How is hepatitis C treated?
Experts recommend that nearly everyone who has hepatitis C receive treatment. Talk with your doctor about whether you should get treatment.
Current treatments for hepatitis C almost always work. But they may cost a lot.
Being diagnosed with hepatitis C can change your life. You may need help and support to cope with the illness.
Treatment of short-term (acute) hepatitis C
Most people who have acute hepatitis C don't get treated, because they don't know that they have the virus.
If a person knows that he or she may have been exposed to the virus—such as a health care worker who is stuck by a needle—acute hepatitis C can be found early. Most people who are known to have an acute hepatitis C infection get treated with medicine. In these cases, treatment may help prevent long-term (chronic) infection. But there is still some debate over when to begin treatment and how long to treat acute hepatitis C.
Treatment of long-term (chronic) hepatitis C
Because they don't have symptoms, people may live with hepatitis C for years without knowing they have it. Most people who are diagnosed with hepatitis C already have a chronic infection.
Treatment with antiviral medicines can fight the viral infection and prevent serious liver problems like cirrhosis or liver cancer.
You will need to have routine blood tests to help your doctor know how well your liver is working.
Treatment of relapse or nonresponse
Sometimes you may need to take a different combination of medicines if your first round of treatment didn't work very well. If it wasn't done before, your doctor may do a test to find out which genotype caused the infection. This may help the doctor choose a medicine that is more likely to cure the infection.
Treatment if the condition gets worse
Severe liver damage caused by chronic hepatitis C usually takes 20 or more years to develop.
If the infection continues to get worse, it can cause your liver to stop working. This is a condition called end-stage liver failure. In this case, a liver transplant may be the only way to extend your life. But if you drink alcohol, share needles to inject drugs, or have severe depression or certain other mental illnesses, liver transplant may not be an option.
End-of-life issues
Most people with chronic hepatitis C will not die from the disease. But 1 to 5 out of 100 people with severe liver damage from chronic hepatitis C will die because of the virus. Even if a liver transplant is done as a last possible treatment, there can be complications that lead to death.
What to think about
There is no vaccine for hepatitis C. But there are vaccines for hepatitis A and hepatitis B. Your doctor may recommend that you have these vaccines to help protect you from more liver problems.
Researchers are working on other treatments, including gene therapy and medicines that help control the immune system.
Some people seek out complementary medicines or other ways to treat their hepatitis C. At this time, no complementary or alternative medicines have been proven to reduce symptoms or cure hepatitis C.
