HEPATITIS B INFECTION

WHAT YOU NEED TO KNOW ABOUT HEPATITIS B INFECTION

Anxiety and worry is genuine but you should not loose hope and have full information about the disease. Hepatitis b virus is one of the viruses that attacks liver cells and causes damage. The Hep B virus can result in acute or chronic infection which is more dangerous.

SYMPTOMS OF HEPATITIS B INFECTION

Usually the patient are symptom less but some people can develop symptoms within average of 90 days which usually involve fever, fatigue loss of appetite, nausea , vomiting abdominal pain, dark urine joints pain etc. Symptom lasts for several weeks but may persist for 6 months.
A significant majority completely recovers and don’t become chronically infected.

GET VACCINATED PLEASE
Best thing is to get vaccine if you have not got it already. There is specific anti viral treatment for those who become chronically infected.The virus is transmitted through blood or any body fluid of infected person. HbsAg posutive means a person is infectious

ACUTE AND CHRONIC HEPATITIS B
Acute infection is when a person is hbsAg + and there is Ig M antibodies to core antigen persistence of hbsA g for six month means the infection has become chronic. There is no treatment for acute infection for chronic we have anti virals like tenofavir entacavir which is given these dont cure the disease but suppresses the virus there for is taken for life.

PREVENTION OF CIRRHOSIS IS THE GOAL VIA THE ANTIVIRALS

Main aim is to protect liver from cirrhosis and carcinoma after that the virus is suppressed preventing the development of that stage. Monitoring of the ALT is of more significance in HEPATITIS B INFECTION than Hepatitis C to monitor disease activity.
You should consult a doctor ,  preferably an Infectious Disease specialist or Gastroenterologist to consider and discuss your situation and eligibility for drug therapy.