Hepatitis C is
difficult to understand, and there are LOTS of "experts" out there who are more
than willing to take advantage of the uninformed. Please feel free to call our National Support Line
for more detailed and personal attention related to hepatitis C (number listed
above).
The folks who keep the NHCC in operation are
unique people. ALL are volunteers who help fund our daily operations, tend to
our telephone support lines, attend health fairs, and do just about anything
necessary to help the NHCC continue to operate. These folks are required to have
extensive and personal hepatitis C experience behind them before speaking to
patients or family members about the disease, but this is just so we can make
sure that what's shared is honest, trustworthy, and that our reputation remains
stellar and accurate as always.
Times are difficult for most folks and money is
tight. However, we too have significant expenses just keeping the NHCC in
operation, and this is why it's so important that we reach out to good people
like yourselves who will help us remain active for the "cause".
Please remember us in your prayers as well as
with your financial contributions, and we promise that we'll do our very best to
be here when you need us!
The NHCC is a 501(c)3 charitable
organization.
Financial donation are tax-deductible.
Another reason to regret that late-night
tattoo: It could deliver the liver-destroying hepatitis C virus (HCV) in a
more dangerous manner.
People with tattoos are just as likely as IV drug users to have HCV, a
University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center study of 626 people
suggests. But IV drug users were six times more likely to have the early
warning signs of infection--nausea, fatigue, or jaundice--that can lead to
quick detection and treatment. Why? While contaminated drug needles shoot
large quantities of HCV directly into the bloodstream, tattoo needles
pierce just the skin, introducing the virus into the bloodstream slowly
and in smaller amounts. As a result, HCV symptoms may not show up for 20
years.
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Erin Verkler is a former Prevention intern
The National Hepatitis C Coalition, Inc. thanks Erin
Verkler and Prevention Magazine for permission to reprint this article.
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