• Your liver is a complex chemical factory that works 24 hours a day. It processes virtually everything you eat, drink, breathe in or rub on your skin;in fact, the liver performs over 500 functions that are vital to life.It weighs around one kilogram

Your liver is Your power source

It helps digest your food and turns it into energy.By converting proteins, carbohydrates, fat and vitamins into energy, the liver ensures that your body has what it needs to keep going.

Your liver is Your engine.

It drives many of your body’s critical systems and when it breaks down, your body will too.

Your liver is Your pharmacist.

It must process all medications, vitamins or herbal remedies you take before they can take effect. Mixing or overdosing medications can damage this vital organ.

• Hepatitis C can be the reason to cause a serious damage to the liver and can increase the chances of cirrhosis which is a late stage of liver disease. Yet most people who have hepatitis C don’t know they are infected as it is the silent disease.
  Following are some need-to-know facts and common myths about hepatitis C for future prevention.

Facts

Hepatitis C can lead to liver cancer. You can be cured of hepatitis C. The only way to find out if you have hepatitis C is to be tested.

Myths

Most people infected with hepatitis C contracted the virus during unprotected sex. There is a vaccine for hepatitis C.

• Every day you make decisions that affect your liver health. The choices you make on household product purchases, food consumption and daily activity can have positive or negative effects on your liver. To safeguard your healthy liver, it is important that you understand the critical roles the liver plays in maintaining your overall health and how activities that you may take for granted can help or hurt this vital organ.

Who is at Risk for Hepatitis C?

Risk of infection with HCV is increased if you:
1) Shared needles to inject drugs or straws to inhale them.
2) Had tattoos or body piercings using unsterile equipment.
3) Worked in a place where you came in contact with infected blood or needles, for example, healthcare workers.
4) Were born to a mother with HCV.
5) Had unprotected sex with multiple partners.
6) Have or had a sexually transmitted disease.
7) Have HIV.