Daily Health Tips

Archive for the ‘Hepatitis’ Category

What are the symptoms of hepatitis type B?

The incubation period, which is the period from the time of infection by the virus until the onset of the disease lasts from two to six months. Initial symptoms are decreased appetite and disinterest in food, nausea, muscle and joint aches and low fever.

Later appear jaundice, a yellowing of the skin, mucous membranes and sclera (whites of the eyes), little colored stools and dark urine. When these latter symptoms appear the patient will usually begin to feel better. Read the rest of this entry »

What is hepatitis B?

Hepatitis is a Latin word for liver inflammation. Hepatitis type B is caused by a virus called hepatitis B. Other types of infectious liver inflammation include hepatitis A and hepatitis C.

How is hepatitis B?

The virus of hepatitis type B can be spread in the following ways:

- Contact with the blood of an infected person, transfusion of blood or infected blood products, contaminated needles by drug users or contaminated instruments for tattooing, acupuncture or to become “piercing.”

- By having sex with an infected person.

- From infected mother to child during birth. Read the rest of this entry »

What can be done at home?

- Keep rest while the disease is still present. The degree of rest depends on how is the patient.

- Do not drink alcohol while you are sick.

- Make a light but balanced diet.

How is it diagnosed hepatitis type A?

The diagnosis is based on an analysis showing the presence of antibodies against hepatitis A in the blood of the patient. There are two types of antibodies. IgG only indicate that the patient has had hepatitis type A at some point in their lives. IgM antibodies are indicative of recent infection and are used to diagnose the disease. Read the rest of this entry »

How can you prevent hepatitis type A?

Good hygiene reduces the risk of infection:

- Wash or peel fruits and vegetables when traveling in countries with poor sanitary conditions.

- Remember that inadequate health provides half the shellfish contaminated with human feces.

If a person living with you are infected by the virus of type A, the following is recommended:

- Always wash hands with soap and water after using the toilet.

- It is essential to maintain perfect hygiene in preparing meals.

- Each family member must have your own towel. Read the rest of this entry »

What is type A hepatitis?

Hepatitis is a Latin word that means inflammation of the liver. Hepatitis type A is caused by a virus called hepatitis A (HAV). Other types of infectious liver inflammation include hepatitis B and hepatitis C.

How is hepatitis type A?

De Varis ways. It can be spread through contaminated food, such as seafood (especially shellfish) or ice cream, and through contaminated water and beverages. The hepatitis A virus is present in the stool that eliminate infected, so can also be spread by direct contact with the feces, due to circumstances of poor hygiene. Read the rest of this entry »

How is hepatitis diagnosed?

The diagnosis is confirmed by a blood test, and sometimes it is also necessary to study under the microscope of a piece of liver tissue obtained by liver biopsy. Some blood tests can identify the cause of the disease and exclude other possibilities. Other tests show how much activity is inflammation at the time.

In cases of chronic hepatitis intensity and characteristics of liver injury can be established only by liver biopsy.

Prognosis

Acute hepatitis by the hepatitis A virus improve spontaneously in the vast majority of cases and never go to chronicity. Acute hepatitis B usually a good outcome, but 5% of patients develop chronic hepatitis (risk is higher in children). Acute hepatitis C often given little or no symptoms, but approximately 70% of cases become chronic. Overall, infectious hepatitis only produce life-threatening acute liver failure in less than 1 case in 300. Read the rest of this entry »

Who can get hepatitis?

- Patients with jaundice or other symptoms of possible occurrence of hepatitis

- People are likely to have been infected by the virus of hepatitis B or hepatitis C.

- People at high risk due to the existence in their families of hereditary cases of hepatitis (the aforementioned metabolic disorders, for example).

How can you prevent hepatitis?

- Avoiding exposure to the virus of infectious hepatitis.

- Vaccinated against hepatitis A and B if you have a high risk of becoming infected with these viruses.

- Avoid eating excessive amounts of alcohol. Read the rest of this entry »

How do you get hepatitis?

A person can be infected with hepatitis if any of the viruses that can cause liver inflammation or as a result of exposure to products that can cause hepatitis (alcohol, drugs or certain poisonous mushrooms).

The drugs can cause hepatitis by two different mechanisms, either by an overdose of a drug inherently toxic if taken in very high quantities (eg, paracetamol), either by a reaction to an abnormal liver normal dose (eg The anesthetic halothane). Fortunately, the second mechanism acts on rare occasions to prevent just the first not to exceed recommended doses. Read the rest of this entry »

What is hepatitis?

Hepatitis is a word derived from Latin that means liver inflammation. It is characterized by the destruction of a variable amount of liver cells and the presence of inflammatory cells in the liver tissue.

Hepatitis can be caused by diseases that specifically target cells, or as a result of a more generalized, such as infectious mononucleosis. Hepatitis can be classified into two varieties according to its duration: acute hepatitis (lasting less than 6 months) and chronic hepatitis (lasting more than 6 months).

What are the causes of acute hepatitis?

There are various causes of acute hepatitis:

* Hepatitis virus infections:

- Hepatitis A

- Hepatitis B Read the rest of this entry »

Infection with herpes simplex virus type 1 (HSV-1) usually manifests as vesicular lesions, painful lips (also called “fire”). Much more unusually, the infection may involve other organs like the liver. Although rare, its knowledge allows early diagnosis and specific treatment key to avoiding the high mortality (over 80%) associated with herpetic hepatitis.

Pathogeny

Electron micrograph of herpes simplex virus particles (photograph of Dr. Frederick Murphy).

The virus is often acquired in childhood through contact with discharge from the vesicles or saliva of an infected person. The initial infection causes a fever and malaise accompanied by pain and blistering, redness and swelling at the site of inoculation. Read the rest of this entry »