You've got Hepatitis C! Terrible thoughts race through your head as you try to catch your breath. Where did I get it from? Will I give it my family? Am I going to die? Despite hepatitis C being a main stream infection numerous misconceptions continue to pervade the media and internet. What are the best ways to deal with a hepatitis C infection and how can you best coexist with this chronic virus?

See your medical doctor on a regular basis. Ask questions and educate yourself about your hepatitis C infection. Know your important blood test results such as your hepatitis C viral load and your infection's genotype.

Try to figure out how and when you acquired your hepatitis C infection. It may be difficult to determine when you developed the infection but it's very helpful information for your doctors to have.

Get a liver biopsy if your doctor recommends it. A liver biopsy can be a frightening prospect; however, it is the only test that can indicate how much damage the hepatitis C infection has caused.

Give up all alcohol. This may seem extreme but remember that not everyone with a hepatitis C infection will progress to cirrhosis or liver cancer. Since the break down of alcohol stresses the liver it makes sense that alcohol consumption might increase the likelihood of a hepatitis C infection causing future health complications.

Use aspirin or ibuprofen and not acetaminophen. Acetaminophen is metabolized by the liver which in theory causes more stress on the liver.

Begin taking milk thistle. Find the highest quality brand available since purity varies. Milk thistle is used extensively in Europe to treat hepatitis c infections.

Stay healthy and don't smoke. Staying at your ideal body weight and not smoking might reduce the amount of scarring and fibrosis that the hepatitis c infection causes in the liver.

Do not develop fatty liver! This metabolic condition characterized by fat deposition in the liver can also cause cirrhosis and liver cancer. Combining fatty liver with a hepatitis c infection probably increases the potential for liver complications.

Investigate treatment options. Educate yourself about Peg-interferon and discuss your options with your doctor team. Some genotypes of hepatitis c infection are more responsive to anti-viral therapy than others.

Get immunized against hepatitis A and B. Having a chronic hepatitis C infection does not protect you against contracting other strains of viral hepatitis. Getting infected with another viral hepatitis is likely to increase your liver problems.