Hepatitis C

Hepatitis C is a liver infection that spreads through blood. It can be cured with treatment. But if it's left untreated, it can sometimes cause serious and even life-threatening damage to the liver over many years.

Many people with hepatitis C have no symptoms at all until the liver has been badly damaged. So a lot of people carry the infection without knowing it.

Most people won't notice any symptoms during the first 6 months of a hepatitis C infection. This early stage is called acute hepatitis C.

When symptoms do appear, they usually start a few weeks after the infection.

Early symptoms may include:

• a high temperature (fever) of 38°C (100.4°F) or above
• tiredness
• loss of appetite
• abdominal pain
• feeling and being sick
• yellowing of the skin and eyes (jaundice)

Symptoms of chronic hepatitis C can differ from one person to another. They may also disappear for long periods and then come back.

Later symptoms may include:

• feeling tired all the time
• joint and muscle aches and pain
• feeling sick
• brain fog, including problems with memory, concentration and mental tasks such as arithmetic
• mood swings
• depression or anxiety
• indigestion or bloating
• itchy skin
• abdominal pain

• you have symptoms of hepatitis C
• there's a risk you're infected with hepatitis C, even if you don't have symptoms

The only way to know for certain if these symptoms are caused by hepatitis C is to get tested.

Treatment for hepatitis C takes 8 to 12 weeks, and it usually cures the infection. But having been cured doesn't make you immune, so you should take steps to lower your risk of catching hepatitis C again.

If the infection is found early (this is called acute hepatitis), you may not need treatment straight away. Your doctor may instead repeat the blood test after a few months, to see whether your body has cleared the virus on its own.

If the infection carries on for several months (chronic hepatitis), treatment will usually be recommended.

Before you start treatment for hepatitis C, there are things you can do yourself to stop liver damage and to stop the infection spreading to other people.

• eat a healthy and balanced diet
• exercise regularly
• speak to your doctor if you're thinking of having a baby

• avoid alcohol completely
• stay away from smoking
• never share toothbrushes, razors, needles or other injecting equipment with other people

You can catch hepatitis C if you come into contact with the blood of someone who has the infection. It can spread in several ways:

• injecting drugs and sharing needles and other drug equipment, such as spoons and filters
• sharing toothbrushes, razors or scissors that have infected blood on them
• from a pregnant woman to her unborn baby
• having sex with an infected person without using a condom (if your partner has hepatitis C, you should be tested)
• having a tattoo, body piercing, or medical or dental treatment with unsterilised equipment
• if you had a blood transfusion in Scotland before 1996, you may have been exposed to hepatitis C. All donor blood in Scotland has been screened for hepatitis C since September 1991. Even so, there is an extremely small possibility that some infections occurred from blood transfusions after universal screening was introduced but before a reporting system for transfusion risks began in 1996

There's no vaccine for hepatitis C, but you can do some things to lower your risk of becoming infected.

• use condoms when having anal sex, or sex with a new partner
• get vaccinated against hepatitis A and hepatitis B
• if you inject drugs, use a fresh safe injecting kit every time you inject

• do not share any drug-injecting equipment, including needles, syringes, spoons and filters
• do not share razors or toothbrushes

The risk of getting hepatitis C through vaginal sex is very low. It may be higher if blood is present, such as period (menstrual) blood or from bleeding during anal sex.

If hepatitis C is left untreated for many years, it can damage the liver (cirrhosis). In severe cases, life-threatening problems such as liver failure or liver cancer can eventually develop.

Treating hepatitis C early prevents these serious complications, while treating it later reduces the risk.

Hepatitis C is more common in people living with HIV. If you've been diagnosed with hepatitis C, you should be offered an HIV test. If you haven't been offered one, you can:

• speak to your doctor about getting tested for HIV

Testing for HIV when you have hepatitis C can help with early diagnosis, treatment and preventing passing it on.