A healthy liver is something you just can't live without

Before we delve into hepatitis C (HCP), a virus that causes the liver to swell and prevents it from working properly, we should look at what the liver is and what it does for us.

The second largest organ in our bodies it’s located on the right side under our ribcage. It weighs about three pounds and is shaped like a football but flat on one side.

It’s a vital organ that aids in metabolism, digestion, detoxifying, and the production of many proteins our bodies need. Obviously if it’s damaged it won’t work. And, it’s important that it work because we can’t live without it.

Hepatitis C spreads through infected blood. In the U.S. it’s mostly spread by drug users sharing needles. However, getting a tattoo or body piercing may cause the infection as well.

Infected mothers may pass the virus to their children. Rarely, it’s caused by unprotected sex, although having multiple partners, HIV or rough sex can increase risk.

Prior to 1992 donated blood wasn’t screened for hepatitis C, so anyone receiving a transfusion or organ transplant before then may be in jeopardy. If you received a clotting factor made before 1987, have ever been on hemodialysis, in prison or had abnormal ALT levels you should be checked.

One of the most famous hepatitis C sufferers, Naomi Judd, contracted the disease while as a nurse she accidentally pricked herself with a needle that had spent time in an infected persons body.

Now in remission, she’s the spokesperson for American Liver Foundation to raise awareness of the disease.

Like hepatitis A and B, people infected with HCP often show no symptoms. Roughly 25 percent of the people who contract it will defeat it, but carrying the disease in the body over the long-term can cause serious, life-threatening complications including cirrhosis, liver failure and liver cancer.

Blood tests can determine if you have the virus and which kind, so if you are now or ever have been at risk ask your medical practitioner for a screening.

“If you’ve been diagnosed with Hep C, learn what your ALT/AST blood levels are,” Judd wrote on her website. “They indicate inflammation. You may need to get a liver biopsy. It’s a needle stick into your right side into your liver to draw a teeny amount of tissue for the doctor to inspect under a high-powered microscope. (I’ve had several and was relieved that it’s not really painful because they give you a local anesthetic.)

“The doctor needs to know what stage of inflammation you’re in so he/she can start aggressive treatment. The key word here is ‘aggressive.’ ”

One can have HCV for years or decades without showing any symptoms. When they occur they may include fatigue, itchy skin, dark urine, muscle soreness, nausea, loss of appetite, stomach pain and jaundice (yellowing of the skin or whites of the eye).

If you’re diagnosed with HCV you’ll be put on a regimen of anti-viral drugs. Then it’s important that you eat healthy meals; exercise regularly; rest when you feel tired; only take prescribed medications; avoid alcohol and drugs and see your medical practitioner, or specialist (hepotologist or gastroenterologist) regularly.

Knowing that liver disease can be fatal and, of course, avoided should encourage everyone to shun risky behavior.

Kathy Hubbard is a trustee on Bonner General Hospital Foundation Board. She can be reached at kathyleehubbard@yahoo.com, 264-4029. Source: www.webmd.com., www.naomijudd.com.