hepatitis c

[nkmeet87]

Hi,

My husband have hepatitis c which is diagnosed by a blood test. And the ratio of this test is 26.1 Reactive. Please tell me what is the treatment for this and this is very serious problem and this is curable or not. I an very worried about him.  

[sparky43]

Drinking alcohol is NOT fine for him.   It is very dangerous.   Hepatitis C attacks the liver and so does alcohol.  Normally, the liver can handle alcohol in the body, but if it is under attack from Hepatitis C, you don't want to put his liver under any additional stress.

As far as precautions, avoid contact with his blood.  Don't share razors, toothbrushes, nail clippers, or anything else that could have your blood on it. Cover any open wounds or sores with bandages.

Hepatitis C can spread through sexual intercourse, but it's rare. And it's extremely rare among monogamous couples. In fact, the CDC considers the risk of sexual transmission between monogamous couples so low that it doesn't even recommend using condoms. Also, there's no evidence that hepatitis C is spread by oral sex.

[flyinlynn]

Just to add that does sound like an antibody test result. About 25% of people are able to beat hep c on their own without treatment. Once you have had contact with the hep c virus you will always test positive for antibodies but there is a chance he is not currently infected with hep c. The only way to know if he needs to be treated is the test already mentioned the HCV RNA by PCR it he does have a viral load on that test then yes he does have hep c and will need to be treated.

I was infected with hep c for 37 years and am now cured the new medicines are very effective and much better tolerated than the treatments that have been available up to just a couple of years ago.

Good luck to you both

[nkmeet87]

Thanks for the comment. Can you please tell me, drinking is fine for him or its very dangerous to him.

[flyinlynn]

Many will say that drinking alcohol while infected with hep c is akin to throwing gasoline on a fire as far as your liver is concerned. Drinking with hep c has a synergistic effect where the 2 working together can do more damage to the liver than either one on its own

[sparky43]

There are a number of new treatments for Hepatitis C which will cure it in most people, but unfortunately they can be very expensive.   Your first step would be to make an appointment with a Hepatologist (liver specialist doctor) for your husband and develop a plan for treating his infection.   Not sure what the 26.1 number is, but it sounds like it was the standard test that tests for antibodies that the immune system makes to fight the virus.   Your husband will want to get an HCV RNA PCR test which looks for the actual virus and will tell you how much of the virus is in his blood.  They will also want to run some liver function tests which will show if his liver has been damaged and to what extent.  Hepatitis C is a slow acting disease and people often live for decades with it before any serious damage is done.  And the liver is one of the few organs that can repair itself.   Seeing a specialist is the first step though.   Oh, and in the meantime, it is very important that your husband NOT consume any alcohol of any kind.  Drinking alcohol when you are Hep C positive is like pouring gasoline on a fire.

[nkmeet87]

Thanks for the comment. Can you please tell me what are the precautions which we have to take?