What does Hep C do?

How will it affect my body, are there symptoms?

Hepatitis C mainly affects the liver. Indeed, the word 'hepatitis' means inflammation, or swelling of the liver. When a liver becomes inflamed, it can become damaged and eventually have difficulty carrying out its various and vital functions. Over a long period of time, this can progress to serious liver damage (such as cirrhosis and decompensated cirrhosis) or liver cancer in some people.

Symptoms

Hepatitis C affects everybody differently. Many people don't have any symptoms at all for the first 10-15 years, some for as many as 30 years. Others feel tired, depressed and have muscular and joint aches. Digestive, skin and memory problems have also been reported as well as symptoms relating to the eyes and the thyroid.

Symptoms are not related to how badly damaged the liver is. In other words, you can't tell the state of your liver by the state of your health.