Hepatitis

Hepatitis is the inflammation of your liver caused by a virus infection. It is a Greek term for liver inflammation. Drugs, alcohol and toxins can also lead to hepatitis.

Hepatitis types are named after the viral and bacterial causes of hepatitis, such as viral hepatitis A (HAV), hepatitis B (HBV) and hepatitis C (HCV).

Your liver is well adapted to heal itself. Nonetheless, this self-healing ability can be hampered by long term inflammation caused due to hepatitis infection. This can possibly lead to severe liver hepatitis and permanent liver damage.

In absence of treatment, you can suffer damage to your liver cells along with inflammation of liver cell tissues. Jaundice is often seen in cases with B type of hepatitis infections.

Causes of Hepatitis

The various hepatitis related causes can be understood reasonably through its acute and chronic phases.

Common acute hepatitis causes:

• Bacterial infections which are severe
• Toxins including alcohol and fungal toxins
• Viral types of hepatitis including hepatitis A, hepatitis B and hepatitis C
• Viral diseases other than those stated above
• Amoeba infections
• Harmful medicinal side effects

Causes of chronic hepatitis can include:

• Adverse reaction to medicines
• Autoimmune hepatitis, where the patient’s own immune system destroys liver cells
• Toxins, mainly alcohol
• Other inborn disorders including Wilson’s disease

You should take appropriate preventive steps to keep away from possible hepatitis infection including hepatitis vaccination such as washing hands thoroughly before eating and after using washroom, eating freshly cooked food and stop or limit alcohol intake.

Symptoms of Hepatitis

The symptoms you experience in acute hepatitis can differ from those occurring in other patients.

It is also observed that some patients do not experience any hepatitis symptoms. Children may display very mild symptoms.

In the early stages of hepatitis you may experience a slight temperature with tiredness and uneasiness.

You may also experience nausea, loss of appetite and a change in the taste of food. Additionally, you can have hepatitis associated symptoms in the form of muscle aches, headache and pain in your joints.

Treatment for Hepatitis

Often, the majority of hepatitis A cases resolve by themselves. As such, there are no specific hepatitis preventions or treatments for hepatitis A. Your doctor can advise you to avoid alcohol and drugs during recovery.

Hepatitis B is treated by taking appropriate rest. In addition, you have to maintain a diet high in protein and carbohydrates. This helps repair damaged liver cells and protect your liver.

If hepatitis B does not respond properly to this treatment, your doctor may prescribe antiviral medications to control and treat the infection.

Non-viral hepatitis treatment involves removing harmful substances from your stomach through hyperventilation (rapid, deep breathing) or through induced vomiting.

But once you start treatment for hepatitis and the symptoms subside, you will experience tiredness as an after effect of the disease that may last for weeks.