Hepatitis Essay

1679 Words4 Pages
bulb-icon

Recommended: Hepatitis b epidemiology

Hepatitis is a disease which is caused by an injury to the liver causing inflammation that can be short-term or long lasting (Balistreri). There are five forms of viral Hepatitis known as Hepatitis A, Hepatitis B, Hepatitis C, Hepatitis D, and Hepatitis E. Each form of Hepatitis is very unique to the other and it is very important to understand the causes and effects of each one.
Hepatitis A is the first viral form of Hepatitis which is common amongst poverty stricken countries due to the poor sanitary conditions (Balistreri). Hepatitis A is most commonly transferred through drinking water and food when they have been infected with fecal matter. Hepatitis A may also be transferred when a person has failed to wash their hands after going to the restroom in which case they had fecal matter on their person and then come into contact with another person infecting them.
Most people may not know they are infected with Hepatitis A because symptoms may not be immediate. People who do have symptoms can experience them for one week or several months. Elder people with Hepatitis tend to have additional and longer lasting symptoms than younger people. Symptoms for Hepatitis include the following: “jaundice, fatigue, abdominal pain, nausea and vomiting, diarrhea, fever, loss of appetite, and dark urine” these symptoms range from moderate to being very severe (Viral Hepatitis). When you begin to experience such symptoms it is very important to schedule a blood test with a doctor to get a diagnostic. This blood test will either identify hepatitis A antibodies or will come back negative. When diagnosed doctors will be able to help treat you and kick the virus out of your system.
Hepatitis A can be treated/ prevented with a protein call gamma ...

... middle of paper ...

... in the United States. There are no medications or vaccines for this disease. Doctors recommend bed rest and many fluids and avoid anything that could damage the liver including over-the-counter prescriptions. Since no vaccines are available it is important to avoid dirty water the most common way to transfer hepatitis E.
Since there are many types of the hepatitis virus it is very important to be educated and well aware of not only this disease but ever disease. There are many large corporations such as the NIAID researching hepatitis and how to make this world safer from it. There is still much to be learned about hepatitis that is why it is very important to stay educated. All around hepatitis is preventable if we take action and live life by a few basic principles, we would be able to slow the transmission rate and decrease the amount of infected individuals.

Show More
Related

  • Essay On Valley Fever

    758 Words  | 2 Pages

    Most people who are exposed to the fungus experience symptoms, but do not get sick. The signs—fever, cough, and exhaustion—are difficult to distinguish from the flu, and can last for weeks to months. In people with weakened immune systems, the infection can cause more severe conditions such as meningitis or death. There is no vaccine for valley fever, and many in the general public (including the medical community) know very little about the illness. This lack of knowledge has allowed many milder cases to go undiagnosed, leading to underreporting.

    Read More

  • Hepatitis A Virus: The Digestive System And The Gastrointestinal System

    834 Words  | 2 Pages

    For example, those who travel to or live in countries where Hepatitis A is common, have sexual contact with someone who has Hepatitis A, men who have sexual encounters with other men, those who use recreation drugs, have clotting-factor disorders, or are household members or caregiver of someone who is infected with the virus. Other risk factors include intermediate and high endemicity areas include poor sanitation and regulations and lack of safe water. Also, residents from regions with low endemicity for the Hepatitis A Virus infection often remains susceptible in their adulthood. In areas where the virus is wide spread, most Hepatitis A infections occur during early childhood because children tend to ingest everything. As mentioned earlier, adults have signs and symptoms of illness more often than children. The severity of the disease and its fatal outcomes are higher in older age

    Read More

  • hepatitis

    717 Words  | 2 Pages

    HAV is known to be an infectious disease that usually occurs in children and young adults .The disease is usually transmitted from person to person through contaminated food, liquids or oral fecal route. An example would be when someone is carrying the virus and doesn’t wash their hands after using the restroom and then puts food in their mouth. HAV is most common in developing countries because of the living conditions and inadequate water, poor sewage facilities and sanitary conditions. The highest HAV levels in the world are from India,” Earlier reports suggest that India is hyperendemic for HAV infection2,4-6 with very high infection rates,” (Sowmyanarayanan). Most HAV are without severe complications, “Virus HAV infection rarely causes fulminant hepatic failure in people…,” (Vento,p.1) . The symptoms for HAV are high fever, nausea, vomiting and jaundice...

