Although all types of viral hepatitis can cause similar symptoms, they are spread in different ways, have different treatments, and some are more serious than others. Hepatitis C is a liver disease caused by the hepatitis C virus. When someone is first infected with the hepatitis C virus, they can have a very mild illness with few or no symptoms or a serious condition requiring hospitalization. For reasons that are not known, less than half of people who get hepatitis C are able to clear, or get rid of, the virus without treatment in the first 6 months after infection.
Most people who get infected will develop a chronic, or lifelong, infection. Left untreated, chronic hepatitis C can cause serious health problems including liver disease, liver failure, liver cancer, and even death.
The hepatitis C virus is usually spread when someone comes into contact with blood from an infected person. This can happen through:. Many people with hepatitis C do not have symptoms and do not know they are infected. If symptoms occur, they can include: yellow skin or eyes, not wanting to eat, upset stomach, throwing up, stomach pain, fever, dark urine, light-colored stool, joint pain, and feeling tired.
If symptoms occur with a new infection, they usually appear within 2 to 12 weeks, but can take up to 6 months to develop. People with chronic hepatitis C can live for years without symptoms or feeling sick. When symptoms appear with chronic hepatitis C, they often are a sign of advanced liver disease. A blood test called a hepatitis C antibody test can tell if you have been infected with the hepatitis C virus—either recently or in the past.
If you have a positive antibody test, another blood test is needed to tell if you are still infected or if you were infected in the past and cleared the virus on your own. Getting tested for hepatitis C is important to find out if you are infected and get lifesaving treatment. Treatments are available that can cure most people with hepatitis C in 8 to 12 weeks.
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Facebook Twitter LinkedIn Syndicate. Hepatitis C Testing. Minus Related Pages. What to Expect When Getting Tested. All adults, pregnant women, and people with risk factors should get tested for hepatitis C.
Getting tested for hepatitis C A blood test, called an HCV antibody test, is used to find out if someone has ever been infected with the hepatitis C virus.
What does a non-reactive HCV antibody test result mean? What does a reactive HCV antibody test result mean? Positive — you now have the virus in your blood. Hepatitis A. Hepatitis B.
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