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HEPATITIS A
HEPATITIS A

Also known as: Infectious Hepatitis

How You Get It (Exposure):

Hepatitis A passes between people via a "fecal/oral" route. Rimming an infected partner can give you the virus, as can kissing. You also risk infection when you take off a condom and forget to wash your fingers before they end up in your mouth. Eating raw shellfish from contaminated waters or food prepared by infected workers can also give you hepatitis A.

Warning Signs (Symptoms):

Feeling tired is the most common symptom, followed by loss of appetite, nausea and vomiting (that worsens as the day progresses) and loss of your desire for cigarettes. Jaundice (when your skin and eyes turn yellow) is also a very common symptom, as is darkening of your urine. You might also have a dull pain in your upper abdomen. In severe cases, you may have problems with bleeding and poor blood clotting.

Getting Checked Out (Diagnosis) / Treatment:

Doctors diagnose hepatitis A with a blood test that measures your liver function. Inflammation of the liver can destroy its cells, and liver enzymes spill into your blood. If your blood test reveals these enzymes at an elevated level, you probably have hepatitis, and your doctors will then search for the cause. Hepatitis A is specifically diagnosed by checking your blood for antibodies to the virus or presence of virus particles. When any of these are present, you have or have had the infection.

There's no medication to treat hepatitis A once you have it. Often, treatment is commonly called "supportive": your nutrition level and liver function are carefully monitored by your doctor. You mustn't drink alcohol, no matter what type of hepatitis you have, until your liver completely heals. If you get nauseous, try to eat more in the morning, when nausea is usually less severe. You must get lots of rest. The more tender love and care (TLC) you receive from loved ones, the better you'll feel. Hospitalization is rare, and you may be given medication to decrease nausea.

Anyone with hepatitis A should be vaccinated against hepatitis B.

If Left Untreated:

Hepatitis A is rarely fatal, but hospitalization may be required to control its symptoms. Unlike other types of hepatitis, type A does not become chronic. The illness generally runs its course in six to eight weeks and your liver fully recovers. You're usually contagious before you know you are ill.

Prevention:

Hepatitis A is a completely preventable disease, and vaccination will prevent infection. The vaccines for Hepatitis A and B are different, and one won't protect you from the other! If you've previously had hepatitis A, you can't catch it again.

The hepatitis A vaccine is given in two doses spaced 6 to 12 months apart. Most people become immune within one month of the first injection. The vaccine is extremely safe, and the most common side effect is a sore arm. If you're exposed to hepatitis A and are not immune to it, you can get an immune globulin shot within two weeks of exposure to help keep you from becoming infected.

There's no need to barricade yourself from someone with hepatitis A. Just keep your dishes separate, abstain from having sex with the infected person, and thoroughly wash your hands after bodily contact and you should be fine. Rimming is a common way for hepatitis A to pass between partners. Not washing your hands after touching a used condom can lead to a hepatitis A infection. If you get vaccinated against hepatitis to begin with, then you won't have to worry!

Prevalence:

There are 125,000 to 200,000 hepatitis A infections and about 100 subsequent deaths each year in the United States . Thirty-three percent of Americans have evidence of a prior hepatitis A infection. Areas with high rates of hepatitis A include: South America , Africa , Greenland and Asia . The Soviet Union also has an increased prevalence of hepatitis A.


by Stephen E. Goldstone, M.D., F.A.C.S.


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