"Affectionate killer" - this is the name given to hepatitis C by doctors. Mild symptoms and severe, almost fatal consequences make it possible to call such a complex disease such an ambiguous nickname.
How does this extremely dangerous virus work?
Hepatitis C has a viral nature. In appearance, the pathogen cell has a spherical shape with a shell and genetic information located inside. The genome consists of only 1 gene (RNA strand), which is encoded by 9 proteins. The simplicity of the structure contributes to the rapid penetration of the virus into the liver cells. The affected unit continues to function and does so in the interests of the viral cell.
Hepatocyte synthesizes viral proteins and RNA. The newly formed particles move to he althy areas, infecting them. Prolonged activity of virus-bearing cells leads to the death of liver tissues or to their degeneration, transforming into malignant cancerous tumors.
One of the features of hepatitis C is the ability to form "quasi-species" - modified particles. The virus genome containsareas where mutations occur frequently. As a result, it is difficult to make a diagnosis of hepatitis C. Symptoms and treatment are a rather difficult problem, because the first are not pronounced, and the second is determined by a purely individual specialist. At the same time, the liver is gradually destroyed, and viral cells continue to penetrate the tissues of other organs, causing concomitant diseases.
How do people get hepatitis C?
When a woman enters the body, the hepatitis C virus multiplies in the liver and circulates throughout the body with blood. But how does the pathogen enter the body? All routes of infection are somehow connected with blood, so all cases in which the blood of an infected person can connect with yours are dangerous. The largest number of cases of infection is associated with intravenous drug use. Often, one contaminated syringe shared by several people transmits the virus from one infected person to another. According to statistics, 80% of drug addicts develop chronic hepatitis C, and infection often occurs during the first injection.
Promiscuity is also a danger. With unprotected sexual contact, the probability of getting this disease (if your partner is a carrier of the virus) is 5-10%. However, the symptoms of hepatitis C in women do not appear immediately. When a child is born from an infected mother, the probability of transmitting the disease to the fetus does not exceed 5%.
Until recently, transfusionblood was dangerous due to the fact that it could be infected with hepatitis C. Since 1999, donor material began to be tested for the presence of antibodies to this disease. Currently, only 4% of cases can become infected in this way. Do not forget that danger can lie in wait in a number of absolutely harmless, at first glance, situations. For example, there is a significant risk of infection from going to the hairdresser, getting regular dental treatment, or undergoing surgery.
In cases where the process is associated with a violation of the integrity of the skin or mucous membranes, take an interest in how the devices are processed. It is also necessary to be vigilant when applying tattoos, piercings, performing manicures (pedicures). Infection can occur due to the use of undisinfected instruments, which can transmit infectious blood from previous visitors.
Because in 40 cases out of 100 it is not possible to establish a reliable cause of infection, it is recommended to avoid situations where your blood can combine with a particle of the blood of an infected person.
Hepatitis C symptoms in women
Now let's talk about how this disease manifests itself. If for some reason you have a question about what are the symptoms of hepatitis C, you should definitely consult a specialist. This disease is not characterized by specific manifestations. Hepatitis C differs significantly from other varieties of the virus.
Symptoms rarely appear in the firstweeks of illness, and yellowness of the skin is a rather rare occurrence. Often the patient experiences weakness, quickly gets tired and feels a breakdown. These are the main symptoms of hepatitis C. In women, in 35-65% of cases, a depressive state is observed. Rarely, with an acute course of the disease, joint pains, indigestion can occur, traditionally without a significant increase in temperature.
Similar symptoms of hepatitis C in women ambiguously indicate such a dangerous disease. In addition, quite often patients do not seek help in time, which leads to complications. Left unattended, the hepatitis virus can lead to cirrhosis or liver cancer. With an asymptomatic course of the disease, a person can absolutely accidentally learn about the disease at an early stage. Often this happens when you need to donate blood for analysis, or you are a donor. With a running variant, an increase in the volume of the abdomen is observed, spider veins, jaundice, unbearable weakness appear.
The first "swallows" of the disease
The first symptoms of hepatitis C in women can be confused with the flu. The onset of the disease is often not accompanied by intoxication and during the first 2 weeks proceeds with virtually no visible manifestations. Only in rare cases are itching of the skin, pain in the joints and muscles, dark urine, lack of appetite.
Common complaints from patients are:
- lethargy, apathy and physical weakness;
- decrease in mental activity;
- unpleasant pulling sensation in the righthypochondrium;
- complete lack of desire to drink liquids or food;
- every meal is uncomfortable.
Often hepatitis C (symptoms and treatment, as we have already stated, are determined very carefully and individually) is tolerated in a mild form, but about 10% can be prone to fulminant (rapid) forms of the disease, which can lead to death. In 80-90% of cases, the disease becomes chronic.
To detect the disease, it is necessary to perform a number of laboratory tests, among which the following are mandatory:
- blood test for ALA, ASAT, bilirubin;
- determination in the blood of anti-HCV (antibodies to the hepatitis C virus);
- blood test for PCR-HCV;
- Ultrasound and liver biopsy, which determine the severity of the disease;
- For patients with diabetes or hypertension, a fundus examination is essential to detect retinopathy.
In each case, when making a diagnosis of hepatitis C, the symptoms may vary. Therefore, the attending physician sometimes expands the list of research methods or reduces it, depending on the patient's condition or the equipment of the laboratory.
