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Main > Specialty Areas > Infectious Diseases >
What is Hepatitis C?
Hepatitis C is a liver disease caused by the Hepatitis C virus (HCV). More than 80% of the people who are exposed to the virus are chronic carriers. General symptoms of Hepatitis C are fever, lack of energy, nausea, vomiting, abdominal discomfort and jaundice (yellow color to the whites of the eyes or skin and darkening of urine). Many people who are infected with Hepatitis C exhibit no symptoms for extended period of time, so they might not even know that they are infected and may inadvertently spread the disease to others.
The disease, while unpleasant is generally not life-threatening especially with proper treatment. Since Hepatitis C is a liver disease, the danger lies in the possible development of cirrhosis of the liver and liver cancer. Timely and accurate treatment helps minimize chances of developing these life-threatening conditions.
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Epinephrine shot If you are known to have a severe anaphylactic reaction, carry an epinephrine (adrenaline) shot with you at all times. Pay attention to expiration date and replace it regularly: upon expiration, it loses its effectiveness. |
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Levothyroxine Levothyroxine is a pure synthetic form of T4 hormone that is made in a laboratory to be an exact replacement for the T4 that the human thyroid gland normally secretes. It comes in multiple strengths, which means that an appropriate dosage can almost always be found for each patient. |
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