Hepatitis C is an infectious virus that is carried in the blood and harms the liver. About 240,000 Canadians are infected, many of whom are unaware that they even have it. The number of people with hepatitis C is increasing in Canada and around the world, primarily among those who share needles and other drug equipment. An estimated 5,000 Canadians - mostly young people - get this virus each year. Although the hepatitis C virus has been around for a long time, it was only identified in 1989. It causes inflammation of the liver, which often progresses to cirrhosis (scarring that makes it difficult for the liver to function normally). Of the estimated 5,000 people that are newly infected each year, up to 70 percent experience no symptoms. For some, symptoms may not show up for 20 or 30 years. In the meantime, they may, unknowingly, be infecting others. That is why it is important to know if you are at risk and how to take preventative action
Showing posts with label HEPATITIS. Show all posts
Showing posts with label HEPATITIS. Show all posts
Saturday, December 20, 2008
Is There A Vaccine For Hepatitis C?
(NC)-No, not for hepatitis C. There are vaccines for hepatitis A and hepatitis B. To prevent further damage to your liver, your doctor may advise you to be vaccinated against hepatitis A and hepatitis B.
Could I give hepatitis C to someone else?
Yes, as far as we know, once you have hepatitis C, you can always transmit it to someone else if they come in contact with your blood. If you have hepatitis C, you can't donate blood. You should avoid sharing personal items like razors and toothbrushes, because the virus is spread through blood to blood contact.
Although the virus isn't spread easily by sexual contact or from a mother to her unborn baby, the risk of transmitting the virus is not absent. Therefore, talk to your doctor first if you want to have children.
Canine Infectious Hepatitis
What is Canine Infectious Hepatitis?
The word hepatitis refers to an inflamation of the liver. First reported in 1947, Canine Infectious Hepatitis (CIH), is a caused by canine adenovirus. Almost every dog will come in contact with the virus at least once in their life time. The virus may pass through the dog, causing little to no adverse effects, or the virus may be so severe, the dog will die within hours of initial symptoms.. CIH effects the liver, lymphoid system and blood vessel walls.
How Can Canine Infectious Hepatitis Spread?
Most often CIH is spread through direct contact with the virus usually through urine, feces or saliva. Though direct contact with an infected dog is the most common transmission of CIH, bites from mosquitoes, fleas, and tics are also know to transmit the virus. The incubation period of the virus is only a few weeks, however, CIH can be passed through the urine up to one year after infection.
What Are The Symptoms Of Canine Infectious Hepatitis?
Depending on the severity of the infection symptoms can include
Minor symptoms
- loss of appetite
- pale feces
- fever
- nasal and eye discharge
- coughing
- temporary corneal opacity “Blue eye”
Severe Symptoms
- abdominal pain,
- vomiting, diarrhea,
- edema (subcutaneous fluid swelling) of the head and neck
- jaundice
Are All Dog At Risk To Canine Infectious Hepatitis?
Yes. Most adult dogs with healthy immune systems can produce antibodies that can fight the virus. However CIH can remain in the dogs system up to one year after infection. Since the CiH is an infectious virus, a known infected dog should be properly treated and quarantined.
What Is The Treatment For Canine Infectious Hepatitis?
At this time, there is no cure for the actual virus which causes CIH. Treatment mainly consists of controlling spread and severity of secondary ailments such as, vomiting, diarrhea and fluid discharge. In most cases the virus runs its course in a couple days. In severe cases treatment will involve antibiotics and liver treatment.
The Hepatitis B Virus
Hepatitis B is what we used to originally known as just simply serum hepatitis. Hep B has been recognized as this new name since World War II. The virus is responsible for current epidemics in parts of Asia and Africa. Recognized as endemic in China and various other parts of Asia, the Hepatitis B virus has infected over one third of the world's current population.
