Showing posts with label Hepatitis B. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Hepatitis B. Show all posts

Friday, April 18, 2008

Hepatitis B is Transmittable to Foetus

It is known that Hepatitis B is transmittable from mother to baby during pregnancy. In India the prevalence of HBV is 4% and the most frequent form of virus transmission is from mother to child, during pregnancy, and in early childhood.

The HBV infection is possible to occur during pregnancy on a healthy person and infect the foetus too, or it could have existed long before the mother got pregnant.

A North Indian study showed that HBV has no predilection for pregnant women. Of the pregnant and non-pregnant women that were involved in this study, 19% of the pregnant women were infected, and 18 % of the non-pregnant women were infected too. Also, the disease was not affecting pregnant women in a different way than affecting non-pregnant ones.

Some of the symptoms that come along with the prodromal stage of hepatitis can be mistaken with those for pregnancy: nausea, vomiting. Also fatigue, headaches, muscle ache, and low grade fewer can be mistaken with flu. In 2 to 10 days of the prodrome jaundice appears and the patient could accuse pain in the right side of the body, just beneath the rib cage. The doctor could sense hepatomegaly (meaning that the liver has swollen), and sometimes splenomegaly. In approximately 6 weeks these symptoms will disappear, and if not treated, in 6 months, chronic hepatitis could install.

Sometimes the installation of the disease could cause premature labour (in 31.6% of the infected patients), and post partum hemorrhages.

In diagnosing acute hepatitis B doctors use viral markers like: HBsAg and IgM Anti-HBc.

The treatment of HBV in a pregnant woman is similar to the one used for a non-pregnant woman: bed rest, vitamins, and high calorie diet. The vaccine is not recommended in pregnant women.

The chronic hepatitis does not manifest in its early stages but only when it affects most of the liver. The chronic hepatitis is diagnosed most frequently when the patient feels ill and asks the doctor for some tests, or when a woman gets pregnant and the obstetrician recommends her some usual blood tests. If the level of serum transaminases is high, this means chronic hepatitis is present. Sometimes the doctor can palpate the spleen and liver but if the pregnancy is in the last months that can not be done. Also, the palmar erythema could suggest hepatitis but this sign is found in pregnancy too.

Pregnant women with chronic hepatitis usually have a normal pregnancy, and complications appear only if cirrhosis develops. Cirrhosis leads to portal hypertension and esophageal variceal hemorrhage, which could lead to maternal mortality.

Treating chronic hepatitis B is made in similar ways with treating non-pregnant women. Interferon alpha is no used because it can lead to foetus malformations. Lamivudine is considered to be safe for pregnant women and foetus and it is administered daily in an oral dose of 100 mg.

If you want to find out more resources about hepatitis c treatment or even about causes of hepatitis c you should visit this website http://www.hepatitis-guide.com

Author: Groshan Fabiola

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Thursday, April 17, 2008

What is Hepatitis B....?

What is Hepatitis B....?
Hepatitis B is a virus that causes liver disease. It is possible for carriers of the virus, showing no symptoms to still infect others.

How does one contract Hepatitis B....?
Hepatitis B is transmitted through vaginal, anal, or oral sex with an infected partner.

A pregnant woman can also pass the infection to her newborn during delivery, or while breast feeding her child. Sharing a toothbrush or razor with an infected person can also lead to infection.

What are the symptoms of Hepatitis B....?
Many people with Hepatitis B will not have any symptoms.
Others may have flu-like symptoms and jaundice (yellowing of the skin and eyes).

Darkly colored urine, and very light stools are often present but not unique to this infection.

What treatments are there for Hepatitis B....?
There is no specific treatment for Hepatitis B but there is a vaccine against the virus available at Genito-Urinary Medicine (GUM) clinics. Most people with Hepatitis B recover completely after rest, but in some cases there may be long-term liver damage.

What happens to untreated Hepatitis B....?
Hepatitis B can permanently damage your liver if left untreated, causing cirrhosis or even cancer.

What can I do to test myself for Hepatitis B....?
If you are still worried and would like more advice or information on Sexual Infections please visit discreethealthcheck.co.uk.

Author: Discreet Health Check

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Monday, April 14, 2008

Hepatitis B – a Deadly Killer

Some Simple Measures

• Avoid too much stress while suffering from this infection.

• Over-exertion may make you sick again.

• It is better to take rest and let your body catch up on the lost energy.

• Have protein, vitamin and mineral rich diet which would help you regain strength.

• As you suffer from nausea and loss of appetite it would be better to have small meals to undo those symptoms.

• Avoid dehydration and drink plenty of water

• Consume liquids like fruit or vegetable juices, soups and broths to add strength to your body.

