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How to Control Liver Damage With Hepatitis C

Hepatitis C, also known as HCV, is a virus that invades the liver. The virus itself exhibits no symptoms and can lie dormant for years before it harms the liver, often resulting in liver failure, cirrhosis (scarring of the liver) or cancer. It is normally caused by coming in contact with infected blood through a tainted blood transfusion or from sharing a needle during intravenous drug use. Here are some steps that can help control the resulting liver damage.

Things You'll Need

  • Appointment with a doctor or liver specialist
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Instructions

  1. Controlling Hepatitis C Liver Damage

    • 1

      If the liver damage is caught early or if it is regarded as being slight, your doctor may not recommend drug treatment, since the side effects could outweigh the possible improvements from medication. Instead, you would be monitored for signs of more serious liver disease.

    • 2

      If the diagnosis is more serious liver damage, you will likely be treated with a weekly injection of a drug called pegylated interferon, combined with oral doses of ribavirin. This combination treatment has been reported to be effective in 40 to 80 percent of hepatitis C patients with liver damage, achieving the goal of clearing HCV from the bloodstream.

    • 3

      If the above treatment proves ineffective in eliminating the HCV virus after 24 to 48 weeks, a second round of treatment will be administered.

    • 4

      A liver transplant may be required if drug treatment is unsuccessful. However, a transplant may not eliminate HCV from the body, so the possibility of the recurrence of liver disease would still exist. Also, the demand for healthy livers far exceeds the available supply, so there would likely be a long waiting period. There are new developments in liver transplantation, including the ability to split one donated liver among two recipients, improved organ allocation policies and the discovery that those receiving a transplanted liver that is HCV-positive often do just as well as those receiving a non-infected liver.

    • 5

      Immunize yourself against hepatitis A and B by getting vaccinated, because these forms of hepatitis can also cause liver damage and cause complications in the treatment of hepatitis C.

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