Introduction:
Hepatitis is caused by a virus that is targeted at the liver, one of your most important organs!! Specifically, it causes inflammation and injury to the liver. Hepatitis comes in many different forms, five to be exact. There is Hepatitis A, B, C, D & E. Hepatitis is caused mainly by viruses, all of which are set on shutting down your liver. I will be specifically concentrating on Hepatitis A in this report. Hepatitis A is also known as infectious Hepatitis, an extremely contagious viral infection that often effects young children and young adults, especially those in large groups. It has been known to break out in schools, summer camps and music festivals etc.
Hepatitis A is also very common in developing nations.
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This keeps up for a few days and you begin to feel a loss of appetite as well as nausea. A low grade fever between 100 °f - 102 °f is present. A pain and discomfort in the abdomen above the liver is also common, due to enlargement of the liver. After a few days of torture, a person’s urine becomes darker than usual and then jaundice, (a yellowish discoloration of the skin) appears. Jaundice and the dark urine indicate that liver is not functioning properly in removing a reddish-yellow pigment called bilirubin from the blood.
Treatment / Prevention:
There is no specific treatment for viral Hepatitis. Bed rest and preferably hospitalization is a necessary step in the early treatment. Even though Hepatitis A is a highly contagious virus, isolation of the patient to a single room is not necessary. However, proper prevention methods such as washing your hand after handling the patient, careful handling of the body fluids and feces and wearing gloves when drawing blood is important.
Prolonged bed rest is not essential for full recovery but patients feel better with restricted physical activity. A high calorie diet is a good idea and because many patients have nausea late in the day, the major caloric intake is best given in the morning. Intravenous feeding is necessary if the patient has continuos vomiting. Isolation of the patient to a single room and bath room is unnecessary, however the patient and other people in contact should be
Hepatitis is bloodborne and is present in all body fluids of the infected person. Hepatitis unlike HIV can live on the outside surface of the skin for a long period of time. There are three types of hepatitis which are hepatitis A, hepatitis B and hepatitis C. Hepatitis B is the hardest to kill on the surface. Make sure to disinfect all surfaces with a hospital grade disinfectant. (sounds plagerised)
Treatment is varied. There are several drugs used to treat hepatitis in the United States. Intron A, Epivir-HBV, Pegasys, Baraclude, Hepsera, Viread, and Tyzeka are the only FDA approved drugs that have been shown to slow the virus and decrease liver damage and in some cases the virus is killed completely ("Hepatitis Treatments," n.d.). Ultimately vaccination is the best way to prevent HBV. The vaccine has been found to be effective and safe. Administration is given over a 6 month time and consists of 3-4 shots ("Hepatitis B," n.d.) and is estimated to be 95% effective. Everyone should be vaccinated but the
Decompensated cirrhosis is characterized by the development of a cirrhosis-related complication, including variceal hemorrhage, ascites, spontaneous bacterial peritonitis, hepatorenal syndrome, and/or coagulopathies. For patients with compensated and decompensated cirrhosis, the risk of death is 4.7 and 9.7 times higher than the general population, respectively.4 Survival in patients with decompensated cirrhosis is considerably lower than that of patients with compensated cirrhosis. The median survival times are as low as 2 years in decompensated patients and greater than 12 years in compensated
In time the virus can lead to cirrhosis, liver cancer and liver failure. Symptoms of HCV are jaundice (yellowing of the eyes), stomach pain, nausea and fatigue. The main problem is that many people don’t have symptoms until they already have some sort of liver damage. Treatment options for HCV include a combination of medications or depending on the degree of damage, a liver transplant. Given that HCV it is a blood disease that is spread through contact with an infected person’s blood, there are many ways to contract this disease. Injection drug users, physical altercations, sexual contact and mother to infant infection are just some of the ways this disease is spread.
As research as shown, Hepatitis C affects the liver, sometimes severely. This disease also can hinder the CNS and circulatory system, or the blood. Although it is troublesome to tell when one is infected with Hepatitis C, there are a few symptoms that come along with the disease. There are multiple tests that can detect Hepatitis C and after it is detected, there are a few medications to treat it. As previously stated, there is no current vaccination for Hepatitis
See a doctor right away if you or a child in your care has symptoms of hepatitis A.