• You may show signs of vomiting which can be dealt by increasing electrolytes consumption.

Warning: The reader of this article should exercise all precautionary measures while following instructions on the home remedies from this article. Avoid using any of these products if you are allergic to it. The responsibility lies with the reader and not with the site or the writer.

Author: Sharon Hopkins

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Faq About Hepatitis B

1. If I have chronic HBV can I breast feed my baby without worrying that he might get infected?

A study made in Texas on 101 breast-fed infants and 268 formula-fed infants after immunopropylaxis was applied showed that there is no risk in breast feeding your baby if you have chronic HBV. Appropriate immunoprophilaxies means administering hepatitis B immune globulin and hepatitis B vaccine.

2. Does breast feeding have any consequence upon immunoprophylaxis, like leading to its failure?

It has been observed that the risk of immunoprofilaxis failure is approximately equal in breast fed babies of chronic HBV mothers and bottle fed babies. Also, breast feeding does not influence the response of anti-HBs in any negative ways.

3. Can a baby get HBV from its mother even during pregnancy, and what can be done about that?

Yes, the virus can transmit to the baby even during pregnancy, in fact this being one of the most frequent ways of increasing the number of carriers in the world. If a mother has HBV she can get intramuscular shots of HBV specific immunoglobulin (HBIG) during pregnancy and so this stops the virus from infecting the foetus. This solution is not 100% effective and 10%-20% of the babies still get HBV in their early life.

4. Can hepatitis B vaccination schedule initiated with one recombinant DNA vaccine be completed with another?

Studies have been made on 48 adults to see if this is true. At 0, 1 and 6 months they have been administered the first two doses of 10 micrograms with Merck Sharpe and Dohme's recombinant DNA (MSD rDNA) vaccine (Recombivax HB). At month 6, the tested subjects received SmithKline Beecham's recombinant DNA (SB rDNA) vaccine (Engerix-B). At the end of the vaccination program, the results were the same with the usuall cases when people get one type of recombinant DNA vaccine, so there is no harm in completing one type of vaccine with another.

5. Is hepatitis B vaccine safe if administered during pregnancy?

Scientists say that the vaccination does not lead to any congenital malformation or miscarriage, it is high immunogenic and protects babies in the immediate neonatal period. Doctors are still hesitant in administering all kind of vaccine during pregnancy, but the hepatitis B vaccine seems to be one of the few that can be given to a pregnant woman without causing damage.

6. Can still I use a vial of Hepatitis B vaccine if I kept it out of the refrigerator for a few days?

Tests have shown that after keeping the vial at 37 degrees C for 1 week the immunogenicity and reactogenicity of the vaccine were not altered and the vaccine’s properties were intact. This is a good thing, especially for those who live in a country where facilities for proper storage and transportation are not adequate yet.

If you want to find out more resources about hepatitis or even about hepatitis c information you should visit this website http://www.hepatitis-guide.com

Author: Groshan Fabiola

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Saturday, April 12, 2008

Hepatitis B Causes and Preventions

What is Hepatitis B?
Hepatitis B is a serious liver disease. Hepatitis B is the most common liver infection in the world. In all over world about 350 million people are suffering from HBV, of whom, more than 250,000 die from liver-related disease each year. The liver can become inflamed as a result of infection. Hepatitis B is caused by infection with the hepatitis B virus. Hepatitis stops right working of your liver and it also makes your liver swollen. Mostly people do not know that they are suffering from Hepatitis B because it does not have any special kind of symptoms. The common symptoms of Hepatitis B are vomiting, jaundice, dehydration, headache, dark yellow colored urine, yellowish eyes and skin, abdominal pain etc.

Causes of Hepatitis B:
Virus is the main cause of Hepatitis B
The virus is the main cause of Hepatitis B. virus can get transferred from one person to another. The hepatitis B virus is transmitted from one person to another via blood so this virus is also called blood-borne virus.

How HVB virus gets transmitted in to the human body?

  • Living with the people who are suffering from Hepatitis B

  • Having sex with an infected person without using a condom

  • If you share the drug needles with any infected person

  • Men or women who have multiple sex partners, especially if they do not use a condom

  • By use of infected person’s toothbrush, razor, or anything else that could have blood on it.

  • If tattooing or body piercing tools are not being clean.

  • A person who go from dialysis and involve in kidney disease.

  • New born child get it for his infected mother.


Methods to Prevent Yourself for Hepatitis B:
Hepatitis B can be prevented either before or right after exposure to the virus. To prevent yourself from Hepatitis B, keep in mind those following point:

  • Use condom if your partner is infected by HBV

  • Avoid the contact with blood and other body fluids with the infected persons

  • Do not reuse used needles.

