Hepatitis a: drugs, symptoms, causes, drugs, etc. & bull; hello healthy

x

Definition

What is hepatitis A?

Hepatitis A is an infection that attacks the liver due to the HAV virus. This disease is very easily transmitted through food and drink contaminated with the virus which can come from the patient's feces.

The HAV virus is a type of hepatitis virus that can cause inflammation of the liver. As a result, the ability to function of the liver decreases. Risk factors for hepatitis are related to poor environmental hygiene and clean living habits.

Hepatitis A does not usually cause severe liver damage. In addition, hepatitis is also not at risk of developing chronic disease. Even though it is relatively mild, the symptoms of this disease can still interfere with daily activities.

It should be noted that most people who recover from hepatitis will gain immunity. That is why, people who have had hepatitis A will be more immune to HAV infection.

In rare cases, infection with the HAV virus can also last for months and be fatal to death. Therefore, vaccination and personal hygiene are important to prevent the spread of the HAV virus.

How common is this condition?

Hepatitis A is a common contagious hepatitis disease in various countries. In Indonesia alone, the number of hepatitis sufferers has continued to increase in recent years.

Based on Basic Health Research (Riskesdas), the prevalence of hepatitis sufferers based on doctor's diagnosis has doubled. This number increased to 0.4 percent during the 2013 - 2018 period.

This disease may be difficult to stop due to the easy spread of the virus through food and minerals. In addition, environments with low hygiene quality also have high rates of hepatitis A virus infection.

With such conditions, children are the age group most susceptible to HAV infection with a percentage of 90 percent, as reported by the WHO report.

However, infection does not always cause health problems. The reason is, children who are infected do not necessarily experience disturbing symptoms.

Signs and symptoms

What are the signs and symptoms of hepatitis A?

Symptoms of hepatitis A do not always appear immediately in an infected person. This also applies to people who have been infected for several weeks. This is because the virus incubation period can last for 14-28 days.

In people who have symptoms, the features of HAV will appear after 2 to 6 weeks of being infected with the virus. Symptoms can be mild to severe, including:

• dark yellow urine,
• feel tired,
• nausea and vomiting,
• low-grade fever,
• pain in the joints,
• stomach ache,
• loss of appetite,
• yellowing of the skin and whites of the eyes (jaundice),
• clay-like and pale stools, as well
• itchy rash.

Compared to children, adults are more likely to experience symptoms. This condition is also more prone to occur in older people (elderly). If you experience the symptoms above, contact your doctor immediately to get the right treatment.

When to see a doctor?

In addition to symptoms, consult a doctor or health clinic for treatment if you experience conditions such as:

• after traveling from a place that has had an outbreak of hepatitis A,
• live or interact with people diagnosed with hepatitis, as well
• having sex with people with hepatitis.

If you are positive for HAV infection, your doctor will not inject the vaccine immediately, but will recommend that you undergo simple treatment.

You will be asked to rest more and meet your nutritional and fluid needs.

Causes and risk factors

What causes hepatitis A?

Hepatitis A transmission can occur through blood or tools used by sufferers. This hepatitis infection occurs when the virus enters the body through the following conditions.

Direct interaction

Hepatitis A is a disease that can be transmitted even before an infected person feels certain symptoms. Viruses can move through direct contact with sufferers, such as:

• having sex without a condom,
• caring for people with hepatitis, or
• sharing syringes.

Consume contaminated food and drink

Apart from direct contact, consumption of contaminated food and drinks can also be a way of transmitting the virus. The HAV virus can be transferred when food and drinks containing the virus are consumed.

The virus that causes hepatitis is often found in raw or cooked food. In addition, food that comes from water contaminated with sewage also has the potential to contain the HAV virus.

What factors increase the risk of developing this condition?

