I asked the designers to create a Hepatitis C awareness infographic and I think they did a bang-up job. I am proud to display it here on Oh My Aches and Pains! and hope it goes a long way towards educating everyone about the risk factors for HCV infection as well as the impact HCV has on individuals, families, the health care system and our society as a whole.
How This Infographic Relates to Me
As I reveal last week in my vlog, I contracted Hepatitis C from blood transfusion I received in 1988.
I actually developed acute Hepatitis C in August 1988, with jaundice, nausea, vomiting, fatigue, fever and abdominal pain. It took me several years to recover from the fatigue I experienced from acute Hepatitis C.
I am one of the 85% who have gone on to develop chronic Hep C infection.
As noted above, I became infected near the peak of Hep C infections in 1989. This was before there was a blood test to screen the blood supply for Hep C. I knew there was a risk of contracting what was then called non-A non-B Hepatitis from blood transfusions when I signed my cancer treatment consent form in 1988. I was not in a position to refuse blood transfusions due to the nature of the cancer treatment that I received. It was a risk I needed to take to beat leukemia.
Since 1992, the risk of getting Hep C from a blood transfusion has dropped to less than 1 in 2 million.
How This Infographic Relates to You
I strongly encourage you to get tested for Hepatitis C if you identify that you have risk factors for Hepatitis C.
Knowing you have Hepatitis C is key to living a long and healthy life with it. If you know you are HCV+, you and your doctor can discuss healthy lifestyle changes, monitor disease progression and take steps to manage the infection. This can go a long way to preventing or delaying the onset of chronic liver disease, cirrhosis and liver cancer.
Plus knowing you are HVC+ might encourage you to make choices that will prevent the spread of Hep C to others.
This infographic was made possible by http://www.foresthc.com/.









