Not sure whether to get treatment?
There are many things to consider before starting on Hepatitis C
treatment. Your healthcare professional will have an in depth
discussion with you about when you may want to start treatment,
which treatment you will get; whilst also considering your life
circumstances and general health in making any final decision.
There are many benefits to Hepatitis C treatment. Hepatitis C is
a serious chronic condition which can damage your liver and in some
cases cause cirrhosis, liver cancer or death. Hepatitis C can also
cause or worsen other health problems.
Hepatitis C is also a very infectious disease which can be
passed on through blood to blood contact. It can live outside the
body for up to 6 weeks and even a tiny speck of blood can be
infectious.
Being treated for Hepatitis C means that you can clear the virus
from your system and that you will no longer be infected. Damage
that has been caused to your liver by the virus may be reversed
making you more healthy and reducing your chances of developing
other related health conditions. Once you have cleared the virus
from your system means you can no longer infect other people.
Treatment for Hepatitis C is improving all the time. Treatments
today are significantly more effective, shorter in duration, and
involve far fewer side effects than older treatment regimens.
Everyone is now able to be treated without having to take
interferon injections, which was often the key cause of
adverse side effects.
Considerations
Depending on how hepatitis C is affecting your body, and on
other factors including your genotype, the treatments you are
prescribed and how long for will vary. Rapid advances in hepatitis
C treatments have led to an array of drugs that can cure more than
90% of those infected.
Treatment usually lasts between 8 to 12 weeks although certain
genotypes may require 16 weeks of treatment. All oral combinations
of drugs are now prescribed for treatment. Side effects associated
with these drugs do occur, but are minimal. Fatigue and headache
are the most common side effects. Your healthcare professional will
discuss your general life circumstances with you before you come to
a decision on whether to start treatment. This will allow you to
make an informed decision on whether to begin treatment.
Whilst you are able to choose whether to begin Hepatitis C
treatment, in some cases you may have to begin treatment as soon as
possible if the virus has already caused moderate/severe liver
damage.