The Hepatitis A virus is is able to survive in a majority of climates. It is able to survive the body’s highly acidic digestive tract and can live outside the body for months. High temperatures, such as boiling or cooking food or liquids for at least 1 minute at 185°F (85°C), kill the virus, although freezing temperatures do not. This allows for the virus to survive in colder climates for much
Hepatitis can be defined as “liver inflammation caused by viral infection or toxins like drugs or alcohol” (Myers, 2015). Viral hepatitis is caused by one of the five types of hepatitis viruses, referred to as types A, B, C, D and E. Each of these types of hepatitis can be contracted in various
Department of Health and Human Services (2006), receiving the hepatitis A vaccine is the best way to prevent hepatitis A. There are two vaccines that help protect individuals against hepatitis A: the hepatitis A vaccine and the hepatitis A and B combination vaccine. The hepatitis A vaccine protects all age groups against hepatitis A, while the combination vaccine only protects adults. The hepatitis vaccine is given in two doses. It is recommended that children get vaccinated at 12 to 23 months and again at 2 to 4 years. Adults who were not vaccinated as children can get vaccinated at any time so long as they get each dose 6 to 18 months apart. Some people should not get the hepatitis vaccine, such as those who are allergic to the vaccine ingredients and immune-compromised individuals. If you are sick, you should wait until you feel better to get the vaccine. The vaccine can also be given as post-exposure prophylaxis (after one contracts hepatitis A), to help fight the disease. Additionally, other preventive measures for hepatitis A are improved sanitation, such as proper hand washing, and food safety measures The hepatitis A virus can live on surfaces for months and can be killed with household cleaning products that contain bleach. Additionally, heating food to above 185 degrees Fahrenheit with kill the virus. Freezing food will not kill the virus (U.S. Department of Health and Human Services,
There are many different preventative measures you can take to protect yourself from getting hepatitis B. The most common is to get the hepatitis B vaccine and the hepatitis B immune globulin to those who have been exposed already. Another preventative measure is practicing safe sex, such as using latex condoms correctly when sexually active, or “avoiding vaginal, oral, or anal sex all together is the best way to prevent STD’s” (Minnesota Dept. of Health). Others are knowing the HBV status of any sexual partner, not sharing needles or other equipment when injecting drugs, don’t share anything that might have blood on it, “talk to your doctor if you’re traveling internationally” (MayoClinic.com), get tested if pregnant and “when infant is born to infected mother, immunize infant at birth” (Minnesota Dept. of Health). As you can see there are many ways to prevent being infected by HBV. To remain safe follow the preventative measures above.
Hepatitis is a viral disease that damages and affects liver. There are three type of hepatitis, simply known as: hepatitis A(HAV),B(HBV) and (HCV).The article explores some of the key basic elements a person needs to know to fight hepatitis disease.
Hepatitis C is an inflammation of the liver’s cells and tissues caused by the hepatitis C virus (HCV).
The symptoms start appearing after two to five weeks of infection. The main symptoms are nausea, vomiting, diarrhea, low fever, rashes, loss of appetite and yellowing of skin (jaundice), abdominal pain. Diarrhea occurs in case of children. No specific treatment is there. Patients need adequate rest and proper nutrition. If skin becomes yellow then the patient needs a blood test or a liver panel test. If a person vomits for a long period amount of time, they get dehydrated; then, only then, hospitalization is needed. Patients should drink a plenty amount of water, or fluids. He or she should take food, which does not cause any harm to the liver. Patients should avoid tea, coffee or any alcoholic beverages, which causes harm to liver. He or she takes adequate rest. He should not take any medicine which causes harm to liver. If patient is confused about taking medicine then he or she should consult a doctor. Techniques for growing HAV in cell culture have made it possible to generate sufficient amounts of virus for vaccine production. Several inactivated or live attenuated vaccines against hepatitis A have been developed, but only four inactivated hepatitis A vaccines are currently available internationally. All four vaccines are similar in terms of efficacy and side-effect profile. The vaccines are given parenterally, as a two-dose series, 6-18 months apart. The dose of vaccine,
Hepatitis A is a viral liver disease that can cause mild to severe illness (WHO, 2016). It is often linked to contaminated water or food. The illness is accompanied with some or all the following symptoms: fever, fatigue, loss of appetite, abdominal discomfort, dark urine, diarrhea, and yellow skin and eyes (HNN, 2016). There is currently no specific treatment for Hepatitis A due to its viral nature, however, prevention by use of vaccines is highly encouraged for higher risk areas and communities (WHO, 2016). Recovery time may be slow and take several weeks or months, however, most cases of Hepatitis A pass over (WHO, 2016)
Hepatitis B Virus (HBV) is a virus that attacks the liver. The virus is transmitted through blood and bodily fluids. This can occur through direct blood-to-blood contact, unprotected sex, use of contaminated needles, and from an effected mother to her newborn during the delivery process. The majority of people do not have noticeable symptoms when they are first infected with the HBV. People who do not know they are infected with the HBV, their body can respond in different ways. I learned that some of the common symptoms of Hepatitis B infection include fever, fatigue, muscle or joint pain, loss of appetite, mild nausea, vomiting, and dark-colored urine. Some of the serious symptoms that require immediate medical