  • Do cover all open cuts and sores.

  • Pregnant women’s should screen her for HBV infection.

  • To prevent disease before exposure, hepatitis B vaccine is recommended for all infants, all 11-12 years-old

  • The infected person must not share razors, toothbrushes, needles, or any other object that may have become polluted with blood.
Author: mahiraj

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Infection With the Hepatitis B Virus During Pregnancy

In some countries, the infection with hepatitis B virus is most common during pregnancy. One can also be infected with the hepatitis B virus in his/ her early childhood. To gain some control over this method of transmitting hepatitis means to have a very good idea about the infection with the hepatitis B virus during pregnancy.

This knowledge of the infection with the hepatitis B virus when pregnant gives a good view on some of the following things:
- the mortality rate of the person carrying the hepatitis virus;
- the effect of the hepatitis B virus on the parturition process;
- most important, the capability of the hepatitis virus to be transmitted to the foetus;

There are tests that can show can show the seroprevelance of the hepatitis B virus in a pregnant women. The infection with hepatitis can be either acute or chronic. The acute infection with the hepatitis B virus means that this infection happened only during pregnancy and the person was otherwise healthy, whereas the chronic infection shows that the infection with the hepatitis B virus was previous to the pregnancy.

Studies have shown that the hepatitis B infection is not perdilect to pregnant women and the percentage of non pregnant women suffering from hepatitis B is almost the same of those pregnant. More, the acute form of hepatitis B does not have more severe symptoms in pregnant women than in the non pregnant ones.

The symptoms for viral hepatitis are the same: fatigue, headache, nausea, vomiting. The last two hepatitis symptoms may be also mistaken for pregnancy symptoms in women that do not suffer from hepatitis. If hepatitis resolves before there is a great liver injury, the symptoms of hepatitis may also be passes off as flu symptoms or even as effects of the pregnancy itself. In most of the cases, the acute hepatitis symptoms will pass in about six weeks.

If a pregnant women suffers from acute hepatitis, this may induce a premature labour, especially if she is in the last trimester. However, this has little or no effect on the foetus.

Chronic hepatitis is a very serious condition that has no symptoms. A person may develop hepatitis symptoms when this disease has done many damage to the liver. Most of the women that become pregnant, find out that they suffer from chronic hepatitis after they go to an obstetrician.

For more resources about hepatitis c symptoms please review http://www.hepatitis-guide.com/hepatitis-c-transmission.htm or even http://www.hepatitis-guide.com/hepatitis-c-treatment.htm

Author: Groshan Fabiola

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Pregnancy and Hepatitis B

There is a big question raised when thinking about hepatitis B: can infants risk to loose their immunoprophylaxis if breast feed by mothers that carry the hepatitis B virus? This is one of the most often asked question when new mothers with hepatitis B have children.

Well the answer is no. There is no risk for a mother with hepatitis B to breast feed his child. The infant will not suffer from any negative influences when the response of the anti hepatitis B is concerned. Many tests have been made concerning mothers that have hepatitis B virus and have to breast feed their new- born.
All the results have shown that there us no big difference when immunoprophylaxis failure is concerned in children that have been breast feed by their mothers which carry the hepatitis B virus and the babies that were feed by bottle. Another question asked was whether there was a bigger risk of transmitting hepatitis B to the infant if brestfeed by the mother that carry the hepatitis B virus. The answer was given after some studies made by doctors. If the infant is vaccinated against hepatitis B and taking into consideration hepatitis B globulin, the infant that is breast feed by his hepatitis B carrying mother is not at more risk of getting hepatitis B from her.

There is also the problem of infection with hepatitis B virus of the fetus. The answer is very simple. Even if the mother has the hepatitis B virus, the infection with hepatitis in the uterus may be stopped by injections . This method does not have any side- effects and can protect the fetus from hepatitis B virus.

Another matter that we must take into consideration when talking about hepatitis B is the vaccine. The question is can pregnant women get vaccinated against hepatitis B? And the answer is very satisfying, yes they can. This liver problem, hepatitis B in pregnancies can not be associated with an increased rate of abortion or congenital malformation. However, there is a matter to take into consideration if pregnant and having hepatitis B virus. If this hepatitis virus is aquired in your last trimester, your child might be born early. Another problem is that more than half of the women that contact hepatitis B virus in their last days of pregnancy are more than likely to transmit the hepatitis virus to their children.

For more resources about causes of hepatitis c please review http://www.hepatitis-guide.com/hepatitis-c-treatment.htm or even http://www.hepatitis-guide.com/hepatitis-c-information.htm

Author: Groshan Fabiola

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