What tests are done to check for hepatitis C

Liver diseases have always troubled patients, because hepatitis A and hepatitis B are both contagious, and hepatitis C is also one of the more common liver diseases. When this disease develops to a serious level, it will affect the health of the patient. The patient will smell greasy smells, feel nauseous and vomit, and cannot eat many foods. So what tests are needed to check for hepatitis C?

Nowadays, many diseases are plaguing people's health. The trouble caused by hepatitis C is very serious. For the treatment of the disease, the first thing to do is to conduct a systematic examination and have a clear understanding of the disease. Disease patients can undergo tests such as hepatitis C antibodies, hepatitis C virus gene testing, and imaging examinations.

For patients, the harm caused by hepatitis C is very serious. Some patients are not very familiar with the disease, which may delay the treatment of the disease and cause the disease to worsen. This is very dangerous. It is important to detect the disease early and treat it early. What is the hepatitis C test? Let me give you a brief introduction.

Hepatitis C antibody test: The hepatitis C antibody test determines whether there are hepatitis C antibodies. This measure does not determine whether the virus is present. It takes three months for the hepatitis C virus to invade the human body, so it may be false in the early stages of hepatitis C infection.

Hepatitis C virus genetic test: This is a test to check the status of hepatitis C virus in the blood, which is very accurate. Typically, the presence of the virus can be detected within two weeks. If both hepatitis C antibody and hepatitis C RNA are positive, hepatitis C virus can be diagnosed, and active treatment is necessary this time.

Imaging examination: This measure mainly refers to the color ultrasound of the liver, gallbladder, and spleen in the abdomen, through which it is determined whether the liver has been damaged. Some patients also require contrast-enhanced CT or MRI of the abdomen.

Liver function tests: This test is used to measure serum ALT, total bilirubin, indirect bilirubin, albumin, globulin, and alkaline phosphatase.

Routine blood test: For patients with hepatitis C, the total white blood cell count is generally slightly higher in the initial stage, and is generally lower in the jaundice stage. The number of lymphocytes increases relatively, and for those with serious conditions, the number of white blood cells may increase, the number of red blood cells will decrease, and the amount of hemoglobin will decrease. During the illness, patients should not take medicine blindly. They must take medicine under the doctor's advice to avoid causing more serious harm to the body. In daily life, they must pay attention to a healthy diet, avoid eating spicy food, and patients should not smoke or drink.

All these are tests that must be done for patients with hepatitis C. For patients suffering from this disease, they must first pay enough attention to it, build confidence in fighting the disease, take necessary measures for early treatment, and patients also need to pay attention to their daily life, in terms of diet, have good living habits, and strive to get rid of the disease as soon as possible.