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What is hepatitis C?

Hepatitis C Virus causes an inflammation of the liver. The hepatitis C virus (HCV) is found in the blood of persons who have this disease. HCV is spread by contact with the blood of an infected person.

What are the causes?

Hepatitis C infection is caused by the hepatitis C virus (HCV). Persons who may be at risk for hepatitis C are those who:

(1) Received blood, blood products, or solid organs from a donor who has hepatitis C

(2) Have injected street drugs or shared a needle with someone who has hepatitis C

(3) Have been on long-term dialysis for kidney failure

(4) Have frequent contact with blood on the job such as doctors

(5) Share personal items, such as toothbrushes and razors, with someone who has hepatitis C

(6) Are born to hepatitis C infected mothers

What are the symptoms?

Many people who are infected with the hepatitis C do not have symptoms. Hepatitis C is often detected during blood tests for a routine physical or other medical procedure. The following symptoms could occur:

(1) Jaundice

(2) Abdominal pain in the right upper abdomen

(3) Fatigue

(4) Loss of appetite

(5) Nausea and vomiting

(6) Low-grade fever

(7) Pale or clay-colored stools

(8) Dark urine

(9) Generalized itching

How is it diagnosed?

There are several blood tests that can be done to determine if one has been infected with HCV. Your doctor may order one or a combination of these tests.

a) Anti-HCV (antibody to HCV) :-

EIA (enzyme immunoassay): This test is usually done first. If positive, it should be confirmed

RIBA (recombinant immunoblot assay): A supplemental test used to confirm a positive EIA test

Anti-HCV does not tell whether the infection is new (acute), chronic (long-term) or is no longer present

Qualitative tests to detect presence or absence of virus (HCV RNA)

Qualitative tests to detect amount (titre) of virus (HCV RNA)

Hepatitis virus serology with negative antibody to hepatitis A and hepatitis B

ELISA assay to detect hepatitis C antibody

Hepatitis C PCR test

Elevated liver enzymes

Liver biopsy showing acute or resolving hepatitis

What is the treatment?

Some patients with hepatitis C benefit from treatment with interferon alpha or a combination of interferon alpha and ribavirin.

Interferon alpha is given by injection just under the skin and has a number of side effects, including flu-like symptoms, headaches, fever, fatigue, loss of appetite, nausea, vomiting, depression, and thinning of hair. Treatment with interferon alpha may also interfere with the production of white blood cells and platelets.

Ribavirin is a capsule taken twice daily, and the major side effects are severe anaemia (low red blood cells) and birth defects. Women should, therefore, avoid pregnancy during and for 6 months following treatment.

Recently, a version of interferon alpha with a longer half-life (pegylated interferon alpha) has been introduced, and the longer half-life means the injections are taken weekly instead of the three times a week with standard interferon alpha. Pegylated interferon alpha and ribavirin lead to a sustained response in approximately 50% of patients. A sustained response means that the patient remains free of hepatitis C virus 6 months after stopping therapy. People with hepatitis C should avoid any substances toxic to the liver (hepatotoxic). All patients with hepatitis C should be immunized against hepatitis A and B also.

People with hepatitis C should also be careful not to take vitamins, nutritional supplements, or new over-the-counter medications without first discussing it with their doctor. Patients with hepatitis C should avoid alcohol. Even moderate amounts of alcohol speed up the progression of hepatitis C, and alcohol reduces the effectiveness of the treatment.

What are the complications?

Chronic hepatitis

Cirrhosis

What is the prevention?

One should avoid contact with blood or blood products whenever possible. Health care workers should practice universal precautions when handling blood and body fluids.

One should not inject drugs of abuse, and especially not share needles with anyone. One should be cautious when getting tattoos and body piercings done.

By : Scott Gillespie

In fact, this will do harm to our health. If you are having such experience from time to time, you may develop the habit of binge eating eventually. This will certainly be bad for your health.

You should keep all foods in the kitchen and out of site. The more you see food, the more likely you are to want food. Many people binge because they are not paying attention to if they are really hungry or not. You could be watching a television program with a bag of chips in your lap. Before you know it, the whole bag is gone. Your mind was occupied by the television program. This is why it is very important to keep all your foods in the kitchen and only eat at the dinner table.

Do eat breakfast, lunch and dinner. Remember breakfast revs up your metabolism for the day. The majority of people who struggle with eating at night are those who usually skip meals or not eating a well balanced meal throughout the day. This causes the major setup for binging and overeating at night.

Avoid sugar, especially early in the day. after you eat sugar your blood sugar spikes up and then drops within an hour and that drop in blood sugar will make you want to snack. There is a sugar roller coaster that will go on in your body and once you recognize this you will notice your feelings and emotions are being triggered by the hype and comfort of high blood sugar and the depression and cravings that go on from low blood sugar.

