Hepatitis C

What hepatitis C is

Hepatitis C is a virus that infects the liver. It spreads mainly through blood. It does not spread through casual contact such as hugging, sharing food, or coughing.

The virus can stay for years without symptoms. Ongoing infection can scar the liver. Advanced scarring is called cirrhosis.

There is no vaccine for hepatitis C.

Symptoms and complications

Many people feel nothing for years. When changes do appear, a person may notice:

• Tiredness
• Nausea or poor appetite
• A dull ache under the right ribs
• Dark urine
• Yellow skin or eyes
• Swelling of the belly or legs
• Confusion or unusual sleepiness

Yellow skin, swelling, and confusion are more often signs of advanced scarring. Vomiting blood, or black stools, needs emergency care. If you have urgent symptoms, call 911 or go to an emergency department.

Diagnosis and tests

A first blood test can show past contact with the virus. A second test shows whether the virus is still there. Further blood tests show how much virus is present.

Ultrasound and stiffness tests estimate scarring. If scarring is already advanced, imaging may continue after the virus is cleared.

Your family doctor arranges imaging. A clinician reads the tests together, and no single result sets a treatment plan on its own.

Treatment and management

Direct-acting antiviral tablets, usually taken for 8 to 12 weeks, clear the virus for most people who complete treatment. This page does not name a drug or a dose.

After the virus is cleared, the clinic may still follow the liver if scarring was already present.

Alcohol can injure the liver further. Ask the clinician how much, if any, is reasonable.