    Read More

  • Hepatitis B Essay

    866 Words  | 2 Pages

    ...ed with this drug. One of the major concerns for this treatment is the development of kidney problems, but are usually reversible after treatment is ceased. “Approximately 90-95% of adults with Hepatitis B recover and remain immune to re-infection throughout their lifetime,”(Everson and Weinburg, 2002, pg.142-143)

    Read More

  • Blood Borne Pathogens and Disease Transmission

    989 Words  | 2 Pages

    Pathogens are a type of microorganism that spreads viral and bacterial diseases. These diseases when present in human blood and body fluids are known as blood borne pathogens, and can spread from one person to another. (Worcester polytechnic institute) The most serious types of blood borne diseases are the hepatitis B virus (HBV) and hepatitis C virus (HCV), which can cause liver damage; and HIV (human immunodeficiency virus), which is responsible for causing AIDS (acquired immune deficiency syndrome). The blood borne pathogens can be spread when the blood or body fluids (semen, vaginal fluid, breast milk, and amniotic fluid) of an infected individual comes into contact with mucous membranes or an open sore or cut on the skin of another person. Mucus membranes are located in the eyes, nose, mouth, and other areas as well. ("Bloodborne pathogens: MedlinePlus Medical Encyclopedia") Two of the most common ways that pathogens are transmitted is through the exchange of fluids during sexual intercourse or by sharing infected IV needles. (Worcester polytechnic institute)

    Read More

  • Hepatitis B Essay

    669 Words  | 2 Pages

    The HBV virus is transmitted through contact with contaminated blood or other body fluids such as serum, semen and salvia. The condition following the infection can either be classified as acute or chronic HBV.

    Read More

  • Liver Diseases Resulting from Alcohol

    1426 Words  | 3 Pages

    Liver disease resulting from alcohol affects more than two million Americans and is one of the primary causes of illness and death. The liver frees the body of harmful substances, such as alcohol. While the liver breaks down alcohol, it produces toxins that can be even more dangerous than the alcohol consumed (“Beyond Hangovers: Understanding Alcohol's Impact Your Health” 13). “These by-products damage liver cells, promote inflammation, and weaken the body’s natural defenses. Eventually, these problems can disrupt the body’s metabolism and impair the function of other organs” (“Beyond Hangovers: Understanding Alcohol's Impact Your Health” 13). A condition called steatosis is the result of fat build up in the liver and is the earliest stage of alcoholic liver disease. This condition causes the liver difficulty breaking down alcohol, potentially resulting in alcoholic hepatitis. Fibrosis of the liver, which is also related to heavy drinking, causes scar tissue to build up in the liver. The alcohol alters chemicals that the liver needs to break down this scar tissue, causing liver dysfunctions. If one does not refrain from drinking during the condition of fibrosis, the scar tissue can build up and create another condition, called cirrhosis. Cirrhosis is deterioration of the liver resulting from heavy scarring, causing the liver to not be able to function properly. If cirrhosis becomes severe, a liver transplant may be the only solution (“Beyond Hangovers: Understanding Alcohol's Impact Your Health” 14). It is difficult to calculate when a person would develop cirrhosis, because an alcoholic could never develop the disease, but someone who social drinks could. It is also unknown why cirrhosis is more prevalent in women (...

    Read More

  • Hepatitis A Essay

    820 Words  | 2 Pages

    An infected person should avoid alcohol and limit consumption of drugs that are damaging to the liver, such as acetaminophen. Hospitalization is rare during the treatment of hepatitis A. Matheney, 2012; Gilroy, 2017 Prevention of Hepatitis A is available. “Improved sanitation, food safety and immunization are the most effective ways to combat hepatitis A.” (World Health Organization, 2017) Good hand hygiene is essential in preventing the spread of Hepatitis A. Proper sewage disposal systems are also important in the prevention of Hepatitis A within communities. If a person is traveling to an area where hepatitis A is prevalent, they should avoid ingesting water and uncooked fruits and vegetables.

    Read More

  • Influenza Vaccination Should be Mandatory

    892 Words  | 2 Pages

    Influenza is very contagious and spreads rapidly from person to person. Influenza causes worldwide yearly epidemics. According to World Health organization Influenza affects 5-15% world’s population and resulting in 500,000 deaths yearly. Ottenberg stated that, in United States, an average of 200,000 were hospitalized and 36,000 died each year from influenza complications. Influenza is the sixth leading cause of death among US adults and is related to 1 in 20 death in persons older than 65 years. Disease control and prevention estimates indicate that infections like H1N1 which is one of the types of influenza, have resulted in an estimated 42 to 86 million cases and 8520 to 17620 deaths. As I mentioned earlier that infections like influenza are very contagious, they can spread easily from hcw to Patient and back to hcw. The most efficient and effective method of preventing influenza infection is vaccination(The best way to prevent influenza is with annual vaccination).(Sullivan,2010) (Gregory,Tosh &Jacobson, 2005). Motivated by a desire to actively avoid illness Influenza may increase the risk for death in people with existing heart, lung, or circulation disorders. In fact, the higher than average number of winter deaths in people with heart disease may be due only to the occurrence of influenza during those months.Vaccination provides immunity to fight against infection.To increase resistance to harm by modifying the environment to minimize preventable illness (NEED TO CHANGE WORDING)

