How Harvoni Tablets Will Help You Cure Hepatitis C

Hepatitis C is among the most life-threatening diseases of the liver. With the passage of time, the Hepatitis C can lead to liver cancer, cirrhosis and even to liver failure. Hepatitis C is basically caused by the hepatitis C virus that is HCV. This HCV virus is transmitted through contact with infected blood. As per the statistics more than 71 million people are infected with HCV worldwide. Most of the people with HCV don’t experience any symptoms for many years and among them, some people don’t have any symptoms at all.

Some of the early symptoms of Hepatitis C are as follows:mild fatigue

• joint pain
• muscle pain
• low energy
• nausea
• a lack of appetite

Later symptoms as the disease advances can further include, symptoms like:

• severe fatigue
• persistent nausea
• vomiting
• a loss of appetite
• yellowing of whites of the eyes and skin
• low-grade fever

What is Harvoni?

From several years, only a few medications were there to treat HCV like interferons and ribavirin but these medications were not appropriate as these often came with serious side effects as well as they weren’t always effective.

The Highlights of Harvoni:

• Harvoni got approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration in 2014.
• In studies, it has been shown that Harvoni is up to 99 percent effective.
• Moreover, it is a typical course of treatment and lasts 12 weeks.

New Treatment Approach:

Researchers began to develop more effective ways to cure HCV, in the early 2000s. They were in search of developing drugs that could effectively target the particular genotype of HCV. The particular strain of a virus is known as a genotype. HCV strains include genotypes 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, and 6 and Genotype 1 is the most common among them. These new drugs are called direct-acting anti-virals (DAAs) and these drugs can directly attack HCV, and in addition it prevents the virus from replicating. DAAs are among the major steps taken forward in the ongoing effort for treating HCV.

Approval of Harvoni:

The Harvoni got approved in 2014 by FDA and it was the first combination pill that is effective to cure the patients with genotype 1. Harvoni is a pill that is made up with the combination of the drugs ledipasvir and sofosbuvir. These drugs interfere the action of a protein that is needed for the growth of HCV which prevents HCV from getting multiplied. Harvoni treats the people with HCV genotypes 1, 4, 5, and 6. In a study it is shown that Harvoni can cure up to 99 percent of people who take it for 12 weeks.

How to take Harvoni Treatment:

• Harvoni is an oral tablet that a patient needs to take once per day. He/she can take it with or without food.
• However, the completion of course of Harvoni treatment takes 12 weeks but for some people who haven’t been treated for HCV before, 8 weeks might be for their treatment.
• The people who have cirrhosis of the liver, their treatment may last upto 24 weeks. If a patient takes the drug at the same time every day then they may have the best results.
• Make sure that you follow the prescriptions of your doctor about dosage. Because if you take a smaller or larger dose than the prescribed one it may make the drug less effective.
• Make sure you follow the orders of your doctor about safety and preventing transmission of HCV because while you are taking Harvoni treatment you can still pass the virus to another person.
• Your doctor may order frequent blood tests throughout your treatment to determine whether the virus has been eliminated.

Side Effects and Interactions of Harvoni:

Harvoni is basically a well-tolerated treatment but the most common side effects of Harvoni can be as follows:

• Weakness
• Cough
• Headache
• Fatigue

Other side effects could be nausea, diarrhea, vomiting and trouble sleeping.