Chronic Hepatitis C: what you need to know now
Around 71 million people worldwide live with chronic hepatitis C (HCV). It quietly damages the liver over years and can lead to cirrhosis or liver cancer if untreated. The good news: modern medicines cure most people. This page gives clear, practical steps for spotting, testing, treating, and living with HCV.
How chronic hepatitis C is diagnosed
Many people have no symptoms for years. When symptoms appear, they are often vague — tiredness, mild belly pain, loss of appetite, or yellowing of the skin (jaundice). Because symptoms are unreliable, testing matters. Start with an HCV antibody blood test. If positive, a follow-up HCV RNA test checks whether the virus is active. Your doctor may also order liver blood tests (ALT, AST) and a scan or FibroScan to see how much scarring (fibrosis) the liver has.
Ask about testing if you have risk factors: past or current injection drug use, long-term dialysis, a blood transfusion or organ transplant before screening began (early 1990s in many places), unregulated tattoos or piercings, or if you were born to a mother with HCV. Pregnant people with risk factors should be tested too.
Treatment and living with chronic hepatitis C
Treatment has changed fast. Direct-acting antivirals (DAAs) target the virus and usually cure HCV in 8–12 weeks for most people. Common regimens include combinations with sofosbuvir, ledipasvir, velpatasvir and others. Cure rates are over 95% in many cases. Your doctor will pick the right combination based on your virus type (genotype), liver health, and other medications you take.
Before, treatment could be long and harsh. Now it’s shorter and much better tolerated. Still, you should tell your clinician about all medicines, supplements, or herbal products you use — some interact with DAAs. After a cure, your liver can heal but some damage might be permanent, so follow-up care matters. If you had cirrhosis, you’ll need ongoing monitoring for liver cancer.
Simple lifestyle steps protect your liver and lower future risk: stop or limit alcohol, get vaccinated for hepatitis A and B if you aren’t immune, maintain a healthy weight, and avoid unnecessary medications that stress the liver. Prevent spread by not sharing needles, razors, or toothbrushes, and use condoms with new partners until you both know each other’s status.
If you think you were exposed or have high-risk behavior, get tested. If you have HCV, modern treatment gives you a strong chance of cure. Talk to a primary care doctor, infectious disease specialist, or a liver specialist to start the right tests and treatment plan.
Need help finding reliable information or an HCV clinic? Reach out to your local health service or a trusted online resource for step-by-step guidance.
