What Are the Signs and Symptoms?

 





What Are the Signs and Symptoms?
Hepatitis infection causes inflammation of the liver, which means that the liver becomes swollen and damaged and begins losing its ability to function. People with hepatitis often get symptoms similar to those caused by other virus infections, such as weakness, tiredness, and nausea. Because the symptoms of hepatitis are similar to other conditions, it's easy for a person who has it to confuse it with another illness. In addition, people with hepatitis A may not show any symptoms of the infection, so the infection can go undiagnosed. People with hepatitis B or C infection also may not show symptoms right away, but can develop health problems from the infection many years later.
Symptoms of hepatitis include:
· yellowing of the skin and eyes, known as jaundice
· fever
· nausea, vomiting, and lack of appetite
· abdominal pain (on the upper right side)
· light-colored bowel movements
· dark-colored urine
The incubation period (how long it takes between the time a person becomes infected and symptoms first appear) for hepatitis varies depending on the type a person has. A person may notice these symptoms anywhere from 15 days to 25 weeks after getting the disease, depending on the type of hepatitis.
How Is Hepatitis Diagnosed and Treated?
A blood test is usually needed to determine if a person has hepatitis.
Doctors don't prescribe medications to treat hepatitis A; they usually recommend a person rest until any fever and jaundice are gone and the person's appetite has returned to normal. Hepatitis B and C can sometimes be treated with medications, although some forms of medication used to treat hepatitis C are only approved for use in adults. Although treatments for hepatitis B and C are becoming more effective, a cure cannot be guaranteed.
Protecting Yourself
There are vaccines available to protect people against hepatitis A and hepatitis B. Today, all children in the United States are routinely vaccinated against hepatitis B at birth. Because hepatitis A is usually not a serious illness, doctors generally recommend this vaccination only for people who are at high risk of catching the disease. Usually these are people who are traveling to certain parts of the world where sanitation isn't very good. Sometimes, if a person has been recently exposed to hepatitis A or B virus, a doctor may recommend a shot of immune globulin containing antibodies against the virus to try to prevent the person from coming down with the disease.
In addition to the vaccinations against hepatitis A and B, there are other steps for protecting yourself against hepatitis virus infection:
· Avoid unprotected sexual intercourse. Not only does unprotected sex put you at risk for many other sexually transmitted diseases and pregnancy, but hepatitis B or C is also a significant risk.
· Avoid intravenous drug use. Hepatitis is only one of the life-threatening infections you can get by sharing contaminated needles.
· Don't share straws when snorting cocaine. You can pass along the hepatitis virus.
· Wash your hands before handling food or after using the bathroom. Washing your hands thoroughly is one of the simplest, most important ways to prevent the spread of any infection, including hepatitis.
· Be sure your tattoo or piercing shop sterilizes needles properly. Poorly sterilized or nonsterile needles put people at risk for hepatitis B or C.
· Don't share toothbrushes or razors. Although sharing may be considered an act of friendship, it's better to use your own because hepatitis can be transmitted through sores on a person's mouth or cuts on the skin.
· Avoid eating raw shellfish (such as clams or oysters). You could put yourself at risk for hepatitis A if the shellfish was harvested from contaminated water.
Hepatitis infection can be serious, but knowing what puts you at risk (and what doesn't - no one gets hepatitis from sneezes, coughs, or holding hands) can help protect you.