important one is GPT（ALT）, which is a kind of ferment in liver cells. In the case of hepatitis, liver cells are constantly destroyed. Then the ferment comes into blood. We can know the degree of patients’ liver function directly, according to the value change of the ferment.
YHK can reduce the value of GPT（ALT）speedily, normally about 10 days. The great reduction of value of GPT will effectively control the damage of hepatitis virus to liver cell. If the hepatitis patients can keep liver function normal for long time, the disease can hardly develop into liver cirrhosis and liver cancer.
In addition, YHK can also reduce the value of GOT（AST）, another data that also represents the liver function status. It is an important proof to know the liver disease. But the GOT（AST）exists not only in liver, but also in heart and muscles. Compared to it, we pay more attention on GPT（ALT）. Speed of YHK reducing value of GOT（AST）is a little slower than GPT（ALT）. For most of patients, value of GOT（AST）can be reduced to about 60 in 20 days after taking YHK.
The number of platelets in the blood will increase after patients taking YHK. The decrease of platelets appears with fibrosis of liver cells.
