Hepatitis C

Most people who get this infection don't notice any symptoms when they are first infected. It can take years before you feel ill, with symptoms often not easily identified as being due to hepatitis C.

They can include mild flu-like symptoms, diarrhoea, feeling sick or very tired, itchy skin and stomach pain.

You may get jaundice, meaning your skin and the whites of your eyes turn yellow, your urine is dark and your faeces (poo) are pale.

Symptoms specific to hepatitis C include mental confusion and depression.

The hepatitis C virus is found in blood and is passed on when infected blood gets into another person’s blood stream. It is seen as unlikely (but not impossible) that it can be passed on in semen.

Most people get the virus from sharing drug injecting equipment such as needles, syringes, spoons, filters and swabs. Sharing things like straws and bank notes which are used for snorting drugs might pass the virus on.

In the UK piercing and tattooing should be safe but abroad unsterilised equipment can spread the virus.

Blood transfusions in the UK are safe as blood is screened.

Hepatitis C isn’t often passed on during sex between a man and a woman but is more likely during sex between men.

An infected person risks infecting others if they share anything that might have blood on it like toothbrushes or razors.

A pregnant woman with the virus can give it to her baby during childbirth.

Protect yourself and others

There is no vaccination against hepatitis C. The risk of infection is reduced by not sharing injecting drug equipment (eg, needles, syringes, swabs, spoons, filters) or things that may have blood on them such as toothbrushes and razors.

The risk of contact with blood during sex can be reduced by using condoms for anal and vaginal sex. If you have hepatitis C you shouldn’t give blood or be an organ donor.

If you are a ‘carrier’ you may want to tell a partner and explain you are infectious. They can then decide if they are happy to take any risk and want to take precautions. That way they cannot accuse you of infecting them without them knowing the risk was there.

What can I do if I think I have hepatitis C?

A doctor or sexual health clinic can test you to see if you have hepatitis C. If you do, treatment is available and you can discuss how to avoid infecting your sexual partners or people you live with.

Testing

It can take three to nine months before the blood test for hepatitis C will be able to detect signs of infection in your blood.

Treatment

If tests show you have had the virus for longer than two months you are a ‘carrier’ with chronic (long term) infection. Drug treatment is available and getting better but still only works for about half of people. Treatment can last for six months and involves tablets and injections into the stomach. Avoiding alcohol and recreational drugs is advised.

If you are cured of hepatitis C you are not immune, you can get it again. You can also still get other types of hepatitis, and having hepatitis C and another type is more serious.

Why get treated?

Hepatitis C can be fatal. A small number of ‘carriers’ go on to get liver disease, and a small number of those get liver cancer and will need a transplant. Although treatment has side effects, the sooner you start it, the less damage your liver will suffer. You will also have a better chance of getting rid of the virus, with less risk of infecting others.