Hepatitis B is in the Hepadnavirus family. Meaning that it consists of a proteinaceous core particle that has the viral genome inside of it in the form of double stranded DNA. It also has an outside lipid-based envelope that contains embedded proteins. These envelope proteins on the outside are involved in viral binding and release into susceptible cells. Where as the inner capsid refinds the DNA genome to a cell's nucleus where it transcribes viral mRNAs. Although HIV, the virus that causes AIDS, and Hepatitus are not related they are both viruses that use reverse transcription process. This also include HTLV. Hepatitis B's genome is DNA, and reverse transcription is one of the latter steps of the entire process which results in making new viral particles. HIV on the other hand has an RNA genome and reverse transcription is one of the first steps in replication of the virus.
Hepatitis B is most commonly transmitted through direct exposure to bodily fluids that contain the virus. This is a wide category but in most cases includes:
- Re-using contaminated needles and syringes
- Uncleanly Blood transfusions
- Unprotected sexual contact
- Direct transmission from mother to child during childbirth
Types of Hepatitis
Hepatitis is a disease taking on many forms which feature inflammation of the liver. The cause is depended on the prognosis and on the symptoms shown. Certain forms of hepatitis are unable to reveal many signs or symptoms and are only noticeable when the longstanding inflammation has led to the replacement of liver cells by connective tissue. General symptoms of hepatitis are noticed by fever, enlarged liver, abdominal pain, and jaundice (icterus).
Viral infections are the cause of most acute Hepatitis. Hepatitis comes in 7 not so delicious flavours: Hepatitis A, B, C, D - Agent (which requires the presence of the hepatitis B virus to form), Hepatitis E, F, and G. None of these are very yummy, and should be avoided at all costs.
The most common of the 7 is Hepatitis A. It is transmitted through the orofecal route, or in other words, contaminated food. This one is the easiest to contract, but it does not reach a chronic stage, so the body is able to build up an immunity against it by creating antibodies. An excellent preventative measure is to get a Hepatitis A vaccination. This will prevent infection of the virus.
Hepatitis has a close brother - Hepatitis B. This evil twin is also very easy to contract. you can get it through blood, tattoos, sexually, and you can even inherit it from your mother when you are born. Hep. B can be acute, however, some peoples' bodies are unable to produce antibodies against it, thus turning an acute virus into a chronic one.
The easiest way to avoid contracting Hepatitis is simple cleanliness and vaccinations. click the link to my website at the bottom for more information on all forms of Hepatitis.
Hepatitis C Prevention
Hepatitis C is an inflammation of the liver caused by the hepatitis C virus. The hepatitis C virus is also known as the HCV virus. Hepatitis C transmission usually occurs through blood transfusions, hemodialysis, and needle sticks. HCV is responsible for most transfusion-associated hepatitis C. Cirrhosis and cancer can result from damage done to the liver by the hepatitis C virus.
There is no cure or vaccine for hepatitis C. There is only prevention. If you wish to avoid becoming infected with hepatitis C, take the following prevention steps:
Hepatitis C Prevention Tip 1: Do not use intravenous drugs. If you shoot drugs, stop and seek the help of a treatment program. If you can't stop, never share needles, syringes, water. Get vaccinated against hepatitis A & B.
Hepatitis C Prevention Tip 2: Do not share personal care items that might have blood on them, like razors and toothbrushes.
Hepatitis C Prevention Tip 3: If you are a health care or public safety worker, always follow routine barrier precautions. Be sure to handle needles and other sharp objects carefully and safely. Get vaccinated against hepatitis B.
Hepatitis C Prevention Tip 4: If you are thinking about getting a tattoo or having a body part pierced, be extremely careful. You might get infected if the tools have someone else's blood.
Hepatitis C Prevention Tip 5: Hepatitis C can be spread by sexual contact, but this is rare. If you are having sex with more than one steady sex partner, it's recommended that you use latex condoms correctly, and use them every time you have intercourse. You should also get vaccinated against hepatitis B. If you are HCV positive, do not donate blood, organs, or tissue.
Some patients with hepatitis C benefit from treatment with interferon alpha or a combination of interferon alpha and ribavirin.
Rest may be recommended during the acute phase of the disease when the symptoms are most severe.
People with hepatitis C should also be careful not to take vitamins, nutritional supplements, or new over-the-counter medications without first discussing it with a doctor.
