Hepatitis C is a serious and relatively common liver disease caused by the hepatitis C virus — the World Health Organization estimates that 71 million people are infected with this disease worldwide. Hepatitis C can take both an acute and a chronic form. The acute form usually causes little to no symptoms aside from easily-missed fatigue and mild abdominal pain, and patients may therefore not be aware that they have hepatitis C.
If the virus isn't cleared form the organism within six months, the disease is considered to have taken the chronic form, in which the destruction of the liver tissue is more severe.
As the liver takes more and more damage, several characteristic symptoms start emerging. These symptoms, which are not specific to hepatitis C but rather point to liver disease in general, include:
- Fatigue
- Nausea
- Loss of appetite
- Weight loss
- Abdominal pain
- Itchy skin
- Jaundice
- Pale, clay colored, stool
- Dark urine
Chronic hepatitis C is a serious condition, which, if untreated, can lead to cirrhosis, liver cancer, and death.
Hepatitis C is a disease which is usually transmitted via contact with the infected blood. In adults, this most often happens when IV drug users share equipment. But there are other ways to come in contact with infected blood. What do you need to know about hepatitis C in children, and what can parents do to keep their kids safe from it?
1. How can a child contract hepatitis C?
The good news is that the child will contract the disease in only five percent of pregnancies in cases where the mother tested positive for the hepatitis C. Unfortunately, treatment for this disease is not recommended during pregnancy due to the risk the medications pose to the fetus. Also, the way in which the child is delivered, be it cesarean section or vaginal delivery, doesn't lower the risk of an infection, so there is no way to prevent the transmission of the disease.
Since hepatitis C is a blood borne virus, a child can also become infected if they come in contact with infected blood. Sharing equipment which might contain microscopic traces of infected blood, such as toothbrushes, can also be a way of transmission. Although the risk of getting infected this way is low, it should be noted that the disease can be contracted by blood transfusions or organ transplantations.
2. There is no vaccine for hepatitis C
Unlike some other types of viral hepatitis (such as hepatitis B, where the vaccine is administered within the first 24 hours after childbirth), unfortunately, there is no vaccine for hepatitis C. The only way to lower the risk of getting an infection is to avoid risky behavior as much as one can. An adult should also be aware of the risks and the routes of infection, so that the child could be protected as well, because sharing a household with a hepatitis C patient puts others at risk of developing the infection as well, even as a result of unlikely routes of transmission such as toothbrush sharing where blood is present.
3. There is no immediate way to determine if an infant has hepatitis C
Whenever we contract a disease, our immune system produces specific molecules to fight it. The most common way of testing for hepatitis C is by testing the blood of the patient for anti-hepatitis C antibodies. But, if a baby is born to a hepatitis C positive mother, these antibodies will be transferred to the infant by definition. This means that a child born to a mother with hepatitis C will test positive either way, wether it has the disease or not. These antibodies stay in the baby's blood for about 18 months, which is the earliest we can test for hepatitis C.
4. Hepatitis C can be treated
Several drugs to fight this disease have been used, and the success rate in curing hepatitis C is over 95 percent. Since the type of treatment, and the drugs used to treat this condition, depend on the type of the virus, as well as the condition of the liver, proper diagnostic procedures are the very important first step, on which the prognosis depends. Hepatitis C is pretty much curable, but a lot of people around the world still die from complications of this disease around the world, because the drugs and the diagnostic tests are either too expensive or simply unavailable, especially in many developing countries.
5. The complications of hepatitis C are worse in adults than in children
Hepatitis C is a serious disease that can have severe complications. But statistics say that only two percent of pediatric patients develop cirrhosis, as opposed to 30 percent of adult patients. Hepatitis C is also linked with other adverse outcomes that include decreased cognitive performance, conditions such as anxiety and depression, and, overall, a decreased quality of life. But studies comparing healthy children, children suffering from hepatitis C, children suffering from ADHD, as well as children with other chronic liver conditions, found that pediatric hepatitis C patients didn't suffer from any of those complications in most cases.
Children grow up quickly, however, and one final thing should be on a parent's radar as the childhood years pass and turbulent adolescence emerges. As we talk about safe sex practices, it is important not to focus on unwanted pregnancies and HIV alone. Hepatitis C should also be brought to a teen's attention in the context of drug use. Hepatitis viruses are highly transmittable and without a vaccine for hepatitis C, prevention is up to each individual. Offering all the available information is one way to reduce the risk that a teen will engage in risky behaviors, now or later in life.
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