How Can I Protect Against Hepatitis C?

Many people ask questions about tattoos and sterilization and how do they know when they are actually being safe from dirty needles and disease?  This topic is going to be about a very serious, and growing disease called Hepatitis C.  If you are thinking of getting a tattoo from an unknown artist and do not have proof of sterilization in his office.....beware of what you may be doing to your body. 

Hepatitis C is not a disease that you primarily catch from tattoos, but it is one of the many risk factors.  Hep C is a blood born illness that affects the liver silently for many years before anyone will even know it has been lurking in their system for a very long length of time.  It does not usually have any symptoms that are noticeable enough to cause concern enough to go and get tested.  Usually, it is passed from blood to blood contact.  Anything containing blood can pass it to another body.  The biggest risks are:  Intravenous drug use, sharing cocaine straws( because the nose can bleed while snorting cocaine), surgery and blood transfusions, sex even though it is very rare but can transmit if blood is exchanged, and sharing razors can all be dangerous risks of contracting this illness. 

Once one is diagnosed with the Hep C virus, they will be tested for what type they have.  There are a few different strains of it.  Some are harder to treat than others because they attack more aggressively and need serious therapy and prompt treatment.  They go back as far as Viet Nam!  Most people who find out they have it, have been infected for over 20 years!  The most common treatment is  a drug called "Interferon."  it is a type of chemotherapy that that will be prescribed for either six months to a year.  It is a drug that is taken intravenously every other day and can cause painful side effects.  It can cause severe nausea, weakness, head aches, tremor, and fatigue.  It is not a walk in the park for most, but some are able to feel remarkably well while on it.  There is also a supplemental drug called Riboviron that is taken with it as well.  It is an antiviral and it usually doesn't cause as many side effects except for possible anemia.  You will be monitored throughout treatment for blood abnormalities to prevent anything like that from happening.  Every so often you will be tested for what is called a Viral Load.  That indicates how much of the disease is active at the time.  it gives the doctor an idea of how well the treatment is is working on your virus and how much longer to continue the Interferon.  If the viral load goes down enough by the end of treatment, you are considered to be in "remission" but will still need to be checked every few months for reactivation of Hep C.  Once there is no activity after all the post treatment visits.....you are considered cured in a sense.  You should always get checked every year just to be safe.