WARNING!! LIVER TOXIC HERBS TO AVOID INCLUDE
Plants of the Senecio, Crotalaria & Heliotopium families, chaparral, mistletoe, senna, gordolobo yerba tea, germander, skullcap, margosa oil, peppermint, valerian, hops, gentian, groundsel, asfetida, mate tea, saddafras, comfrey, Jin Bu Huan, pennyroyal oil
SUGGESTED FOODS/ BEVERAGES TO AVOID
Coffee, processed foods - canned or frozen, chocolate, foods with high fat/salt/sugar content, scavenger fish or shellfish - especially raw fish such as oysters & sushi if you are not immune to hepatitis A
Read all labels to acquaint yourself with ingredients. Do not undertake any unconventional diets unless you consult with a medical practitioner.
Vitamins A well balanced diet should contain all the essential vitamins needed. Some individuals also take vitamin supplements. However, mega vitamin intake could be harmful. Vitamin A & D supplements are to be avoided, in fact, Vitamin A is very liver toxic. Also avoid extra iron unless recommended by a doctor.
HEPATITIS C IS SPREAD BY
· Sharing personal care items such as razors, toothbrushes, fingernail files/clippers, pierced earrings. · Sharing drug paraphernalia of any kind (cooker, cotton, fit, tie) including water. Do not share straws or other paraphernalia for inhaling drugs. · Tattoo equipment - Do not share tattoo equipment including the ink. · Hepatitis C can be spread sexually, but not that often.
HEPATITIS C IS NOT SPREAD BY
· Sneezing/ Coughing. · Kissing/ Hugging. Although Hepatitis C has been found in saliva it isn't transmitted this way. It is only transmitted by having blood to blood contact. · Casual Contact. · Preparing food. If you have HCV and if you cut yourself and get blood in the food, it's unlikely that anyone eating the food will get hepatitis C. The enzymes in the digestive track will destroy or inactivate the virus. · Sharing eating utensils or eating the same food. Hepatitis C is transmitted by contaminated blood entering your bloodstream - not your stomach.
WHY SHOULD I BE TESTED FOR HEPATITIS C/ EARLY DIAGNOSIS IS IMPORTANT SO YOU CAN
· Get treatment if indicated. · Learn how to protect your liver from further harm. · Learn how you can prevent spreading HCV to others
IF DIAGNOSED WITH CHRONIC HEPATITIS C
· Don't panic! Hepatitis C is not an automatic death sentence. Only 20-30% of people infected develop serious complications such as cirrhosis / liver cancer. · Be sure that you are vaccinated for hepatitis A and B (unless you are immune because of a previous exposure). · Abstain from alcohol use. · Do not start any new medicines, including over-the counter and herbal medicines, without checking with your doctor. · Be careful not to allow unprotected exposure to your blood. This includes toothbrushes, razors, nail clippers, pierced earrings, and drug paraphernalia. Use band-aids when you bleed. · Practice care with herbs. More is not better. Do not exceed recommended doses of vitamins and minerals without a reputable practitioner's knowledge. Tell your doctor everything you are taking. · Eat a well balanced diet and eat as healthy as possible. Maintain proper weight. A low fat, low salt diet is wise and healthy. Drink at least 8 glasses of water daily. · Daily exercise is good, but rest when you are tired. · Avoid raw or undercooked shellfish. · Avoidance of NSAID's (nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs). · Be concerned about sex partners. While studies have shown the risk of sexual transmission is low between long-term, monogamous couples, people with new or multiple sex partners should use latex condoms. · Get regular medical attention. A physician, who knows about hepatitis C, a gastroenterologist or hepatologist, can watch for signs of trouble, identify problems and keep you informed about new treatments. Keep copies of your lab work. · Do not take iron supplements or large doses of vitamin A. Iron supplements are usually avoided because many hepatitis C patients have iron overload which may worsen fibrosis.
