Hepatitis is known as the inflammation of the liver produced by viruses, medications, toxic agents. Hepatitis of viral cause is considered to be acute or chronic. There are different types of viruses that produce different types of hepatitis: hepatitis A, B, C, D, E each has its own characteristics.

Hepatitis C is shared by contaminated needles, drug-injection equipment, non-sterilized equipment for acupuncture, tattooing and body piercing, by unprotected sex, during delivery from mother to baby, when prizing cocaine, through a blood transfusion.

Some people may have no evident symptoms but they transmit the virus to others.

Most common symptoms include: nausea and vomiting, loss of appetite, diarrhea, weight loss, itchy skin, jaundice. A high percent of people pass the virus to others and remain infected for many years, acute hepatitis becomes chronic hepatitis. The complications that occur in chronic hepatitis are: liver cirrhosis, liver cancer.

You are advised to search help in local clinics of sexual health, or special clinics which include: genito-urinary department, sexually transmitted diseases, venereal diseases departments. You can find the nearest clinic by searching on the internet or phone at your local hospital. Treatment and advices are free and confidential. NHS sexual health clinics usually offer the kind of treatment needed in the cases of acute hepatitis. You may also address: your own GP, a hospital Accident and Emergency department, www.playingsafely.co.uk offers detailes of STD clinics, to http://herpes-coldsores.com/support/std_clinic_us.htm for STD clinics in Australia, New Zealand, Puerto Rico and India.

There are some tests to be performed to see exactly, if you are infected and with what type of hepatitis, blood tests, a test for antibodies to the hepatitis C virus which shows if you have antibodies against hepatitis C virus and that you have been exposed to hepatitis C virus and the source of infection is important to be discovered, if your tests are positive it means you are infected with hepatitis and you can pass it to others.

Some people remain chronically infected with hepatitis C virus and transmit the infection to others, liver function tests, liver biopsy are required to see if you need to follow any treatment. A reinfection may occur any time. If the result is negative it means that you have never been in contact with hepatitis C virus. Those test(blood tests, physical check-ups) are recommended to be repeated in specialized services. At present there is no vaccine anti- hepatitis C available. Other measures you should take if you have active hepatitis are adopting a healthy diet with no fats and low salt, use condom when you have sex in order not to pass the virus to your partner, do not share your toothbrush or your shaving equipment.

Remember to use condoms so as not to pass or get sexually transmitted infections.