You can reduce your risk of getting this disease by avoiding the factors that cause it. The risk of getting hepatitis A can also increase if you have certain conditions, namely:

• traveling or working in an area with a high incidence of hepatitis A,
• visiting a child care center or working in a child care center,
• men who have sex with other men,
• HIV sufferers,
• suffer from a blood clotting disorder, such as hemophilia,
• receive blood transfusions from people with hepatitis A,
• abuse of illegal drugs, whether injected or not,
• live with people with hepatitis A, as well
• make contact fecal-oral with people with HAV.

Diagnosis

How to diagnose this condition?

Basically, the hepatitis A test is not much different from other types of hepatitis. The doctor will ask about the symptoms and complaints experienced.

After that, you will go through a simple physical exam. If the condition indicates that there is a virus in the body, the doctor will ask you to undergo a series of tests, such as a blood test.

Hepatitis A blood test is done to detect whether there is the HAV virus or not in the immunoglobulin G (IgM) antibody in the blood sample.

In addition, you may also undergo an RT-PCR test to detect the hepatitis virus in RNA. However, this examination is performed less frequently because it requires a special laboratory.

What are the possible treatment options for hepatitis A?

Hepatitis A treatment does not require special treatment. The reason is, your body will clean the HAV virus by itself, even though it takes a lot of time.

Most cases report that the patient's liver will heal within 6 months without permanent damage.

Here are some simple ways to treat hepatitis that doctors recommend.

Rest

Hepatitis A patients may be asked to rest more. This is because most people with HAV feel tired and lack energy.

Controls nausea

One of the symptoms of hepatitis that needs to be controlled is nausea. Nausea can reduce appetite. You can control the nausea by:

• snacking all day long,
• get enough calories,
• eat high calorie foods, as well
• drink fruit juice or milk.

Avoid using pain relievers and alcohol

Pain relievers, such as acetaminophen or paracetamol, should be avoided if you experience symptoms of nausea and vomiting. In addition, you are also asked to stop drinking alcohol while infected with the virus so that liver health is well maintained.

Apart from simple treatment, some patients may need medication to control troublesome symptoms, such as fever.

Even so, doctors will still provide medicines when the symptoms of hepatitis are severe enough. These drugs aim to control the symptoms experienced by sufferers.

How will your body be after recovering from hepatitis A?

Once confirmed, this disease should not have the potential to cause any health consequences to the sufferer. The body will instead form antibodies against the HAV virus after it recovers.

These antibodies will build immunity that will prevent infection if you are subsequently exposed to the HAV virus at a later date.

Prevention

There are many ways you can do to prevent hepatitis including hepatitis A, from vaccinations to small things like washing your hands.

Here are some ways you can protect yourself from infection with the hepatitis virus.

Hepatitis A vaccine

The hepatitis A vaccine is one of the best options for preventing this disease. After being injected with the vaccine, the body will form antibodies that can fight the virus within one month.

You can still get this vaccine after being infected with the virus. Even so, the effectiveness of this vaccine only works within a 2 week period after exposure to the virus.

The hepatitis A vaccine is one of the vaccines that are safe to use and has almost no dangerous side effects.

The process of administering the vaccine will be carried out in stages twice over a span of 6 months. You are advised to do the full vaccination, so that the body can build a perfect immune system.

Maintain cleanliness

Maintaining personal hygiene and the surrounding environment is the main key to preventing hepatitis A. In fact, maintaining hygiene, such as washing hands, is done as a treatment for hepatitis at home.

Try to adopt a clean lifestyle, such as:

• always peel and wash vegetables and fruit yourself,
• avoid eating undercooked or raw meat,
• wear suitable protection while working, such as goggles and gloves,
• drink bottled water or boiled water when it's not available, as well
• avoid drinking unknown drinks.

Avoid sexual activity

As long as you are infected with hepatitis A, you should avoid having sex with a partner.

Various types of sexual activity are at risk of transmitting the virus to a partner. In addition, condoms are also considered not to provide effective protection.

If you have further questions, please contact your doctor to get the right solution.