Positive affirmations are basically short sentences which you repeat to yourself over and over again. This may seem a little silly, but your mind will pick up on those sentences and it will slowly change your thought patterns to fit what you’re saying. A good sentence will be something like: ” I won’t allow my emotions to cause me to binge” or ” I can stop my binge eating”. You’d be amazed at how effective this can be. Read more…

By LINDSEY ELLERSON
Abc News

Migraines, skin irritation, seizures — you name the symptom, Vanessa Maltin experienced it growing up.

“I was sick my entire life from when I was a little baby until I was 21 and got diagnosed with celiac disease,” she said.

It has been five years since Maltin was diagnosed with celiac disease, a genetic, digestive disorder that affects both children and adults. People with celiac disease are unable to consume foods that contain gluten, a protein which is found in wheat, barely, rye and other grains. For these people, gluten sets off an autoimmune reaction that causes damage to the small intestine and in turn, prevents vitamins and nutrients from being absorbed.

“They thought I was faking having headaches and didn’t want to go to school, but I was really in so much pain,” said Maltin, who took prednisone, an anti-inflammatory steroid, for most of college and was forced to have a nurse come to her dorm room to administer tests through an intravenous line. “None of the medicines worked, no one could figure it out.” Read more…

Gastritis, a condition that involves the irritation and inflammation of the stomach, afflicts millions of people. Any number of things causes it, from injury to bacteria. In that respect, it is akin to a headache:

It can strike anyone, and it can be caused by a wide variety of factors both internal and external.

It can be divided into 3 categories:

(1) Erosive and hemorrhagic gastritis

(2) Non erosive and nonspecific gastritis

(3) Specific gastritis indicative of a disorder.

Gastritis Symptoms:-

(1) A burning pain similar to indigestion in your upper abdomen.

(2) Nausea. A “sick-to-your-stomach” kind of feeling, which may or may not be accompanied by vomiting.

(3) Loss of appetite. This tends to go along with nausea, but many gastritis patients find they have no appetite even when they’re not feeling nauseated. After a couple of mouthfuls they’re done.

(4) Belching or bloating. This can simply be gas, but if it’s chronic or severe, it could be caused by gastritis.

(5) Feeling particularly “full” in your upper abdomen after a meal.

(6) Unexplained weight loss.

Gastritis Causes Risk Factors:-

Gastritis is more common with age and most sufferers complain of indigestion.

People with acute gastritis caused by illness or injury have already been hospitalized for treatment of their underlying condition; therefore, symptoms of gastritis are managed in the course of their intensive care.

The most frequent cause of gastritis is a dietetic indiscretion such as habitual overeating; eating of badly combined or improperly cooked foods, excessive intake of strong tea, coffee or alcoholic drinks, habitual use of large quantities of condiments, sauces.

It may sometimes follow certain diseases such measles, diptheria, influenza, virus pneumonia.

It also results from worry, anxiety, grief and prolonged tension. Use of certain drugs, strong acids and caustic substances may also give rise to gastritis.

Gastritis Treatment Home Remedies:-

(1) Only rice that has been aged for one year must be used. Wheat and barley are beneficial.

(2) Among vegetables white pumpkin, bitter gourd, cucumber, green banana and banana flower are effective.

(3) Cow’s milk is preferable to buffalo’s milk.

(4) People suffering from gastritis must not confuse their stomach glands with different kinds of foods at the same time. It is beneficial if the person is kept on a single diet. Ideally the person must be kept on a milk diet or on a diet of old rice.

(5) Vitamin C has the capacity to help in the absorption of iron and calcium salts in the body. This eases the digestive process. Therefore, the diet must be rich in vitamin C. Foods that contain vitamin C to a commendable quantity are amlas, oranges, etc.

(6) Pungent and sour tastes must be avoided. Even chocolates, tea and coffee must be avoided as these can increase the acidic contents in the stomach.

(7) The person must never eat till the stomach is fool. In gastritis it is better to eat little quantities each time, so that the stomach gets proper time to digest the food.

(8) Sesame seeds and curds must be avoided.

(9) Have a banana early in the morning. Drown them with milk. This reduces the acidity within the stomach in some days.

By EMILY FRIEDMAN

For 22-year-old Jacob Rosenberg, life without his daily dose of Vicodin wouldn’t be much of a life at all.

Following a vote by an FDA expert panel that favored banning drugs that combine drugs that combine acetaminophen with narcotics such as Vicodin and Percocet, doctors are reassuring chronic pain patients that alternative options do exist.

(ABC News Photo Illustration)

“Before I began taking narcotics two years ago, I would spend my days in bed,” said Rosenberg, who has suffered from fibromyalgia and rheumatoid arthritis for five years, and chronic pain for 10. “I was in college and I wasn’t capable of doing anything – go to classes or go out.”

“But since I’ve been on Vicodin my pain is 80 percent diminished,” said Rosenberg. “It gives me the ability to be a normal person.”

Rosenberg is one of millions of Americans who fill prescriptions each year for an acetaminophen-based narcotic – or combination drugs – such as Vicodin or Percocet, the two most popularly prescribed drugs in the country.Read more…