    Read More

  • Chain Of Infection Essay

    1097 Words  | 3 Pages

    Recent research shows that, there are three major means by which infections can be transmitted and they include direct transmission, indirect transmission and airborne transmission (Hinman,Wasserheit and Kamb,1995). Direct transmission occurs when the physical contact between an infected person and s susceptible person takes place (division of public health, 2011). An example is a health care worker who attends to an Ebola patient, without gloves, gown and mask plus forget to wash his or her hand with soap and hot water and or a person having flu without the use of mask or washes his hand after sneezing easily passes the infection to the other through hand shake or surface touch, living the bacteria there for another vulnerable person to also touch if the surface is not disinfected with bleach. Studies makes it clear that, the spreads takes effect when disease-causing microorganisms pass from the infected person to the healthy person through direct physical contact such as touching of blood, body fluids, contact with oral secretion, bites kissing, contact with body lesions and even sexual contact. However, measles and chicken pox are said to be conditions spread by direct

    Read More

  • Hepatic Cirrhosis

    1396 Words  | 3 Pages

    What is hepatic cirrhosis? According to the medical dictionary hepatic cirrhosis is when scar tissue replaces the liver’s healthy tissue. This disease changes the structure of the liver and blood vessels that nurture it. It reduces the liver’s capability to produce proteins and process hormones, nutrients, medications, and poisons. Cirrhosis is an illness that gets worse over time and possibly can become life threatening. This serious illness is ranked as the ninth leading cause of death in the U.S. It is the third most common cause of death for adults between 45 and 65 years of age. It occurs in more than fifty percent of undernourished chronic alcoholics. Unfortunately it kills about 35,000 people per year. In other country’s such as Africa and Asia death from cirrhosis is usually caused by hepatitis B.

    Read More

  • HEPATITIS C

    1006 Words  | 3 Pages

    There is a disease spreading out in the world called Hepatitis C. It affects the liver and may cause the liver to fail. This disease is caused by a virus called Hepatitis C virus which is also known as HCV. About 32,000 people are affected with this disease per year only in the United States area. Some It’s a disease with many symptoms and many causes. of these symptoms are easy bruising, upset stomach and fever. These are just some of the many symptoms that come from the virus. Hepatitis Cs nature of the causative agent is determined by many things. The biological data of this disease is filled so much information. It is estimated that over 180 million people have gotten Hepatitis C and it is growing.

    Read More

  • Cirrhosis Case Study Paper

    2538 Words  | 6 Pages

    This case study is about Abdul Chidiac, a 51 year old male, married with 4 children. He had a medical history of hypertension, hypercholesterolaemia and cirrhosis with two admissions in the last six months. He is a smoker and drinks beer, 5-6 bottles per day. As Carithers & McClain (2010) explained the patient’s medical history is another indicator of the risk for cirrhosis; the progression to cirrhosis is adaptable and may take time over weeks or many years. Cirrhosis is a liver disease characterized by permanent scarring of the liver that interferes with its normal functions including alcoholism. Most people who drink large amounts of alcohol cause harm to the liver in some way (Heidelbaugh & Bruderly, 2006). The cause of cirrhosis is not yet known, but the connection between cirrhosis and excessive alcohol ingestion is established (Jenkins & Johnson, 2010). Common causes of cirrhosis include: alcohol abuse, hepatitis B infection, hepatitis C infection and non-alcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD) and non-alcoholic steatohepatitis (Schuppan & Afdhal, 2008).

    Read More

  • To vaccinate, or not to vaccinate?

    1456 Words  | 3 Pages

    Viruses can be transmitted in many ways. Being in contact with an infected person will most likely transfer the virus. One can also obtain the virus through swallowing, inhaling, and unsafe sex. Poor hygiene and eating habits usually increase the risk of catching a viral infection. Contracting a viral infection is followed by adverse s...

    Read More

  • The Banning of Alcohol

    1206 Words  | 3 Pages

    Alcohol in the form of alcoholic beverages has been consumed by humans since pre-historic times, for a variety of hygiene dietary, medicinal, religions and recreational reasons. According to the NIH Senior Health, drinking too much alcohol affects many parts of the body. It can be especially harmful to the liver, the organ that metabolizes (breaks down) alcohol and other harmful substances. People who drink heavily for a long time can develop diseases such as liver inflammation (alcoholic hepatitis) or severe liver scarring (cirrhosis). Alcohol-related liver disease can cause death. According to the statistics in the year 2010 by the CDC (Centers for Disease Control and prevention) the number of discharges with chronic liver disease and cirrhosis as the first-listed diagnosis was 101,000 persons, while the number of deaths has been 31,903 persons.

    Read More

More about Hepatitis Essay

Open Document