what is hepititis C? is this curable?

Answer 1

Hi ferocious

Here are some ideas to heal the condition.

Cause
The most common cause of hepatitis is a virus that can occur in five potential forms: A, B, C, D, or E. Other causes include excessive alcohol consumption, drug abuse (including pharmaceutical drugs, such as acetaminophen), overexposure to chemicals, and, sometimes, as a reaction to properly prescribed medications.

In recent years, hepatitis C has been on the increase. It is most frequently caused as a result of blood transfusions. Typically, people with hepatitis C are identified either because they have abnormal liver tests or because of a hepatitis C antibody test. A positive test does not necessarily mean serious liver disease, however. People with hepatitis C may have no liver disease, a mild form of chronic hepatitis, or a more serious form of hepatitis that may progress over a number of years to cirrhosis. The usual indications are a positive antibody test for the hepatitis C virus, abnormal liver tests for more than six to twelve months, and a liver biopsy that shows chronic active hepatitis. Approximately 20% of patients chronically infected with the hepatitis C virus will go on to develop cirrhosis.

Note: Infectious hepatitis can be easily spread two weeks before and one week after jaundice appears. The feces of people with hepatitis contain the virus. Therefore, very strict toilet hygiene and hand and cloth washing should be observed during this time.


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Natural Cures

Aromatherapy: Rosemary can help stimulate liver function.

Diet: Follow a diet low in protein and high in fresh vegetables to minimize stress on the liver. Also eat small meals throughout the day, and avoid foods such as refined sugars, alcohol, and caffeine, which cause stress on the liver, and be sure to drink plenty of filtered water. Drinking fresh lemon juice water every morning and evening followed by vegetable juice is also recommended to help liver function. Easily digested grains, such as millet, buckwheat, and quinoa, are also good food choices.

Enemas: Three warm enemas administered daily can help boost liver function.

Herbs: The liver-cell regenerative properties of herbs such as milk thistle and licorice can be helpful. Take 1/2 teaspoon of this mixture three times a day. Tumeric combined with milk thistle has also been shown to help alleviate the symptoms of hepatitis B.

Hydrotherapy: Hydrotherapy is the application of water, ice, steam and hot and cold temperatures to maintain and restore health. Treatments include full body immersion, steam baths, saunas, sitz baths, colonic irrigation and the application of hot and/or cold compresses. Hydrotherapy is effective for treating a wide range of conditions and can easily be used in the home as part of a self-care program. Many Naturopathic Physicians, Physical Therapists and Day Spas use Hydrotherapy as part of treatment. I suggest several at-home hydrotherapy treatments.

Juice Therapy: The following juice combinations can be helpful: beet, carrot, and wheat grass juice; or garlic, burdock, flax, and black currants.

Nutritional Supplementation: Supplement with vitamin C, beta carotene, liver glandulars, milk thistle extract, vitamin B complex, adrenal glandulars, lipotropic factors, pantothenic acid, free-form amino acids, betaine hydrochloric acid (HCL), multi-enzymes, and evening primrose oil.

Alternative Professional Care
If your symptoms persist despite the above measures, seek the help of a qualified health professional. The following professional care therapies have all been shown to be useful for treating hepatitis: Ayurveda, Acupuncture, Detoxification Therapy, Magnetic Field Therapy, Naturopathic Medicine, and Oxygen Therapy.

best of health to you

Answer 2

As you now know from the other responses, Hep C is a virus that affects the liver through our body's own immune response. There is a treatment that consists of pegylated interferon shots (one per week) plus daily ribavirin pills to stop the virus from replicating. The treatment is usually for one year or more depending on various factors like what genotype you have, and how quickly the viral load drops once treatment has begun. The treatment is a mild form of chemotherapy, and has some side effects that can be managed with a positive attitude, drinking lots of water, and additional medication if needed. I also encourage you to join a support group (in person); it's nice to talk with others who are going through the same issues, plus they can help you with suggestions for things that worked for them, what doctors are good and which ones to stay away from, and you can educate yourself about the illness, too.
The medical community has not used the "C" word (cure) in the past, but they are beginnning to as more and more people are having undetectable viral loads for years after stopping treatment. I am fortunate to be one of those that have been undetectable for the last 6 years since I've finished the treatment. I try to encourage people to at least try the meds, since there has been a lot of research on them and many people are clearing the virus and avoiding progressive liver damage. Best wishes to you.

Answer 3

Hep C is a viral infection of the liver. There is not cure however there are treatments. The treatment is a regimen of interferon injection 3 times a week and a anti viral medication take 2 times daily. The length of the treatment is usually 1 to 1 1/2 years. If successful it puts the disease into remission and reduces the viral load in the blood which is what damages the liver. Hope this helps.

Answer 4

Hepatitis C is a blood-borne, infectious, viral disease that is caused by a hepatotropic virus called Hepatitis C virus (HCV). The infection can cause liver inflammation that is often asymptomatic, but ensuing chronic hepatitis can result later in cirrhosis and liver cancer.

There is a very small chance of clearing the virus spontaneously (0.5 to 0.74% per year),and the majority of patients with chronic hepatitis C will not clear it without treatment.

