Up to 4% of Baby Boomers could have Hep C—accounting for 75% of Americans with Hep C. They had the bad luck of being in the wrong time with the wrong medical practices. Reused needles, some areas didn’t sterilize enough, etc. etc.
No symptoms? Hep C lasts decades before symptoms manifest. Early Hep C symptoms can slip under the radar, too—fatigue, for instance, can have a lot of causes. Most people don’t jump to Hep C.
When obvious symptoms do present, it often means things are getting serious (if it’s not too late). It can take the liver starting to fail for symptoms to catch a diagnosis.
Don’t think you caught it? Hep C is super virulent—remember all those scary chain-emails about HIV in the late 90s/early 2000s? Made-up. Not even possible. But if they’d been about Hep C instead? They’d have still been made-up, but the science would at least be possible. Hep C can survive outside the body for a really long time—weeks! It’s advised that people with Hep C don’t share things like razors, toothbrushes, and other personal items for a reason—even a minor, unnoticed cut could spread the disease, and it only takes a very small amount of viral particles for the disease to catch on.
Why isn’t Hep C more common if it’s so virulent? If you have a strong, healthy immune system, it might be able to fight off the initial infection. Hep C isn’t diagnosed as chronic Hep C until its lasted 6 months and built up a viral load (you may not even test positive for Hep C if you test right after exposure).
Besides wanting to catch it early, here’s another reason to get tested: you don’t want an ER diagnosis. When you go to the ER, you’re checked for lots of things—infections, pregnancy (if you’re a woman), signs of visible injury. Imagine going to the ER with an injury, or sudden or severe injury—either would be something that weakens your immune system. Now, you get a Hep C diagnosis, too. The majority of people who test positive were unaware they had it.
Traditional Hep C treatments are rough—and there are new ones, but they’re pricey. Not something you want to take on when you’re dealing with something worthy of the ER.
So, get tested for Hep C if you were born between (roughly) 1945-62. And you can always support your immune system with colloidal silver, as much rest as you need, good nutrition, and exercise!
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