Contents:
- Medical Video: The Truth about Hepatitis B
- What causes hepatitis B?
- Differences in acute and chronic hepatitis B
- Who is at high risk for hepatitis B infection?
- What are the signs and symptoms of hepatitis B?
- What are the complications of hepatitis B that might occur?
- How do doctors diagnose hepatitis B?
- What are the available hepatitis B drugs?
- Acute hepatitis B medication
- Chronic hepatitis B medication
- Various ways that can be done to prevent transmission of hepatitis B
- 1. Hepatitis B vaccine
- 2. Be careful with using needles
- 3. Don't share personal equipment
- 5. Having safe sex
- 4. Diligently wash your hands
Medical Video: The Truth about Hepatitis B
Hepatitis B is a contagious liver infection caused by the hepatitis B virus.For some people, this disease can become chronic and can last for more than six months.The total number of people with hepatitis B in Indonesia continues to increase every year. Based on the 2017 Riskesda, 7.1 percent of Indonesia's population has this infection. Even quoted from the Ministry of Health's website, it is known that every year there are an estimated 150 thousand babies whose 95 percent have the potential to experience chronic hepatitis in the next 30 years.
If not treated properly, this infection can increase your risk for liver failure, liver cancer or cirrhosis - a condition of permanent liver damage. Here's all the basic information about hepatitis B that you need to know.
What causes hepatitis B?
Hepatitis B is a disease that is highly contagious.The hepatitis B virus (HBV) is transmitted from one person to another through blood, semen, or other body fluids contaminated with the virus. People who have a weak immune system are at high risk of getting this disease.
There are several common ways of transmission of HBV, including:
- Having unprotected sex (including oral and anal sex) with an infected person.
- Sharing the same needle and syringe as the infected person.
- Underwent dental treatment in a hospital or at a dental clinic that does not use sterile equipment.
- Receive injections in hospitals or doctors from non-sterile needles.
- Make a tattoo or body piercing with non-sterile equipment.
- Borrowing personal items with infected people, such as shavers, toothbrushes, or towels.
- Has open wounds and tblood erpapar of another infected person.
Pregnant women infected with HBV can transmit the virus to their babies during labor. But in almost all cases, newborns can direct the hepatitis B vaccine to prevent further infection.
Differences in acute and chronic hepatitis B
HBV infection can be acute (short term) or chronic (long term). So, what distinguishes the two?
Acute HBV infection usually lasts less than six months. Your body is still able to completely recover from acute hepatitis B in a few months. Most people who get hepatitis B when they have an acute infection, but this can lead to chronic infection.
While chronic HBV infection lasts six months or more. The infection can last long if your immune system fails to work against infection. Chronic HBV infection has a high risk of causing serious diseases, such as cirrhosis and liver cancer.
The younger you are when you are infected with HBV, the higher your risk of developing a chronic infection - especially for newborns or toddlers. Symptoms of chronic hepatitis B can go undetected for several years until the person actually falls ill due to liver disease.
Who is at high risk for hepatitis B infection?
Everyone can get infected with this disease. But there are several factors that can increase your risk of getting HBV infection, including:
- Unprotected sex by changing partners or with someone infected with HBV - both sex between men and women and men with men (homosexuals).
- Using a syringe used by an infected person.
- Is a baby born to an infected mother.
- Have a job that exposes you to the blood of others, for example a doctor or nurse in a hospital.
- Share personal items such as shavers and brush teeth together with infected people.
- Share in places with high rates of HBV infection, such as Asia, Africa and Eastern Europe.
What are the signs and symptoms of hepatitis B?
HBV can survive at least 7 days outside the human body, but at that time the virus can still infect and enter the body that has not been protected with the vaccine.
The following are some of the symptoms of hepatitis B that you should be aware of including:
- Abdominal pain
- Dark urine like tea
- The color of the stool is pale like putty
- Fever
- Joint pain
- Loss of appetite
- Nausea and vomiting
- Weakness and fatigue
- The skin and the whites of the eyes turn yellow (jaundice)
In many cases, symptoms of hepatitis B are not directly realized by the sufferer. The reason is, some people do not display meaningful hepatitis B symptoms. Symptoms of hepatitis B also usually appear around one to four months after you get infected.
In addition, the signs and symptoms of hepatitis B vary from one person to another, it can be mild to the symptoms of the common cold to severe. Well, because of the lack of awareness of hepatitis B symptoms, the rate of transmission of this disease is even higher.
Therefore, see a doctor immediately if you suspect one of the symptoms of hepatitis B as mentioned above. If you notice that you have been exposed to a hepatitis virus, contact your doctor immediately. The risk of developing a severe infection can decrease dramatically if you receive treatment or prevention within 24 hours of exposure to the virus.
What are the complications of hepatitis B that might occur?
There are some serious complications caused by chronic HBV infection. For example:
- Liver tissue damage (cirrhosis) that interferes with liver function
- Heart cancer
- Liver failure - You may need a liver transplant to survive
- Other conditions, such as kidney disease, vascular inflammation or anemia
How do doctors diagnose hepatitis B?
Doctors usually advise you to take blood tests to detect the presence of hepatitis viruses in the body, and whether the disease is acute or chronic. Your doctor may also want to take liver tissue samples to be examined (biopsy) to determine if you have liver damage.