Any substance that's toxic to the liver, or hepatotoxic, can be dangerous for someone who has been infected by hepatitis C. You should stop drinking alcohol. Even moderate amounts of alcohol can be dangerous because they speed up the progression of hepatitis C. Alcohol reduces the effectiveness of hepatitis C treatment.
The Hepatitis Epidemic
Today, an estimated 5 million Americans are infected with Hepatitis C - and most of them don't know it. That is 1 out of every 50 people.....and some will be people you know. One out of every 10 Veterans is infected, 62% of Vietnam Vets have it. Three people with Hep C die every day, two of them are Veterans.
Hepatitis C is considered an epidemic and is now killing more people than Aids/HIV...30,000 a year and it's going to get much worse. The number of adults seeking liver transplants for hepatitis C infection will skyrocket in the next 20 years. An estimated 10,000 to 30,000 Americans die from this disease each year. Deaths are estimated to increase because of the increasing risk of infection, and the resulting cirrhosis, portal hypertension, thrombocytopenia, bleeding from varices, and liver cancer. Five years ago, 20% of hepatitis C patients were candidates for liver transplantation and today the number has increased to about 50%.
According to the Center for Disease Control (CDC), by the year 2008, the cases of decompensation will increase 279%, liver-related deaths 223% and the need for liver transplantation 528%. Considering that we don't have enough organs now and people die on transplant lists, far too many of those precious lives will be lost. For those fortunate enough to find a donor, the process costs roughly $300,000 during the first 3 months, and can be painful and incapacitating. Add to this the thousands of dollars for anti-rejection drugs and the costs of aftercare more frequent visits to health care facilities. The other option, debilitating and woefully ineffective chemo, runs into the tens of thousands of dollars and more and has success rates in the mere single digits
Hepatitis C is called the dragon, because it sleeps for many years and one day, suddenly, it wakes up and ends your life (people who got infected 20-30 years ago may just now find out). The Hepatitis C virus is very old and very smart.....it doesn't kill quickly like the old HIV virus or like the Ebola virus. Hepatitis C has chosen to infect the liver. The ONLY organ capable of regeneration. It simmers for many years, keeping its host alive. It is so smart it uses our own immune system against us.
Nobody knows exactly where it came from. During World War II, an unlicensed yellow fever vaccine was released to immunize our troops who were going to the South Pacific. To stabilize the vaccine, scientists used serum from Australian Aboregenese, hoping they were immune to endemic illnesses and that immunity would then be passed to our troops. Years later, it was discovered that 50% of the Aboregenese had Hepatitis B and C. A study done by the Veteran's Administration later PROVED that over 320,000 of our troops were infected. Thousands of them fell ill with hepatitis and hospitalized or quarantined in their barracks. When they came back home, they were encouraged to donate blood. A monster, with the power to mutate, had just been unleashed.
Hepatitis C is transmitted through blood only. That means blood transfusions with contaminated blood before 1992 (because blood was not screened), tatoos, body piercing, needle sticks, IV drugs with contaminated needles, manicures that made you bleed (instruments are not sterilized), sharing razors, toothbrushes, anything that could pass infected blood to your blood. Even doing IV drugs once could have given you the virus or sharing straws with someone that had nasal sores or bleeding.
A mutating virus for which there is no vaccine. It has many strains and substrains. By the time they figure something about it, it's already mutated into something stronger. 70-75% of people have genotype 1, the strain most difficult to treat. 95% of Veterans who have Hep C have genotype 1. The success rate with traditional modern medicine treatment is only about 50% and treatment is a whole year and side effects from the medications are cruel. For Veterans, success rate is only 19%....and sadly, even that treatment is approved for only 11.8% of them.
The Hepatitis C virus causes diabetes (40% of genotype 1 have diabetes), it affects the brain causing depression, it causes lung problems, neuropathy, fibromyalgia, Sjogren's, cardiac problems, skin problems, arthritis, stomach problems, anemia, fatigue, and of course, cirrhosis. After cirrhosis comes DECOMPENSATION. The liver stops working, the skin and sclera become yellow, your belly looks like you're pregnant, you're unable to process protein, you get anemic, confused, the kidneys stop working and many bleed to death.
