Healthy Living looks at the causes and symptoms of Hepatitis
dr fernando cuellar
Contagious diseases can spread quickly so the need for proper hygiene is critical. Hepatitis is one of the many infectious viruses that affects the population. The disease can go undetected for quite a while and has the potential of causing lifelong complications. This week’s Healthy Living segment has advice on how to take the suitable precautions to keep you out of harm’s way.
Marleni Cuellar reporting
Hepatitis is a medical term for inflammation of the liver. Certain types of hepatitis show early signs but a few can easily go undiagnosed and cause long term liver damage. To be able to understand the disease, Dr. Fernando Cuellar walks us through the A B C’s of Hepatitis.
Dr. Fernando Cuellar, Internist/ Intensivist
“A B & C are the main types; A is the most common type. Eighty-five of the most infectious viral hepatitis is caused by hepatitis type A. Type B is the second most common form and then type C. Type A hepatitis is the one that we get through ingesting contaminated food or water. When water is not purified or when food is not properly prepared then we would have contaminants in there or the virus that would cause us to come down with hepatitis. That we call the fecal/oral route. The second type, type B, is a bit more serious because we get that through one sexual contact, it is a sexually transmitted illness and of course drug users who use through needles and those sorts of things and of course blood transfusions. Type C we primarily see it with blood transfusions we hardly see it through any other forms of transmission.”
The severity and risks associated with hepatitis increases as it moves further down the alphabet.
Dr. Fernando Cuellar
“Luckily the Type A that is the most common is the least severe so we would contract that and we would acquire that but it causes inflammation of the liver and in four/six weeks everything is resolved it hardly leaves and damage to the liver. Type B & type C although its less frequent it causes more frequent long term effects on the liver. It can cause a chronic form of hepatitis which means the liver is always swollen, always inflamed; second it can cause liver failure; it can cause liver cancer and cirrhosis of the liver.”
The symptoms for the different types of hepatitis are the same. The marked difference is in the time in which the symptoms appear. In type A, symptoms appear shortly after eating contaminated food or water while in B & C it would be long after infection. Symptoms include: Loss of appetite, fatigue, mild fever, muscle or joint aches, nausea and vomiting and abdominal pain. The more advanced cases of hepatitis would also have an easily recognized symptom.
Dr. Fernando Cuellar
“One of the things that we relate it to a lot is what most Belizeans know as jaundice which is the yellow discoloration of the eyes or the skin. Many times people don’t realize what’s happening until that start appearing they would say your eyes look a little yellow and your skin looks a little different and at the same time the color of the urine will change from that normal amber, clear color to a darken color almost like it’s a cola type color.”
Liver function tests are used to diagnose hepatitis along with a proper check up from your physician. Treatment for Type A will be to relieve symptoms until normal liver function is restored.
Dr. Fernando Cuellar
“Type B & C should require certain specific types of antiviral medication. Remember it’s a virus and so there are certain types of anti viral medication that we should use to minimize the chance that it turns intro cirrhosis and of course liver cancer and to lessen the chance that it becomes a chronic form. The most frightening part is the Type B because of the mode of transmission and luckily our food preparation and our water is fairly safe we don’t see a lot of that; we see sporadic cases and from time to time outbreaks. Type B is scary because just like HIV/AIDS it’s a sexually transmitted disease and we’re seeing more and more of it and unfortunately we see people already with liver damage because of the hepatitis B.”
Luckily, Hepatitis B is preventable. Children are administered vaccinations to prevent hepatitis B. Adults can also visit the public health clinics to receive the round of vaccinations which is administered in three monthly doses. This service is offered free of cost.