SPECIAL CONSIDERATIONS FOR PEOPLE WHO ARE CO-INFECTED
· HIV speeds up the progression of hepatitis C in most co-infected people. · Hepatitis C seems to have little impact on the progression of HIV except in people with hemophilia. · All protease inhibitors and non-nucleosides are processed through the liver. If you begin HIV anti-viral treatment, your hepatitis C viral load may go up as your liver works to break down the anti
virals. In most cases, this flare-up will go away relatively quickly. · If your liver is badly damaged by hepatitis C (or for any other reason), it's hard for your body to absorb HIV medications, especially protease inhibitors and non-nucleosides. This can lead to a higher HIV viral load and severely limited HIV treatment options. · Ribavirin decreases Retrovir (AZT) phosphorylation (part of the chemical process of the drugs once they're in your body). The same is true of Zerit (d4T), although to a lesser extent. This has been seen in test-tube studies, but not in human studies yet. Hypothetically, this could make you develop quicker resistance to the Retrovir or Zerit. · Ribavirin increases Videx (ddI) phosphorylation, which could make Videx work better for you. Since phosphorylation doesn't really increase drug levels in your blood, this wouldn't necessarily make the side effects from Videx any worse. · One of the most severe side effects of ribavirin is anemia (lowered red blood cell counts), so regular blood work is particularly important. Anemia is also a possible side effect of Retrovir (AZT), so it may be best to avoid using both ribavirin and Retrovir. · High doses of interferon can lower T cells (CD4s). · Interferon may be harmful to the immune response of some people with HIV. · The risk of transmitting hepatitis C may be greater if you're also HIV-positive because you're more likely to have a higher hepatitis C viral load. · A doctor or other health care provider who knows HIV really well doesn't necessarily know hepatitis C. And vice versa!
SAFER INJECTING
· Shooting up or injecting can be the riskiest way to get high. HIV, hepatitis B and hepatitis C are passed on through sharing works (needles, syringes, cookers, filters, cotton, water) used for shooting up. Infected blood - on the needle, in the syringe, or on any other works - gets into your body. You can't always see the blood. Hepatitis C can live in blood for days outside of the body. · Create your own clean space - a newspaper or magazine to spread your things out on. Clean the injection site with soap and water or alcohol before injecting. · It's safest to use a new needle and syringe each time you shoot up. · Keep a personal syringe. If you have to reuse a syringe, it's better that it's one that's only been used by you. · If you have to share, always clean the needle and syringe with bleach and water. Some needle exchanges can give you bottles of sterile water and bleach. If sterile water is not available, use boiled water if possible. Any brand of household bleach will do. · We don't know how long you need to clean needles with bleach in order to kill hepatitis C. It may be longer than the 1 ½ - 2 minutes used to kill HIV. Dry blood can stick to the sides of the needle and syringe, and even following the directions completely may not thoroughly clean the works.
To clean your needle and syringe:
Step 1 Fill the syringe completely with clean, cold water. Shake the syringe for 30 seconds. Squirt out the water. Repeat this step twice, and use new water each time.
Step 2 Fill the syringe completely with full strength bleach. Most HIV prevention programs recommend doing this for 30 seconds (time it with a watch or count to 100) and repeating three times (with fresh bleach each time). But one study found that it takes at least two minutes to eliminate hepatitis B, which, like hepatitis C, is much sturdier than HIV.
Step 3 In order to rinse the bleach out of the syringe, fill the syringe again with new water and shake the syringe for 30 seconds. Squirt out the water. Repeat this step at least twice, and use new water each time. Most people grossly underestimate the time they actually use the bleach and water. Use a watch with a secondhand!
Also, remember to clean your cooker (spoon) with bleach and water and use a new filter (for drawing the prepared drug into the syringe) every time. Contact your nearest needle exchange or AIDS organization for more information.
What is Hepatitis-C?:What is Hepatitis-C?
Therapies:Therapies
Alternitive Treatments: This Page
Lab Results: Lab Results