Many of the people that are infected already have severe liver damage and don't know it....and they are going to be looking at herbal products to treat the symptoms they are having. What many people do not know is that there are at least three excellent inexpensive supplements that can be used for hepatitis. First of all, an aqueous extract of the oleander plant made according to the directions in the book "Cancer's Natural Enemy" (written by the author of this article) has had excellent results in treating hepatitis-C (the extract, commonly called "Oleander Soup", is best known as a remedy for treating cancer).
Secondly, the product Colloidal Silver has been used by a great many people who testify that it is second to none in treating hepatitis.
There is also an excellent herbal supplement treatment regimen for hepatitis that is all natural, inexpensive and extraordinarily effective. Most people in the United States are not familiar with the Berkson Clinical Study on Hepatitis-C, a study that was never published in the United States, despite Dr. Berkson's impressive credentials that include Rutgers, the Max Planck Institute and the Center for Disease Control (CDS) in Atlanta.
It has been suggested that the real reason the study has never been published in the states is due to the fact that liver transplants are highly profitable for mainstreams medicine, costing over $300,000 in the first three months alone, plus many thousands of dollars afterwards for anti-rejection drugs and aftercare.
In Doctor Berksons study, which was 100% effective in a limited study on advanced hepatitis-C patients who were facing either transplants or chemo, he used a combination of three commonly available and inexpensive natural supplements, along with healthy modificatioins in diet, exercise and lifestyle.
And what are the supplements? Milk thistle (silymarin), alpha-lipoic acid and selenium - all commonly available and inexpensive. I have used milk thistle for years, after reading long ago that it was deemed effective at not only protecting the liver but also in regenerating damaged livers by the German E Commission (their equivalent of the FDA). Now I take all three supplements to help offset a fondness for another natural substance - blue agave (smile).
In treating any disease or illness, it is usually an excellent idea to cleanse the body of toxins (toxins help promote disease and retard healing). A liver cleanse is a very good procedure to use to help treat hepatitis as well as a good one for anyone to use as part of a healthy anti-disease lifestyle. And, since good health begins in the gut, the same holds true for cleansing the colon. Liver and colon cleanses are widely available online and at retail natural health product outlets.
Live long, live healthy, live happy!
Hepatitis C is considered an epidemic and is now killing more people than Aids/HIV...30,000 a year and it's going to get much worse. The number of adults seeking liver transplants for hepatitis C infection will skyrocket in the next 20 years. An estimated 10,000 to 30,000 Americans die from this disease each year. Deaths are estimated to increase because of the increasing risk of infection, and the resulting cirrhosis, portal hypertension, thrombocytopenia, bleeding from varices, and liver cancer. Five years ago, 20% of hepatitis C patients were candidates for liver transplantation and today the number has increased to about 50%.
According to the Center for Disease Control (CDC), by the year 2008, the cases of decompensation will increase 279%, liver-related deaths 223% and the need for liver transplantation 528%. Considering that we don't have enough organs now and people die on transplant lists, far too many of those precious lives will be lost. For those fortunate enough to find a donor, the process costs roughly $300,000 during the first 3 months, and can be painful and incapacitating. Add to this the thousands of dollars for anti-rejection drugs and the costs of aftercare more frequent visits to health care facilities. The other option, debilitating and woefully ineffective chemo, runs into the tens of thousands of dollars and more and has success rates in the mere single digits
Hepatitis C is called the dragon, because it sleeps for many years and one day, suddenly, it wakes up and ends your life (people who got infected 20-30 years ago may just now find out). The Hepatitis C virus is very old and very smart.....it doesn't kill quickly like the old HIV virus or like the Ebola virus. Hepatitis C has chosen to infect the liver. The ONLY organ capable of regeneration. It simmers for many years, keeping its host alive. It is so smart it uses our own immune system against us.
