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HEPATITIS B?

If you are planning a trip to Sri Lanka, you must first be aware of the health and environment in the country. Sri Lanka is spread with many diseases like Diabetes, Dengue, Hepatitis A and many more. Hepatitis B is also one of the common diseases in Sri Lanka that can often prove fatal.

Hepatitis B is an infectious virus of the liver that can result in both acute and chronic disease. It is infected by a virus named as Hepatitis B Virus (HBV). Research of the World Health Organization (WHO) determined that the disease has caused about 3,000 deaths annually in the United States. The infection can be acute or chronic. The acute virus develops quickly in the patient's body while the Chronic virus develops slowly.

In most cases, the virus is a chronic one. Hepatitis B is highly contagious that can spread through contact with infected blood or other bloody fluids. It can live outside the patients body for up to seven days. Some possible methods by which the virus can transmit include:

• Direct contact with infected blood
• Transfer from mother to baby during birth
• Oral, vaginal, and anal sex
• Using a razor already used by an infected person
• Being pricked with a contaminated needle.

Symptoms of Hepatitis B

If the virus is the acute one, then the symptoms might not appear for months. Yet these symptoms include:

• Fatigueness
• Dark Urine
• Joint & Muscle Pain
• Loss of Appetite
• Fever
• Abdominal Discomfort
• Weakness
• Yellowing of Eyes and Skin

These symptoms require an urgent response and evaluation. People with age more than 60 feel the worst symptoms of acute Hepatitis B. If you are also having any of the above symptoms, seek your health care advisor or doctor as soon as possible.

Diagnosing Hepatitis B

Diagnosis of Hepatitis B is very easy. The doctor usually diagnoses Hepatitis B with several blood tests. Diagnosis of Hepatitis B might be recommended for individuals who have been in Jail, used IV Drugs, are pregnant, have HIV, or have received Kidney Dialysis. To determine whether you are having Hepatitis B or not, the doctor will perform a short series of blood tests too. Some of the basic tests are listed below:

• Hepatitis B Surface Antigen Test
• Hepatitis B Core Antigen Test
• Hepatitis B Surface Antibody Test
• Liver Function Tests

Treatment of Hepatitis B

(Photo by CDC on Unsplash)

After diagnosis, if you are reported with Hepatitis B, you must get through a pure treatment process. The acute type of Hepatitis B doesn’t require any proper treatment but you must prevent it. For Chronic Hepatitis B, the treatment process requires an antiviral medication that helps you to fight the virus. These medicines will also help to reduce the risk of future liver complications.

In several cases, a liver transplant may be required to fully recover from Hepatitis B. The disease can also be treated using a vaccine named Recombivax HB. It is provided in three doses where it helps the victim to prevent the infection in the future.

If you are also suffering from this perilous and cancer-causing disease and want to avail the best medical services, just contact the Global Patient Transfer’s consultant.