Added: 12/16/2005 |
Hepatitis disease starts like a common fluHepatitis disease is defined as a viral disease affecting the liver. There are several forms of hepatitis. Hepatitis A and hepatitis B are among them. The infection may be transmitted through body fluids, infected blood and unprotected sexual contacts. The transmission is also possible from mother to her child.
There are a lot of groups of people who are prone to hepatitis disease. They can be defined as those working with people's fluids and blood. They are health workers, body piercing or tattoo artists, sexually active people who have infected partners, needle-users, hemodialysis and hemophiliacs patients, people who had some blood transfusions before 1975, children born from infected mothers, tourists to undeveloped countries, people from the countries with a high rate of HBV, prison personnel and inmates and others.
Speaking about hepatitis signs and symptoms it is necessary to mention the fact that very often they just don't show. It is also possible that the symptoms will appear only in some weeks after the person becomes infected. Nevertheless, it is possible to single out the following signs of hepatitis disease. They include extreme tiredness, vomiting, nausea, fatigue, aches of muscles and joints, jaundice, feces of light color, urine of dark color, loss of weight and appetite, fever and others.
If you want to define whether you have HBV or not, you may use blood test. The test is not common, so you should ask the medical provider order a special kind of test.
Hepatitis prevention and treatment are very important. If the blood test for hepatitis disease is positive, you should consult the doctor. Though, it is possible that you'll have to take some additional tests in order to confirm the diagnosis. The doctor may prescribe you some kind of treatment, but in 35% of cases the treatment is not efficient. It is recommended to abstain from drinking alcohol because it makes the condition worse.
There are certain practices that help avoid getting the condition. The most effective way of prevention is to be vaccinated from Hepatitis B three times during six months. If you are going to make a tattoo or piercing, do not neglect the precautions. Try to avoid the contact of the blood and body fluids of other people. Never use the needles that might be contaminated, simply avoid sharing needles. Ensure that you have safe sexual contacts.
There is also such a type of hepatitis as acute hepatitis. It may be caused by a viral infection, for example A, B, C, D, E or viral hepatitis. Overdose of drugs and chemical exposure can also cause the condition.
The first symptoms of acute hepatitis are flu-like. They are usually followed by jaundice, vomiting, fever, sore muscles, nausea, loss of appetite, joint pain and others.
The symptoms of acute hepatitis may resemble the symptoms of other conditions. That is why to put the adequate diagnosis, it is recommended to consult the doctor. The treatment prescribed by the doctor depends on a number of factors, such as your medical history and the general health, the extent of the disease, your tolerance to some specific medications, therapies and procedures, expectations for the medical course of the disease and of course your preferences and opinions.
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