Some people are recommended to undergo HBV infection testing because the virus can damage the liver before causing signs and symptoms. Groups of people who need HBV screening include those who:
- Stay with someone who is infected with HBV (nurse or family member)
- Recently had unprotected sex with people suffering from HBV
- Get the results of liver function tests with unexplained abnormalities
- Have HIV or hepatitis C
- Traveling to a country with high hepatitis B cases, including Asia, the Pacific Islands, Africa and Eastern Europe
- Using injecting drugs
- An inmate
- Is a man who has sex with other men
- Undergoing kidney dialysis (dialysis)
- Using drugs that suppress the immune system, such as anti-rejection drugs used after organ transplants
- Is pregnant
What are the available hepatitis B drugs?
Hepatitis B drugs given by hepatologists (liver specialists) in people with HPV are actually only to suppress the growth of viruses in the body. Therefore, people infected with HBV must take treatment for the rest of their lives.
If you are diagnosed with the HBV virus, contact your doctor immediately. Receiving hepatitis B immunoglobulin injections within 12 hours of being infected with the virus can help protect you from infection.
Especially if you have never had a hepatitis B vaccine or are not sure whether you have ever had a hepatitis B vaccine. If so, you should immediately get a hepatitis B vaccine as soon as possible.
For drugs given, depending on the type of hepatitis experienced by the patient. Here are some choices of hepatitis B drugs.
Acute hepatitis B medication
Handling will be more focused on reducing the symptoms you experience. Acute hepatitis B infection still has the possibility to heal itself so it does not need special medication. But there is also the possibility for this infection to develop into a chronic infection.
For acute HBV infectionYour doctor may recommend that you:
- Rest more often
- Divide the food into small portionsl
- Eating more high-calorie foods to meet energy needs
If you feel that your condition has improved, that does not mean you are free from HBV infection. You are recommended to undergo a health checkup regularly to monitor HBV virus infection in your body.
Chronic hepatitis B medication
If you are diagnosed with chronic HBV infection, you can take hepatitis B drugs to reduce the risk of liver disease and prevent transmission of infection to others. Various chronic hepatitis B drugs include:
- Antiviral drugs. HBV infection is treated with antiviral drugs intended to clear viruses from the body, including lamivudine (Epivir), adefovir (Hepsera), telbivudine (Tyzeka) and entecavir (Baraclude).
- Interferon alfa-2b (Intron A). This drug is used by injection especially for young people to fight infection, who do not want to undergo long-term treatment or who may want to get pregnant within a few years. Side effects can include depression, difficulty breathing and chest tightness.
- Liver transplant. If your heart has suffered severe damage, liver transplantation can be an option. The doctor will lift your damaged heart and replace it with a healthy heart.
- Other drugs to treat this infection are still being developed.
Various ways that can be done to prevent transmission of hepatitis B
This infection is indeed contagious, but that does not mean it cannot be prevented. Here are some ways you can do to prevent transmission of hepatitis B:
1. Hepatitis B vaccine
Receiving hepatitis B vaccine is the best protection. If you are exposed to a virus from someone else, call your doctor. After that, the doctor will recommend a special hepatitis B drug called immunoglobulin for you to use regularly in 2 weeks.
Hepatitis B vaccine (Recombivax HB, Comvax, and Engerix-B), which is a vaccine made from an inactive virus and can be given 3 or 4 times in 6 months.
When the hepatitis B vaccine is given to people at risk of this infection, the body will be stimulated to make antibodies. These antibodies will "fight" the hepatitis virus if at any time it enters the body.
Hepatitis B vaccine is recommended for:
- Newborn baby
- Children and adolescents who are not vaccinated at birth
- Anyone suffering from sexually transmitted diseases, including HIV
- Health care workers, emergency staff, and other people who have contact with blood
- Men who have sex with other men
- Someone who changes sex partners
- Patients with chronic liver disease
- People who use injecting drugs
- Patients with end-stage kidney disease
- Is a sex partner of a person with hepatitis B
- Traveler (Traveler) who plan to travel to areas of the world with high rates of hepatitis B infection
If you are pregnant and intend to have a hepatitis B vaccine, it is better to discuss this with your doctor first because of fear of having an impact on the health of your fetus.
2. Be careful with using needles
The use of needles or non-sterile medical devices increases your risk of getting this infection. This must be watched out especially by medical personnel who make direct contact with hepatitis patients.
In addition, the use of careless needles such as needles used to make tattoos or needles used alternately when using drugs, can be the most likely and often cause of hepatitis.
3. Don't share personal equipment
Sharing with others is not a bad thing to do, but you and your family must know when the right time to share and what things should be shared. Sharing items such as toys, books, or other things may not be a problem.
Avoid sharing toothbrushes, razors, nail clippers, and various other personal items. Infected blood can stick to the personal device you use so that there is an increased risk of transmission of this disease to others.
In many cases, patients who experience hepatitis show no visible symptoms and signs, so choose which items can be shared and which cannot be shared.
5. Having safe sex
It is important for you to know your partner's disease history before sexual intercourse. As mentioned above, this disease can be transmitted through semen, blood, and body fluids.
That is why, always have safe sex by using a condom, including when you and your partner have oral and anal sex. Also, tell your partner that you have HBV and consult the risk of transmission to him.
It is important to know that condoms only reduce the risk of transmission, not eliminate them.
4. Diligently wash your hands
Although it sounds trivial, this method is actually effective in preventing transmission of this disease. Therefore, make a habit in your family to wash your hands before and after eating, after from the bathroom, and before and after processing food ingredients. In addition, keeping your body clean is also important, so the risk of getting hepatitis is getting smaller.
Hello Health Group does not provide medical advice, diagnosis or treatment.
