Ribavirin is an oral antiviral medication initially developed for other viral infections, namely Respiratory Syncytial Virus infection in children. However, it has turned out to be a very useful medication in hepatitis C treatment. Schering (Pegatron) interferon and ribavirin medication can be seen in the photograph above. We still really do not know how it works against hepatitis C. The main side effect is hemolysis, which is where the body's red blood cells break up resulting in anemia, or a low red blood count. Red cells carry oxygen around the body so anemia might cause tiredness. The other major concern about ribavirin is that it causes birth defects in animals, so it should definitely not be used during pregnancy or when a couple is trying to get pregnant. Ribavirin does stay in the body for a long time but it is safe to try to get pregnancy 6 months after stopping treatment.