Hepatitis- Symptom, Causes, Treatment of Hepatitis

Hepatitis is the inflammation of the liver, when the liver becomes inflamed, its cells cannot work properly to turn food into chemicals our bodies can use, or to turn waste products into chemicals that are easy to get rid of in urine or faeces. The inflamed tissue swells, obstructing the flow of blood and bile through the liver.

Causes of Hepatitis

Hepatitis may be caused by infection or by poisoning with toxic chemicals (for example alcohol, some industrial chemicals and some drugs). Most is caused by viruses the main ones being hepatitis A virus (HAV), hepatitis B virus (HBV) hepatitis Cvirus (HCV which was previously non-A. non-B hepatitis), hepatitis D virus (HDV - the delta agent), hepatitis E virus (HEV) and the recently identified hepatitis G virus. Hepatitis B and C are the most serious because some infected people become chronic carriers of these viruses.

HBV is transmitted when body fluids or secretion ' from an infected person get into another person's body through a break in the skin or a lining membrane. HBV has been found in blood, semen, vaginal secretions, saliva, urine, breast milk, discharges, sweat and even tears, but only the first three are likely to transmit the infection. It can be transmitted by sexual contact, blood transfusion. sharing syringes and needles, contaminatted instruments (such as those used for tattooing ear-piercing, acupuncture, dental and medical pcedures), a blood splash into an eye, and - rarely by the contact of an infected fluid with a cut or abrasion on any body surface

Occasionally hepatitis may develop when person is infected by other viruses (such as CYTO MEGALOVIRUS or Epstein-Barr virus). bacteriam parasites, or it may result from AUTOIMMUNE DISEASE (in which the immune system produces an bodies that attack one or more of the body's O tissues).

Symptoms of Hepatitis

Hepatitis ranges from mild to very severe. Mild hepatitis may not cause any noticealt symptoms, just an off-colour feeling for a few days. Severe hepatitis causes a very serious disturbaoo of health, and can occasionally be fatal.

The onset of symptoms may be abrupt or gradual; fever and malaise may be felt for a fewdar before the onset of jaundice, which is the mol obvious sign that the liver is not working properly Jaundice caused by hepatitis is most noticeable in the skin and whites of the eyes, and makes urine dark orange or red and the faeces pale. Jaundice may take several days to develop its deepest colour. If theil
liver is inflamed enough to cause jaundice, many of its other important functions will also be disturbed, triggering other symptoms, including loss of appetiteand energy, biliousness, fever. headache achingmusclesand general malaise. There may be painin the right upper abdomen. going through to the back.

Most adults infected by a hepatitis virus overcome the infection by developing antibodies against it. Once the antibodies are doing their work, jaundicebegins to fade, usually taking I to 2 weeks to disappear. Other symptoms of disturbed liver functionmay subside more slowly: it may be weeks oreven months before the patient feels well again. Ingeneral. the more severe the attack, the longer it
takesto recover. After complete recovery, the patienthas immunity against future infection.

Diagnosis of Hepatitis

Blood tests demonstrate disturbed liver function and can identify the causative virus and the stage of infection

Treament of Hepatitis

There is no specific treatment for acuteviral hepatitis, but the antiviral drug interferon has been shown to reduce multiplication of thevirus and help the body fight it. Rest is advised until liver function returns to normal and the patientfeels well again. Anything that might put extrastrain on the liver, such as alcohol and certain drugs,and fatty foods, which need bile to be digested, should be avoided. Hospital treatment for hepatitis is only necessary if vomiting or other symptomsare so severe that the patient must be fed intravenously, or if other complications of the disorder develop.

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