Nobody knows exactly where it came from. During World War II, an unlicensed yellow fever vaccine was released to immunize our troops who were going to the South Pacific. To stabilize the vaccine, scientists used serum from Australian Aboregenese, hoping they were immune to endemic illnesses and that immunity would then be passed to our troops. Years later, it was discovered that 50% of the Aboregenese had Hepatitis B and C. A study done by the Veteran's Administration later PROVED that over 320,000 of our troops were infected. Thousands of them fell ill with hepatitis and hospitalized or quarantined in their barracks. When they came back home, they were encouraged to donate blood. A monster, with the power to mutate, had just been unleashed.
Hepatitis C is transmitted through blood only. That means blood transfusions with contaminated blood before 1992 (because blood was not screened), tatoos, body piercing, needle sticks, IV drugs with contaminated needles, manicures that made you bleed (instruments are not sterilized), sharing razors, toothbrushes, anything that could pass infected blood to your blood. Even doing IV drugs once could have given you the virus or sharing straws with someone that had nasal sores or bleeding.
A mutating virus for which there is no vaccine. It has many strains and substrains. By the time they figure something about it, it's already mutated into something stronger. 70-75% of people have genotype 1, the strain most difficult to treat. 95% of Veterans who have Hep C have genotype 1. The success rate with traditional modern medicine treatment is only about 50% and treatment is a whole year and side effects from the medications are cruel. For Veterans, success rate is only 19%....and sadly, even that treatment is approved for only 11.8% of them.
The Hepatitis C virus causes diabetes (40% of genotype 1 have diabetes), it affects the brain causing depression, it causes lung problems, neuropathy, fibromyalgia, Sjogren's, cardiac problems, skin problems, arthritis, stomach problems, anemia, fatigue, and of course, cirrhosis. After cirrhosis comes DECOMPENSATION. The liver stops working, the skin and sclera become yellow, your belly looks like you're pregnant, you're unable to process protein, you get anemic, confused, the kidneys stop working and many bleed to death.
Many of the people that are infected already have severe liver damage and don't know it....and they are going to be looking at herbal products to treat the symptoms they are having. What many people do not know is that there are at least three excellent inexpensive supplements that can be used for hepatitis. First of all, an aqueous extract of the oleander plant made according to the directions in the book "Cancer's Natural Enemy" (written by the author of this article) has had excellent results in treating hepatitis-C (the extract, commonly called "Oleander Soup", is best known as a remedy for treating cancer).
Secondly, the product Colloidal Silver has been used by a great many people who testify that it is second to none in treating hepatitis.
There is also an excellent herbal supplement treatment regimen for hepatitis that is all natural, inexpensive and extraordinarily effective. Most people in the United States are not familiar with the Berkson Clinical Study on Hepatitis-C, a study that was never published in the United States, despite Dr. Berkson's impressive credentials that include Rutgers, the Max Planck Institute and the Center for Disease Control (CDS) in Atlanta.
It has been suggested that the real reason the study has never been published in the states is due to the fact that liver transplants are highly profitable for mainstreams medicine, costing over $300,000 in the first three months alone, plus many thousands of dollars afterwards for anti-rejection drugs and aftercare.
In Doctor Berksons study, which was 100% effective in a limited study on advanced hepatitis-C patients who were facing either transplants or chemo, he used a combination of three commonly available and inexpensive natural supplements, along with healthy modificatioins in diet, exercise and lifestyle.
And what are the supplements? Milk thistle (silymarin), alpha-lipoic acid and selenium - all commonly available and inexpensive. I have used milk thistle for years, after reading long ago that it was deemed effective at not only protecting the liver but also in regenerating damaged livers by the German E Commission (their equivalent of the FDA). Now I take all three supplements to help offset a fondness for another natural substance - blue agave (smile).
In treating any disease or illness, it is usually an excellent idea to cleanse the body of toxins (toxins help promote disease and retard healing). A liver cleanse is a very good procedure to use to help treat hepatitis as well as a good one for anyone to use as part of a healthy anti-disease lifestyle. And, since good health begins in the gut, the same holds true for cleansing the colon. Liver and colon cleanses are widely available online and at retail natural health product outlets.
Live long, live healthy, live happy!
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