• Listing of area doctors
• Resources for seniors
• Emergency numbers
• National Library of Medicine
• Healthfinder: Your guide to reliable health information


Update 7/5/05
• Hypnosis can help smokers quit
• Healthy eating doesn’t have to include meat
• Brain scans to determine memory loss debated
• Heat and humidity can be deadly

Health Archive
• Washing hands key to keeping germs at bay
• Determination is woman’s tonic for adversity
• Many don’t know mental illness treatable, beatable
• Stretching can help keep sports-loving youngsters injury free
• Gardening’s rewards reaped even by beginners
• Assertiveness yields self-respect, respect from others
• Teaching children restraint can help fight obesity
• Training strengthens seniors mentally, physically
• Device to help stutterers yields dramatic results
• Healthy eating a lifestyle, not a ‘diet’
• Thinking outside the (lunch)box
• Skipping breakfast can hurt kids’ learning ability
• Facing source of anxiety can help banish fears
• Secondary infertility always frustrating, often treatable
• Hand-washing a habit best learned early
• Pool safety demands year-round vigilance
• Proper sleep, diet, fewer activities can ease kids’ stress
• Caution required to keep picnic food safe
• Breaking from routine important for mental health
• Early, frequent visits can help calm kids’ dentistry fears
• Make safety first priority when grilling
• Genetics, personality play major roles in addictions
• Hepatitis C more common than most people realize
• Good housekeeping can help fight indoor allergies
• Solid friendships take work, but the rewards are worth it
• Easing into fitness routine can limit injuries
• Proper treatment can guard pets, kids against parasites

Hepatitis C more common than most people realize

Justin McIntosh
Special to The Times

It’s a disease that’s infected almost 4 million Americans, but an estimated 17 million could possibly be infected and not know it.

Hepatitis C is a liver disease caused by the Hepatitis C virus. The virus is found in the blood of those with the disease. The most common and likely way to transmit the disease is through contact with the blood of an infected person. It can also be spread through unprotected sex; however this does not occur very often.

“Hepatitis C is much more common than most people realize. It’s not uncommon for me to see a dozen patients a day with Hepatitis C. It affects a broad portion of the population from young to old,” said Dr. Roger Anderson, infectious disease specialist at Marietta Memorial Hospital and St. Joseph’s Hospital in Parkersburg.

Anderson says the main problem with the disease is most people infected with Hepatitis C are asymptomatic, meaning they have no symptoms. For this reason, many of Anderson’s patients have carried the virus for 20 to 30 years and through blood tests, just recently found out about it.

In some cases, symptoms may be present. Symptoms may include fever, fatigue or the beginning of jaundice, cirrhosis (scarring of the liver) or malaise.
There are several blood tests that can be done to determine whether a person has been infected with the virus. Those most at risk include anyone who has ever injected illegal drugs, anyone who was treated for clotting problems with a blood product made before 1987, anyone who has received a blood transfusion or organ transplant before 1992, or anyone on long-term kidney dialysis.
Early detection is beneficial in treating the disease. Anti-viral drugs such as interferon and ribavirin are usually prescribed to patients. Once started on the medication, a patient has a 50 percent chance of a cure within one year depending on the stage of the virus, Anderson said.

“Hepatitis C has a variety of stages, and basically it has to do with how much permanent liver damage is present,” he said.

Jonni Felter, infectious disease control, RN, for the Marietta City Health Department, says if left untreated, Hepatitis C can lead to cirrhosis, chronic liver disease or even liver cancer. For those already diagnosed, Felter recommends regular doctor appointments, avoiding all alcoholic beverages, consulting a doctor before starting any new over-the-counter medications or herbal drugs, and to getting a Hepatitis A and B vaccine.

It’s still possible to live a normal, active life with hepatitis, Felter says, but there are certain precautions to take.

“Don’t share razors, toothbrushes or other personal care products, be very careful how you deal with blood and use latex condoms when having sex,” Felter said.

The disease cannot be spread through by sneezing, hugging, coughing, through food or water, or from sharing the same eating utensils. Exclusion from work, school or other settings based on the virus is not necessary, according to the Ohio Department of Health.