Hepatitis C does not spread through hugging, kissing, shared meals or coughing. It passes mainly through blood, so you can prevent it without avoiding patients.
Hepatitis C can become a chronic infection that over the years leads to cirrhosis or liver cancer. Even so, many people worry unnecessarily when a family member has the disease, simply because they are not sure how the virus spreads.
Contact that does not spread the disease
The hepatitis C virus is not passed on through everyday activities such as hugging, kissing, shaking hands or sitting close together. Coughing, sneezing, eating at the same table or sharing bowls, chopsticks and drinking glasses does not spread it either. Family members can therefore care for the person and eat with them as usual.
How hepatitis C is transmitted
The main route is contact with the blood of someone who carries the virus, for example when:
- Sharing needles, syringes or other injecting equipment, which is the most common way it spreads.
- Snorting drugs through shared straws.
- Getting tattoos, piercings or acupuncture with needles that have not been sterilized.
- Sharing razors, toothbrushes or other items that may have blood on them.
- Receiving a blood transfusion.
In addition, the disease can be passed on through sex with an infected person, and a pregnant mother who carries the virus can pass it to her baby.
Symptoms are often silent
Most infected people notice nothing unusual. When there are symptoms, they are usually tiredness, loss of appetite, nausea, muscle or joint pain and weight loss. The disease often lasts for many years and can cause liver fibrosis and cirrhosis. Even with cirrhosis, many people still have no symptoms; when signs do become clear, they may include fluid buildup in the abdomen (ascites), swollen legs, easy bruising or bleeding, shortness of breath, yellowing of the skin and confusion.
Treating hepatitis C today
Hepatitis C is a common cause of cirrhosis and liver cancer, but treatment today is safe and gives good results for most patients when they are followed up according to the proper treatment plan. So people with hepatitis C should be considered for treatment. The doctor will choose a combination of oral medicines suited to each person, and treatment usually lasts 12 to 24 weeks, depending on whether cirrhosis is present.
Things to keep in mind during treatment
- Take your medicine regularly and on time as prescribed by the doctor.
- Avoid beer, wine and all other alcoholic drinks.
- Tell the doctor about any other medicines or supplements you are taking to avoid interactions.
- Both partners need to use contraception throughout the treatment period.
Some medicines can cause tiredness, nausea or headaches, but these effects are mostly not serious.
Trusted clinic for hepatitis C in Ho Chi Minh City
With nearly 20 years of experience and a team of highly qualified doctors, Ky Hoa Medical Center is a familiar choice for many families in Ho Chi Minh City when they need care for hepatitis C. Here, our Internal Medicine doctors take time to listen, examine carefully and explain clearly so that you fully understand your condition, then agree together on a treatment and follow-up plan.
Laboratory tests is performed on site, so you can complete check-ups in one place, which makes follow-up visits easier.
The center operates under Operating License No. 00449/HCM-GPHĐ, with a list of medical techniques approved by the Ho Chi Minh City Department of Health (Decision 471/QĐ-SYT), and is a primary care facility contracted with Ho Chi Minh City Social Security, accepting health insurance (BHYT) visits on Saturdays as well. The practising certificates of our 24 doctors are published on our Doctors page.
If you may have been exposed to blood or want to know whether you have a hepatitis virus infection, you can come to Ky Hoa Medical Center for an Internal Medicine consultation: simply walk in during opening hours and take a queue number. The doctor will order suitable laboratory tests and advise on the next steps.
Ky Hoa Medical Center
Address: 266A - 268 3 Thang 2 Street, Hoa Hung Ward, Ho Chi Minh City
Opening hours: Monday to Saturday, 6:30 - 11:30 and 13:00 - 17:00 (closed on Sunday)
Hotline: 028.3868.1097
Source: Suc Khoe & Doi Song (Health & Life) newspaper