There's more to hepatitis than hepatitis C. To many people, it's not worth the time to sort out the ABCs of hepatitis soup: if you have hepatitis then you must have hepatitis C. However, just like all facial tissues aren't Kleenex and all adhesive bandages aren't Band-Aides, all hepatitis isn't hepatitis C. There are different types of hepatitis and it turns out that inflammation of the liver has many causes.
Maybe the cause of this confusion comes from viral hepatitis and its use of letters to name the different viruses. There are five viruses, each named after the first five letters of the alphabet. It's tough enough to keep these straight especially since these viruses are alike in many ways. However, there are striking differences. For example hepatitis A and E are spread through infected feces. Hepatitis B, C and D are spread through infected blood and possibly other body fluids.
Many people know about the risks of infected body fluids. This might explain why hepatitis is associated with being infectious, but it's not true for all types. For example, autoimmune hepatitis, which is caused by the immune system attacking the liver, can't be stopped with all the prevention in the world because genetics are probably invovled. Likewise, drinking large amounts of alcohol can lead to the same liver inflammation that viruses can cause, but no matter how close you sit to someone knocking back one shot after another, you won't catch alcoholic hepatitis.
Finally, consider drug-induced hepatitis. This is liver inflammation caused by too many drugs or other toxins overwhelming the liver. Sometimes the effects of overdose can be reversed, but sometimes, the assault is too great and liver damage results. And, yet, there's not much stigma attached to Tylenol.
There are others to mention, but the point is to realize that hepatitis has many causes, not just viral; and of the viral causes, there are more than just hepatitis C. For a good summary, check out Types of Hepatitis: Understanding the Different Causes.
Thanks for this. You are right, not all hepatitis is virus induced. And not all hepatitis is C. The other biggie in viral hepatitis is hepatitis B. Together, hepatitis B and C affect more than 5 million Americans. More than 4 times as many people in the US have viral hepatitis than HIV/AIDS!
One thing you can to help your liver is you have any type of hepatitis is to avoid alcohol! Drinking and hepatitis are like gasoline on a fire.
I am the one who is suffering from Hepatitis HCV & I am experiencing on stopping drinking any alcohols for the last 29 years, still existing okay.
But I don’t know for how long I survive healthy.
I Thank you for those who typed & leave their message that can encourage my life.