Hepatitis C is a virus that can infect the liver. You can become infected with it if you come into contact with the blood of an infected person (blood-to-blood contact).
There is a cure for hepatitis C. Nearly all people with hepatitis C can be cured and treatment is free.
Without treatment, hepatitis C can damage the liver over many years.
Symptoms of hepatitis C
Many people who are infected with hepatitis C do not know it. Hepatitis C often does not have any obvious symptoms until the liver is very damaged.
The only way to know that you have hepatitis C is to get tested.
Hepatitis C can cause symptoms that are also common in other conditions, such as:
- flu-like symptoms
- feeling tired all the time
- loss of appetite
- stomach ache
- nausea (feeling sick)
- vomiting (getting sick)
Non-urgent advice: Contact your GP if:
- you have any of these symptoms that do not go away
Some people with hepatitis C can also develop jaundice. Jaundice is when your skin or the whites of your eyes turn yellow.
Urgent advice: Ask your GP for an urgent appointment if:
- your skin or the white part of your eyes looks yellow
If your GP is not available, contact a GP out of hours or go to your nearest emergency department (ED).
How hepatitis C is spread
The hepatitis C virus is usually spread through blood-to-blood contact.
Some ways the infection can be spread include:
- sharing unsterilised needles
- sharing razors or toothbrushes
- during pregnancy - from mother to baby in the womb
- through unprotected sex - but this is very rare
In Ireland, most hepatitis C infections happen in people who inject or injected drugs in the past.
Blood and organ donations before October 1991
Hepatitis C was discovered in 1989. Since October 1991, all blood donated in Ireland is checked for the hepatitis C virus. Since 1992, all organ donations are tested for hepatitis C.
There's a small chance you may have been infected with hepatitis C if you had:
- a blood transfusion or blood products before October 1991
- an organ transplant before 1992
Getting tested for hepatitis C
To get a hepatitis C test, you can:
- order a free hepatitis C test to do at home
- ask your GP
- use a testing service at a sexual health clinic
Treatment for hepatitis C
Hepatitis C can be treated with medicines that stop the virus multiplying inside the body.
Treatment is usually taking direct-acting antiviral (DAA) tablets for 8 to 12 weeks. Using these medicines, more than 95% of people with hepatitis C may be cured.
Treatment does not make you immune to hepatitis C. But there are things you can do to reduce your risk of becoming infected again.
Complications of hepatitis C
If the infection is left untreated for many years, some people with hepatitis C will develop scarring of the liver (cirrhosis).
Over time, this can cause the liver to stop working properly.
In severe cases, life-threatening problems can eventually develop, such as:
- cirrhosis
- liver failure, where the liver loses most or all of its functions
- liver cancer
Treating hepatitis C as early as possible can help reduce the risk of these problems happening.
Preventing hepatitis C
There's no vaccine for hepatitis C. But there are ways to reduce your risk of becoming infected.
To protect yourself from hepatitis C:
Don't
-
do not share any drug-injecting equipment with other people - this includes needles, pipes, syringes, spoons and filters
-
do not share razors or toothbrushes that might be contaminated with blood
The risk of getting hepatitis C through sex is very low. But it may be higher if blood is present. For example, period blood or minor bleeding during anal sex.
It's important to use condoms with every new partner.
Content supplied by the NHS and adapted for Ireland by the HSE