Hepatitis

What is Hepatitis?

A person with hepatitis has their liver become inflamed because of a viral infection, or the inflammation is the result of medications, toxins, drugs, or excessive alcohol consumption. Viral hepatitis can be either A, B, C, D, or E type and autoimmune hepatitis is when the body begins to make antibodies against the tissue of the liver. Hepatitis B and Hepatitis C are seen most, and tend to be long-term, chronic conditions for people who develop the infection. Autoimmune hepatitis is three times more common for women than it is for men.

What Causes Hepatitis?

Exposure to the Hep A or E virus in food or water will be what causes hepatitis A or E. Hepatitis B and C is caused by coming into contact with the Hep B or C virus through bodily fluids. Hepatitis D is contracted via blood infected with the Hep D virus. Noninfectious hepatitis is also a possibility, and it can be the result of alcohol abuse to misuse of Rx medication to exposure to certain environmental toxins.

Possible explanations for autoimmune hepatitis are gene interactions, exposure to viruses or medicines, or a history of viral hepatitis (A, B, C, D or E), mononucleosis (Epstein-Barr virus), measles, or herpes. A disorder called hypergammaglobulinemia may also be behind a person developing autoimmune hepatitis. For others it may be a combination of genetic and environmental factors that lead them to get a hepatitis infection.

Hepatitis Symptoms

The hepatitis symptoms a person has will differ based on what type of infection they have. The ones that are common for all of them include fatigue, appetite loss, pain in the abdomen, flu-like symptoms, dark urine, pale stools, unexplained weight loss, and yellowed skin and eyes (jaundice). People with Hep B or C types may not have any hepatitis symptoms until liver function is compromised because of the infection.

Hepatitis Treatment

Hepatitis A patients may not require treatment as it is typically a short-term illness that will clear on its own. The most conventional approach to hepatitis treatment for B and C types is to have sufferers taking antiviral / DAA combination drugs like Epclusa or Harvoni.

People with autoimmune hepatitis taking Prednisone may have it paired with an immunosuppressant (Imuran) to limit the immune system response that is making the liver become inflamed. Currently there are vaccines for Hepatitis A, B, and D but none for Hepatitis C or E.