Archive for the 'Hepatitis' Category

Are you aware of viral hepatitis? Especially, it is very important for pregnant women to know about this viral infection, to protect your self and your unborn baby from this dangerous viral infection.

It is a communicable disease which can be transmitted from mother to her child.

Hepatitis is the condition of inflammation in your liver. Causes for this inflammation could be any thing like over consumption of alcohol, over intake of harmful drugs, multiple sexual contacts, and using harmful chemicals and can also be caused due to some auto immune diseases.

Viral hepatitis is the medical problem which is mainly caused due to some specific viruses that primarily attacks your liver.

These specific viruses, which are responsible for hepatitis are classified according to their growth, as hepatitis A, B, C, D, E, F(not definite),G. The most commonly affected viruses are hepatitis A, hepatitis B, and hepatitis C.

Viral hepatitis A:

This viral infection mainly affects the liver of a person and does not cause any chronic infection. The incubation period of this virus is about four weeks. In the initial stages, it is excreted in stool, prior to the beginning of symptoms.

About 300 million people worldwide are with Hepatitis C Virus (HCV) infection.

Its number is steadily increasing every year. It is been found that currently more than thirty thousand hepatitis C cases are diagnosing yearly.

According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), approximately 3.9 million Americans are with Hepatitis C, mostly with chronic infections.

Hepatitis C, an infection of the liver caused by hepatitis C Virus, can develop as “acute” or “chronic.” Acute Hepatitis C causes short-term liver infection. In acute phase, the body can able to kill the Hepatitis C virus completely.

On the other hand, the stage where the body is unable to kill the virus and that leads to long-term inflammation of the liver is known as Chronic Hepatitis C.

Extra-Hepatic Manifestations Of Hepatitis C:

When Hepatitis C Virus (HCV) is left untreated, it can result in liver disease and even liver cancer. In addition to the liver, there are many other conditions associated with Hepatitis C, known as extra-hepatic manifestations.

Extra-hepatic manifestations refer to the diseases or health conditions that affect the organs other than liver. It usually occurs when the immune system is unable to fight off the virus.

The most serious of all types of hepatitis is the hepatitis C.

Today, Hepatitis C virus (HCV) has become one of the most common reasons for liver transplantation in adults.

Nowadays, around 300 millions of the world’ s population is suffering from HCV.

The rate of HCV affected people in eastern part of Europe is very high when compared with HCV affected people in the western part of the continent.

It is estimated that currently approximately 4.1 millions of people, in United States, are infected with hepatitis C. Among these, 3.2 million are chronically infected.

Mostly, it spreads through sharing drug equipments (needles), unprotected sex with an infected partner, blood transfusions, from mother to child during pregnancy.

You, as a woman, could also get HCV through a tattoo or body piercing with unsterilized and dirty tools.

Most of the specialists consider this disease to be an epidemic. As Hepatitis C is mostly asymptomatic, it is generally known as a silent illness. You, having hepatitis C, will not aware of its presence in your body for many years.

Although HCV damages your liver, you do not develop symptoms with this disease. If you develop any, they would be mild and usually come and go for some period of time.

Hepatitis refers to an inflammation of the liver due to some specific viruses. It is generally known as viral hepatitis.

It is also found that bacteria can also cause hepatitis. The viruses that attack the liver are of five types: hepatitis A, B, C, D and hepatitis E.

All these hepatitis virus types are very serious and can damage the liver to great extent. These viruses can spread easily from person to person in several different ways.

The hepatitis symptoms may vary depending on the type of hepatitis virus present in your body and the extent of the liver damage. However, some of the hepatitis symptoms are identical in all hepatitis virus types.

Hepatitis is itself a hepatitis symptom. Hepa means liver and itis means inflammation. So, inflammation of the liver is the first hepatitis symptom indicating the occurrence of hepatitis. The beginning of the hepatitis in the body is the initial stage.

There are several different hepatitis stages and each has their own hepatitis symptoms.

After this stage, the hepatitis will be in acute phase.

With acute hepatitis, you may experience hepatitis symptoms such as fever, muscle or joint pains, nausea, vomiting, dehydration, headache, loss of appetite, abdominal pain, diarrhea, and fatigue.

Hepatitis B is a serious health condition that is caused by a virus called Hepatitis B Virus (HBV). It is also known as serum hepatitis.

It is a liver infection attacking the liver and makes it swell and stop working and also causes liver cancer, liver failure and even death.

Liver is the most essential part of the body that helps store vitamins, iron, minerals and energy in the form of glucose.

It is responsible for the production of bile for digestion of the food. It help fight against the germs that enter your body.

It is estimated that, in the United States, approximately 250,000 people are infected with Hepatitis B yearly.

It is a contagious liver infection that can spread easily through direct contact with an infected person because the virus will be present in the blood and body fluids. As it is transmitted from person to person through the infection in the blood, the virus is also known as blood-borne virus.

So, by having sexual contact with infected person, by sharing the drug needles or razor or tooth brush or by using body piercing tools of an infected person, you can easily get infected with hepatitis B.

Hepatitis A is a serious viral infection of the liver caused by the virus called Hepatitis A Virus (HAV). It is also known as infectious hepatitis.

It is a most common viral hepatitis type all over the world. It generally causes temporary liver inflammation (to swell) and stops functioning of the liver properly.

Liver is an essential part of the body to transform food into energy and produce bile for easy food digestion.

It also helps kill the germs that enter your body. It removes poisons from your blood.

It can spread easily from person to person through oral contacts (hand to mouth). In an infected person, this virus type can be found in the bowel movements and is passed in the stool (feces).

This virus can easily spread when an infected person go to the bathroom and doesn’t wash his hands properly and prepares food or make oral (hand/mouth) contacts. So, when you keep something into your mouth that is contaminated can easily infect with the hepatitis A virus.

The virus can also be transmitted through sexual activities with an infected person where feces may enter your body through mouth and by sharing the cigarette or injecting equipment.

Hepatitis refers to an inflammation of the liver, a major part of your body that helps digest food, store energy, and also remove toxins.

Hepatitis is a sexually transmitted disease that can spread through sexual intercourse with an infected person.

The other sexually transmitted diseases are syphilis, bacterial vaginosis, chlamydia, HPV virus, warts, trichomoniasis and so on.

Infectious organisms including virus, bacteria, fungus, and parasite usually cause hepatitis.

Liver injury caused by a toxin, attacks on the liver by immune system, drugs, alcohol, tattoos, unprotected sex, and body piercing can lead to hepatitis.

From recent researches conducted by scientists, it is found that not more than five viruses can cause hepatitis. The viruses of hepatitis include hepatitis A, B, C, D and E. All these are very serious and can damage your liver severely. It also causes cancer.

Usually, you exhibit no signs of hepatitis. If you develop any, then it includes loss of appetite, nausea, vomiting, diarrhea, dark-colored urine and pale bowel movements, stomach pain, jaundice, yellowing of skin and eyes.

You can help prevent some of these hepatitis viral types through vaccine. Occasionally, hepatitis vanishes by itself without any vaccine or treatment. If not, then the treatment can be done using drugs. In rare cases, it lasts for a lifetime.