Can I Get Rid of Hep C

You can get rid of (clear) hepatitis C by undergoing medical treatment called 'anti-viral therapy' or by clearing the virus by yourself if you are lucky.

About 1 in 5 people clear the virus by themselves during the early stages within the first 6-9 months. This is called an 'Acute Infection'. Very rarely people spontaneously clear the virus much later. Everyone else needs help in the form of medical treatment.

How do some people clear the virus?

It is not certain why some people clear the virus by themselves. Your body has an amazing army called your 'immune system' that fights off any unwelcome bugs that get in to your body. This makes antibodies and special fighting cells call 'lymphocytes' to use as weapons to fight off bugs.

We all make antibodies to hepatitis C when we are exposed (when your body sees the virus) but these do not seem to be good enough to fight off hepatitis C. It appears the immune system needs to make a strong fight using the 'lymphocytes' too in order to get rid of hepatitis C (a strong lymphocyte response). Unfortunately, it seems only some of us can do this to fight off hepatitis C.