Important facts about hepatitis B
Hepatitis B is a disease that affects the liver and it is considered by doctors to be one of the most frequent liver infections in the world. Hepatitis B is produced by the hepatitis B virus that makes the liver work at minimum capacity and to swell up. Hepatitis B acts most often in silence, meaning that it does not give special symptoms until it gets in a serious phase.
You might ask yourself how this virus gets into our body. Well, there are a few ways he can get to infect you:
1. Having unprotected sex with a person that is already infected.
2. Using personal hygiene objects (like razor, toothbrush) of another person that has the virus.
3. Having a tattoo or a body piercing done in unsanitary conditions (avoid cheap and illegal salons that offer these services).
4. Reusing needles and syringes from an infected person.
5. From mother to baby during birth (only if the mother has hepatitis B).
If you think you might have passed through one or more of the situations previously listed above, you should see if you have any symptoms of hepatitis B:
1. Tiredness and fatigue.
2. You have lost your appetite.
3. Your skin look yellow and the white of the eyes has also changed its color into yellow.
4. You have pain or a permanent discomfort in the right side of your abdomen, right underneath the last two ribs.
5. You have inexplicable diarrhea and nausea or vomiting.
Hepatitis B can be treated, but can not be cured. Once you get infected there is no way to remove the virus from the body. By following a special treatment with interferon the virus can be inactivated but not destroyed. Of course, periodical check ups and blood analyses need to be done in order to see how the liver status is. A diet will also have to be followed for some time, avoiding fatty aliments and too much alcohol. If the virus is not well controlled it can lead to liver fibrosis and in certain cases to cirrhosis which diminishes the life expectance a lot.
Prevention can be done by avoiding infected objects and having safe sex. You can never know if one person is infected or not, especially if it is in the phase of the disease when it doesn’t have any symptoms. Vaccination against this affection is possible but only for those people that are not already infected with the hepatitis B virus. The protective effect of the vaccine lasts for about 5-6 years.
Related posts:
- Learn how to protect yourself and your family against fluWe all know that flu is not just a simple...
- Sexually transmitted diseases: Infection with Chlamydia trachomatisChlamydia has become nowadays one of the most frequent sexually...
- 6 Reasons why Flossing is so importantWhy is flossing so important and why should everyone floss...
- Dieting post marathon 3. Fats, and all the facts about themFats are supposed to be the great problem that is...
- Symptoms and treatment of iron deficiency anemiaAnemia can be defined as a reduction in the amount...
- Alzheimer’s disease: When forgetting becomes a serious problemAlzheimer’s disease is a much discussed about condition due to...
If you enjoyed this post, please consider to leave a comment or subscribe to the feed and get future articles delivered to your feed reader.
I’m glad I got my shots! Thanks for the reminder and the advice, great article!