Current treatment is a combination of (pegylated) interferon alpha and the antiviral drug ribavirin for a period of 24 or 48 weeks, depending on genotype. Indications for treatment include patients with proven hepatitis C virus infection and persistent abnormal liver function tests. Sustained cure rates (sustained viral response) of 75% or better occur in people with genotypes HCV 2 and 3 in 24 weeks of treatment, about 50% in those with genotype 1 with 48 weeks of treatment and 65% for those with genotype 4 in 48 weeks of treatment. About 80% of hepatitis C patients in the United States have genotype 1. Genotype 4 is more common in the Middle East and Africa. Should treatment with pegylated ribivirin-interferon not return a 2-log viral reduction or complete clearance of RNA (termed early virological response) after 12 weeks for genotype 1, the chance of treatment success is less than 1%. Early virological response is typically not tested for in non-genotype 1 patients, as the chances of attaining it are greater than 90%.

Treatment during the acute infection phase has much higher success rates (greater than 90%) with a shorter duration of treatment (but balance this against the 80% chance of spontaneous clearance without treatment).

For complete info check the link below.

That's My Best Answer!

Answer 5

No! HCV (hepatitis C virus) is not "curable", it can go into remission, like a cancer, but it is not curable. Actually survivor answered your question very well. I wouldn't jump in except for some misleading information that Alt Doc put in.
First of all, blood to blood contact is the only way that HCV is transmitted. He is confusing different types of hepatitis. It would seem that HCV would be easy to avoid, but there are always things that people don't think of.
Nearly 80% of Vietnam Vets picked up HCV. They picked it up during innoculations given during induction to protect them from other diseases common in Vietnam then. The old style injectors were new back then, but attitudes were old, most often the injectors were not cleaned after days of injections. Many picked up other diseases from the injectors also, but the government does not recognize HCV as a "battlefield related injury" so don't look there for much help.
Open cuts or punctures on your hands that contact blood from someone with HCV can get you infected. Sharing a toothbrush, a hairbrush, or comb can get you infected as it's often not noticable that a mosquito bite has been scratched open, etc. Bleeding gums can come from too stiff of bristles on a toothbrush. If a HCV carrier has used these items, and you use them without sterilization, you could pick up HCV.
Last time you got into a fight did you skin your knuckles? Was your opponent also bleeding? Play football? Quite likely to pick it up under those conditions.
Ever gone to a park for a cookout? Ever been stuck by a big old sliver on the underside of the picnic table there? You can only hope that none of the others who got stuck by it have HCV, or if they do, you better hope it happened more than a week ago.
Sex doesn't pass HCV, unless you are into rough sex with the likelyhood of blood spilling, or if you are into unprotected anal sex with your partner.
HCV moves slowly in most cases, often twenty years or more before symptoms appear. Treatment is as survivor stated, but new products are in the pipeline, we just don't have HIV, so they don't fast-track med's for us.
Alt Doc may honestly believe in his "medicinal herbs", etc. In response I want to point out that China has the most cases treated by alternative medicines as opposed to the current combo therapy. China also has the highest rate of death due to complications such as cancer and cirrohsis of the liver. This is rate, not quantity. Other nations may lose from 8% - 15% of HCV carriers due to complications, China more than doubles that. To date they have tests that show that milk thistle helps grow new liver cells, even in the presence of HCV, but not enough to really help. You'd overdose on it if that was the method of treatment you used. Still, a little help is better than none so most carriers I know use it.
There are all kinds of "Snake Oil" salesmen out there. They don't care how a substance affects you. Some of the worst have actually put liver toxic substances together in a concoction that will "Cure" you of HCV. Preying on people who only have a 15% chance of getting a liver transplant is vile. People grasp at straws and spend whatever money they have in hopes of living long enough to get a transplant. There is NO CURE!
I am not saying Alt Doc is like this. I am merely pointing out that there are predators out there that don't care. Sooner or later they'll be busted, or worse. They seem to forget the background of many of those they steal from.

Answer 6

I have Hep-C I caught it doing drugs ( Share Needles ) I personally don't know one person who has Hep-C that did not get it this way......and I know many that have it.........I am currently being treated for Hep-C with PEGINTRON and Rebetrol form the Sherring Pharmaceutical. Treatment for me is a min of one year. I have Geno type 1 which is the toughest to treat. I am going on 7 months.....with good results.

Answer 7

Enroll in an active artwork class, such as sculpture or perhaps ceramics.

Answer 8

Get hold of a plant for your office—watering it is going to make you more active.

Answer 9

Hepatitis C is a virus that can infect and damage the liver.
You can become infected with hepatitis C if you come into contact with the blood or, less commonly, body fluids of an infected person.
Hepatitis C can be treated with antiviral medicines designed to stop the virus from multiplying inside the body and prevent liver damage.
Two widely used antiviral medications are interferon and ribavirin.

To know more measures to improve liver you can see all information related to fatty liver diseases at:http://adola.net/go/fattyliver-bible/

Answer 10

cindy has it correct. i have along with my doctor in houston, texas have used the word 'cure' for three years now. i am post 5 years chemo and the virus has not returned. i have no virons detectable in my blood lab.

yes, depending on genotype, you can be cured!

Answer 11

Keep a tiny water glass, which you ought to refill often, instead of a big water bottle on your workspace.