How to Recognize Symptoms, Treat, & Prevention Hepatitis C
Learn the symptoms of, treatment for, and ways to prevent Hepatitis C in this Howcast video about (STDs).
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Learn how to recognize, treat, and prevent sexually transmitted diseases (STDs) from health expert Jane Bogart, M.A. in these Howcast videos.
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Transcript
Hepatitis C is a virus, and it causes liver disease. People get infected with Hepatitis C through contact with blood -- infected blood -- and most frequently, that kind of contact comes from sharing needles with somebody, or reusing a needle that was previously used by someone else, or sometimes in unclean tattoo parlors where people reuse needles to give people tattoos. Hepatitis C is chronic, there is no cure for Hepatitis C, although it can be treated. For Hepatitis C, most people notice symptoms as the disease progresses, so for example they'll notice symptoms of liver disease where they'll be more tired, they might experience jaundice, which is a yellowing of the skin or a yellowing of the eyes, and for those people getting treatment is really important. Hepatitis C, although it can be transmitted sexually, most frequently is not -- it really is almost always transmitted through blood-to-blood contact. If there is bleeding involved in your sexual activity, or there is broken skin or wounds, and blood-to-blood encounters happen, that is how Hepatitis C can be transmitted sexually, but for the most part it is not a sexually transmitted infection.
