Hepatitis B: Risks, Treatment and Prevention

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Hepatitis B: Risks, Treatment and Prevention

K.C. Dermody, Contributor Network

Jul 17, 2011

After an Assisted Living Center in Mount Olive, N.C., was fined $16,000 for

causing the outbreak of Hepatitis B in which six of their patients died, the

Obama administration has begun an intensive information drive to discuss the

risks of Hepatitis B as well as prevention and treatment of the illness. His

focus is on Asian-Americans and Pacific Islanders, because of the prevalence of

the disease in those communities.

Here are the facts about Hepatitis B.

* Hepatitis B is an irritation and swelling of the liver due to an infection

with the Hepatitis B virus. It is a contagious virus that can cause severe liver

problems.

* The liver removes harmful chemicals from the blood, fights infection, digests

food and stores energy, as well as vitamins and nutrients. Without the liver,

you cannot exist.

* Hepatitis B can lead to liver failure, liver cancer or cirrhosis. Cirrhosis

causes permanent scarring of the liver.

* There is no cure for Hepatitis B, though there is a vaccine to prevent the

disease.

* Possible ways of spreading Hepatitis B include direct contact with blood in a

hospital setting (such as what happened in the case in Mount Olive when medical

technicians reused diabetes pens), sexual contact with a person that has the

infection, tattoos or acupuncture that involve unclean needles, sharing needles

during drug use, and sharing personal items that come in contact with bodily

fluids of an infected person.

* Symptoms of the disease typically occur two to three months after becoming

infected.

* Some of the signs and symptoms of the infection include abdominal pain, dark

urine, appetite loss, nausea and vomiting, joint pain, weakness and fatigue,

yellowing of the skin and the whites of your eyes that give an appearance of

jaundice.

* Some infants as well as adults never experience the symptoms even if they are

infected with the disease. If you think you have come in contact with the bodily

fluids of someone who has the infection, it is important to contact your doctor

immediately.

* Healthy people still may need to be screened for Hepatitis B if they fall

under the following circumstances: people who are HIV-positive, immigrants from

areas of the world where the disease is prevalent; such as, Asia, the Pacific

Islands, Eastern Europe and Africa as well as children of parents from these

areas.

* You should also be screened if you suspect a person you have had sex with has

the infection, if you are an injection drug user or a prison inmate, a man who

has had sex with a man, if you receive kidney dialysis or if you are a pregnant

woman.

* Screening for Hepatitis B is done via a blood test If it is determined that

you have the infection, liver tests will be performed to gauge the damage that

has been done to the organ.

* If you are diagnosed with the illness, you may receive antiviral medications

to help prevent further damage to your liver. If your liver is already severely

damaged, a liver transplant may be the only option.

[Guest guest]

http://www.associatedcontent.com/article/8240233/hepatitis_b_risks_treatment_and\

_prevention.html?cat=8

Hepatitis B: Risks, Treatment and Prevention

K.C. Dermody, Contributor Network

Jul 17, 2011

After an Assisted Living Center in Mount Olive, N.C., was fined $16,000 for

causing the outbreak of Hepatitis B in which six of their patients died, the

Obama administration has begun an intensive information drive to discuss the

risks of Hepatitis B as well as prevention and treatment of the illness. His

focus is on Asian-Americans and Pacific Islanders, because of the prevalence of

the disease in those communities.

Here are the facts about Hepatitis B.

* Hepatitis B is an irritation and swelling of the liver due to an infection

with the Hepatitis B virus. It is a contagious virus that can cause severe liver

problems.

* The liver removes harmful chemicals from the blood, fights infection, digests

food and stores energy, as well as vitamins and nutrients. Without the liver,

you cannot exist.

* Hepatitis B can lead to liver failure, liver cancer or cirrhosis. Cirrhosis

causes permanent scarring of the liver.

* There is no cure for Hepatitis B, though there is a vaccine to prevent the

disease.

* Possible ways of spreading Hepatitis B include direct contact with blood in a

hospital setting (such as what happened in the case in Mount Olive when medical

technicians reused diabetes pens), sexual contact with a person that has the

infection, tattoos or acupuncture that involve unclean needles, sharing needles

during drug use, and sharing personal items that come in contact with bodily

fluids of an infected person.

* Symptoms of the disease typically occur two to three months after becoming

infected.

* Some of the signs and symptoms of the infection include abdominal pain, dark

urine, appetite loss, nausea and vomiting, joint pain, weakness and fatigue,

yellowing of the skin and the whites of your eyes that give an appearance of

jaundice.

* Some infants as well as adults never experience the symptoms even if they are

infected with the disease. If you think you have come in contact with the bodily

fluids of someone who has the infection, it is important to contact your doctor

immediately.

* Healthy people still may need to be screened for Hepatitis B if they fall

under the following circumstances: people who are HIV-positive, immigrants from

areas of the world where the disease is prevalent; such as, Asia, the Pacific

Islands, Eastern Europe and Africa as well as children of parents from these

areas.

* You should also be screened if you suspect a person you have had sex with has

the infection, if you are an injection drug user or a prison inmate, a man who

has had sex with a man, if you receive kidney dialysis or if you are a pregnant

woman.

* Screening for Hepatitis B is done via a blood test If it is determined that

you have the infection, liver tests will be performed to gauge the damage that

has been done to the organ.

* If you are diagnosed with the illness, you may receive antiviral medications

to help prevent further damage to your liver. If your liver is already severely

damaged, a liver transplant may be the only option.