| Are you experiencing jaundice, fatigue, dark urine, | | | | evidence of liver disease. |
| abdominal pain, loss of appetite, and nausea? If you | | | | The blood tests that will be conducted are anti-HCV, |
| experience all these, you can be suffering from | | | | qualitative tests to detect presence or absence of |
| hepatitis C, a disease of the liver, which is caused by | | | | virus, and quantitative tests to detect amount of |
| the hepatitis C virus or HCV. This disease is | | | | virus. These tests can determine if you have been |
| transmitted when the blood from an infected person | | | | infected with HCV. Your doctor can recommend you |
| enters the body of an uninfected person. It can be | | | | to undergo one or a combination of these tests. |
| spread through sharing needles. It can also be | | | | Since there is no vaccine to hepatitis C, prevention is |
| transmitted from an infected mother to her baby | | | | one of the best things that a person can do to avoid |
| during birth. The long-term effects of this disease | | | | the risk factors. You should never shoot drugs, or if |
| include chronic infection, chronic liver disease, and | | | | you can't stop, at least never share needles. Also do |
| death. | | | | not share personal care items that might have blood |
| Unlike other diseases, hepatitis C has no vaccine, but | | | | on them, like razors. If you are thinking about getting |
| there are blood tests that are available to check for | | | | a tattoo or ear piercing, you might as well think twice |
| this disease, especially if you were notified that you | | | | because there is risk of getting infected if the tools |
| received blood from an infected donor or if you have | | | | have someone else's blood on them. Keep all these |
| ever injected illegal drugs. You should also contact | | | | preventive measures in mind because prevention is |
| your medical provider for a blood test if you have | | | | always better than the non-existent cure. |
| ever been on long-term kidney dialysis or if you have | | | | |