Hepatitis B
What is it?
Hepatitis is a term for inflammation of the liver. Hepatitis B is a serious, sometimes severe, and even fatal type of hepatitis.
Who gets it?
Anyone can get Hepatitis B. Mothers who are infected with hepatitis B or who are carriers can spread the disease to their babies.
What causes it?
Hepatitis B is caused by an extremely infectious virus that attacks the liver. This type of hepatitis is commonly spread through bodily fluids such as semen, saliva, and blood. Hepatitis B can also be spread by contaminated syringes and needles, and poorly sterilized instruments such as the ones used in tattoo and piercing parlors. The disease can be spread by people who do not even know they carry the virus because they have no symptoms. Hepatitis B is not spread through food or water.
What are the symptoms?
Symptoms of hepatitis B may appear as long as 4 weeks to 6 months after you are infected with the virus. At first, Hepatitis B has the symptoms of a viral infection, such as loss of appetite, fever, body aches, and fatigue. Other possible initial symptoms include itching hives, pain in certain joints, and a loss of taste for cigarettes in smokers. Symptoms that may follow include nausea and vomiting; foul breath and bitter taste in the mouth; dark brown urine; yellowish skin and eyes (jaundice); pain just below the ribs on the right side, especially when pressed; and pale-colored bowel movements that may be looser than normal. The symptoms generally last several weeks and are usually followed by a slow but complete recovery. It may take 6 months before liver tests show normal function.
Some people develop chronic hepatitis B. This means they continue to be infected with the virus for a long time and develop the complications of prolonged liver inflammation. The disease can eventually cause liver failure and death. Some of the symptoms of serious liver damage are pain on the left side of the upper abdomen from an enlarged spleen, swelling of the stomach and legs, reddening of the palms, bruising easily, and bleeding from the esophagus or stomach.
How is it diagnosed?
Your doctor will take a careful medical history to determine when you began having symptoms, how they progressed, and how you got infected. It's important to ensure that liver inflammation is not a side effect of medications you are taking or from the abuse of alcohol. Your doctor will examine your skin, eyes, and especially your abdomen for signs of hepatitis. The diagnosis is confirmed by blood tests. If blood tests show that your liver is not working normally, your doctor will do tests to find out what type of virus is causing the problems. For example, mononucleosis virus can also cause liver problems. If your doctor cannot make a definite diagnosis, or there's a possibility of chronic hepatitis or serious liver damage, he or she may order a liver biopsy. With a local anesthetic, a needle is used to remove a small amount of liver tissue, which is sent to a lab for tests.
What is the treatment?
Your doctor will prescribe bed rest, a balanced diet, and avoidance of alcohol and certain medications for at least 6 months. Hospitalization is only necessary for more serious cases, or for severe dehydration. Patients with chronic hepatitis B may need steroids or injections of interferon, an antiviral drug.
Self-care tips
Follow your doctor's instructions for bed rest until fever and jaundice are gone, and urine color is normal. Avoid too much physical activity in the first few months. Eat small, balanced meals, using lightly carbonated soft drinks, juices, and hard candy to reduce nausea. Do not drink alcohol. Do not engage in high risk behaviors, such as intravenous drug use or sex with multiple partners. If you have Hepatitis B, do not share food, drinks, toothbrushes, needles, or razor blades with others. Do not donate blood. The Hepatitis B vaccine can be an effective preventive measure in 90 - 95% of healthy people.
This information has been designed as a comprehensive and quick reference
guide written by our health care reviewers. The health information written
by our authors is intended to be a supplement to the care provided by your
physician. It is not intended nor implied to be a substitute for
professional medical advice.
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