Hepatitis refers to an inflammatory condition of the liver. It’s commonly caused by a viral infection, but there are other possible causes of hepatitis. These include autoimmune hepatitis and hepatitis that occurs as a secondary result of medications, drugs, toxins, and alcohol. Autoimmune Hepatitis is a disease that occurs when your body makes antibodies against your liver tissue.
Your liver is responsible for carrying out the following processes in your body:
bile production, which is essential to digestion
filtering of toxins from your body
excretion of bilirubin (a product of broken-down red blood cells), cholesterol, hormones, and drugs
breakdown of carbohydrates fats, and proteins
activation of enzymes, which are specialized proteins essential to body functions
storage of glycogen (a form of sugar), minerals, and vitamins (A, D, E, and K)
synthesis of blood proteins, such as albumin
synthesis of clotting factors
Viral infections of the liver that are classified as hepatitis include hepatitis A, B, C, D, and E. A different virus is responsible for each type of virally transmitted hepatitis.
Hepatitis A is always an acute, short-term disease, while hepatitis B, C, and D are most likely to become ongoing and chronic. Hepatitis E is usually acute but can be particularly dangerous in pregnant women.
However some symptoms of Hepatitis are:
Fatigue
flu-like symptoms
dark urine
pale stool
abdominal pain
loss of appetite
unexplained weight loss
fever
loss of appetite
nausea and vomiting
yellow skin or eyes (jaundice)
muscle and joint pain
rash
How one Contracts the Virus:
sharing equipment used for injecting drugs
unprotected sex (anal and vaginal)
tattooing and body piercing with unsterilised equipment
household contact including sharing razors, hair clippers and toothbrushes
accidental needle stick or blood splash to broken skin or mucous membrane (the thin moist lining of many parts of the body such as the eyes, nose, mouth, throat and genitals).
How to avoid Hepatitis:
Avoid “street” food.
Drink Hygienic Water
Peel and wash your vegetables well before using
Wash your hands well after you go to the restroom, change diapers, or before you eat or serve food
any open sores, cuts or abrasions should be covered with waterproof dressings
practice safer sex – use condoms consistently and correctly
injecting drug users should never share injecting equipment
Get the vaccine shots
Be extra careful if you work at any place where lots of people are in close quarters, especially if you’re in contact with an infected person’s stool, saliva or other body fluids.
Hepatitis is gradually becoming rampant. Kindly get the vaccine shot to keep you and your family safe.
Call our hotlines to get signed on to our health packages as well as screen against hepatitis today!
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