Clinical manifestations of the disease
Getting into the body through the skin or mucous membranes, microorganisms multiply and settle in the internal organs with the blood flow. They cause the greatest damage to liver cells. Invading them, the virus "replaces" he althy cells with affected ones. In addition, pathogenic cells can introduce their genetic code into human DNA, which allows them to hide for a long time and not fall under the influence of immune control. This factor is the main cause of the course of the disease in a chronic form. It also contributes to the development of a virus carrier in a patient, which, in turn, can lead to acute liver failure, the manifestation of liver cirrhosis and oncological tumors.
If we consider the process at the cellular level, the first symptoms of hepatitis C appear due to the destruction of the functionality of liver cells. When the integrity of the inner shells is damaged, oxidation processes predominate. "Holes" are formed in the tissues, thanks to which enzymes and K ions are removed from the cell, and sodium and calcium ions enter inside. The imbalance leads to the fact that the fluid is not excreted and causes the cell to swell. Clinically, the picture is manifested by an increase in the organ, necrosis (areas of dead cells) can be traced in the structure of the liver, bilirubin metabolism is disturbed, which is manifested by the development of jaundice.
Infection development phases
Specialists distinguish several phases of the course of the disease: acute, latent, reactivation and the process of recovery. However, it is possible to distinguish between an acute form and a chronic one, which includes the last three phases. Let us consider in more detail the disease "hepatitis", symptoms in women, photos of the affected organ.
Acute phase
If a patient is diagnosed with acute hepatitis C, the symptoms will be as follows:
- manifestation of acute hepatitis syndrome;
- increase in quantitytransamine;
- appearance of anti-HCV IgM and anti-HCV IgG to protein molecules in the absence of anti-HCV IgG;
- detection of HCV RNA in the patient's blood.
The acute phase lasts about 6 months.
Latent phase
This stage may occur before an exacerbation of hepatitis C occurs. Symptoms first appear after 6 months or earlier. At the same time:
- no clinical manifestations observed;
- slightly increased transamine levels;
- determined by anti-HCV I G in an amount of 1:160 and above;
- no anti-HCV IgM detected;
- HCV RNA can already be detected in the blood.
This phase usually lasts about 10 years.
Reactivation
The slowdown of the virus is accompanied by the following characteristics:
- residual indications of the acute phase;
- first signs of chronic hepatitis;
- increase in transamine;
- detection of anti-HCV IgM, anti-HCV IgG, RNA in blood;
This stage is determined for 5-10 years and turns into cirrhosis of the liver, may manifest as primary hepatocellular carcinoma.
Recovery
If the diagnosis of "hepatitis C" is determined, the symptoms, treatment, consequences are also studied and explained to the patient, you can proceed to the recovery stage. At this stage, there are criteria that determine the state of a person. These are:
- lack of clinical indicators;
- acceptable transamine level;
- detection of anti-HCV IgG and anti-HCVIgG in low titers and their gradual disappearance;
- lack of anti-HCV IgM and HCV RNA in blood.
Traditional treatment for hepatitis C
When diagnosed with hepatitis C, treatment is prescribed by an infectious disease specialist. Often the main activities of a specialist are:
- removal of inflammation in liver tissues;
- prevention of liver cirrhosis;
- decrease in the concentration of viral cells and their complete destruction.
The patient is treated with medicines - both expensive European drugs and more affordable domestic counterparts. It should be noted that along with therapy, it is necessary to adhere to a diet and completely eliminate the use of alcohol and tobacco products. Significant physical activity will also be superfluous. The patient should be at rest.
Traditional medicine in the fight against hepatitis C
Many take risks and resort to traditional medicine. For hepatitis C, women are advised to take these drugs:
- regularly (every 3 hours) drink 2 tablespoons of infusion from columns of corn stigmas, and once a day - a couple of tablespoons of fresh horseradish;
- every day drink a glass of sage broth on an empty stomach (possible with a spoonful of honey); two glasses of a decoction of buds or birch leaves (adding a pinch of baking soda); may alternate with 2 cups sage, wormwood herb and juniper berry decoction;
- It is recommended to prepare a decoction of St. John's wort, immortelle flowers and buckthorn bark and drink several times a dayglasses;
- drink mint tea as often as possible or just a decoction.
- Sauerkraut brine (you need to drink a few sips a day), garlic-lemon juice (no more than 6 tablespoons a day), potato juice (1.5 tablespoons a day), carrot, beet juice in a 1:1 ratio (2-3 cups a day), St. John's wort (once a day 2 tablespoons), dandelion juice (diluted in water 1:10).
For a speedy cleansing of the body, herbalists recommend doing enemas with a rich decoction of chamomile once every 3 days.
What are the ways to prevent hepatitis C?
To date, scientists have not found an effective vaccine against hepatitis C, so prevention methods are solely concerned with minimizing the risks associated with the possible penetration of the virus through the blood. In other words, you should reduce communication with people who are at risk: drug addicts, homosexuals. You should also be careful when dealing with people who have undergone surgery or blood transfusions. Particular attention should be paid to tools that are intended for reusable public use (dental, manicure, hairdressing supplies).
If there is a sick person in your family, you must also take special measures. It is necessary to allocate separate essentials (cutlery, toothbrush, machine tools, etc., which can get blood). If the skin is damaged, the wound should be treated. Treat all places that accidentally got the blood of a sick person. The patient and all family members should be regularly examined to prevent the development of the disease. Mandatory for prevention is vaccination against hepatitis A and B, since infection with several viruses is treated much more difficult.
From the national level, the reduction and control of hepatitis contributes to:
- raising the standard of living and culture of the population;
- exclusion of systemic negligence in the he althcare sector, introduction of a system of personal responsibility for erroneous medical actions;
- introduction of insurance medicine.
