Risk factors
Knowing the risk factors involved in the onset of hepatitis C is extremely important because, if on the one hand it allows effective prevention, on the other it pushes individuals exposed to regular and early medical checks.
Major risk factors
- Having suffered blood or blood transfusions before 1992;
- having used needles or syringes already used for drug administration, but also drugs or anabolic steroids;
- have undergone dental, acupuncture, body piercing or body painting sessions in unclean rooms, managed by unqualified personnel;
Minor risk factors
- Having shared straws, banknotes or other instruments for snorting cocaine or other drugs;
- having worked in contact with infected patients (health personnel);
- be born of a mother carrying the disease;
- living with infected people, especially if you share razors, toothbrushes, tweezers and cutting tools;
- have or caused injury (blood-to-blood contact) during an unprotected sexual intercourse.
DO NOT transmit hepatitis C
- The common use of the toilet;
- the use of the same cutlery or glasses;
- cough, sneeze, kiss or hug;
- the pools;
- mosquito bites or other insects.
Diagnosis
If you fear having contracted hepatitis C, a simple blood test, aimed at finding specific anti-HCV antibodies, can dispel any doubt. If these suspicions are founded, further investigations on blood samples will evaluate whether the infection is still in progress, the amount of virus present in the blood and their genetic characteristics (6 types of HCV have been identified, with different genetic characteristics and different sensitivity to specific drugs).
The extent of liver injury can be assessed by transaminase blood assay (especially alanine aminotransferase or ALT).
Many of these tests are repeated over time, to assess the progression of the disease and the degree of response to medical treatment. In some cases, in order to better estimate the degree of hepatitis severity, a very small biopsy is required, aimed at collecting a part of liver tissue to be analyzed under microscopic examination.
How to avoid infection
Viral hepatitis C can be prevented by adopting correct behaviors such as:
- use a condom in case of sexual intercourse with occasional partners;
- avoid the exchange of used syringes;
- avoid the exchange of personal items such as toothbrush, scissors, razors, nail clippers, reusable syringes;
- in the case of tattoos, holes in the ears or in other parts of the body (piercing), or aesthetic or medical practices that involve the use of needles, make sure of the hygienic conditions of the rooms in which they are performed and demand the use of US needles and throws;
The procedure, performed under local anesthesia, provides the doctor with useful information on the causes, the extent of the damage and the best treatment available to resolve the disease.
The incubation duration of hepatitis C virus varies from 15 to 150 days, on average 50. The anti-HCV appears in the blood a few weeks after infection.
Prevention
There is no effective vaccine against hepatitis C; consequently, primary prophylaxis is based on the education of patients and on the reduction of risk factors. Those suffering from hepatitis C, in particular, should carefully cover any wounds, avoid sharing razors, scissors or toothbrushes, donate sperm or organs, and communicate their condition to family members, partners and health professionals who can get in touch with his blood.
