Hepatitis A
HAV virus is one
type of hepatitis virus that can cause inflammation of the liver. As a result,
the ability of liver function also decreases. These risk factors for
hepatitis are related to poor environmental hygiene and clean living behavior.
Hepatitis A
usually does not cause severe liver damage. In
addition, hepatitis is also not at risk of developing chronic diseases.
Although relatively mild, the symptoms of this disease can still interfere with
daily activities.
Please note that
most patients who recover from hepatitis will get immunity. That's why people
who have had hepatitis A will be more immune to the attack of HAV infection.
In rare cases,
HAV virus infection can also last for months and be fatal to death. Therefore,
vaccination and maintaining personal hygiene are essential to prevent the
spread of hav virus.
How common is this condition?
Hepatitis A is
one of the most common infectious hepatitis diseases in many countries. In Indonesia alone,
the number of people with hepatitis has continued to grow over the past few
years.
Based on Basic Health
Research (Riskesdas), the prevalence of hepatitis sufferers based on doctor's diagnosis has doubled.
This number increased to 0.4 percent during the period 2013 - 2018.
This disease may
be difficult to stop due to the easy spread of the virus through food and minimum.
In addition, environments with low hygiene quality also have a high rate of
hepatitis A virus infection.
With such conditions,
children become the age group most susceptible to HAV infection with a
percentage of 90 percent, reported by the WHO report.
However,
infections don't always cause health problems. Because infected children do not
necessarily experience disturbing symptoms.
Signs and symptoms
What are the signs and symptoms of hepatitis A?
Symptoms of
hepatitis A do not always
appear directly in an infected person. This is also true in people who have
been infected for several weeks. This is because the incubation period of the
virus can last for 14-28 days.
In people who
experience symptoms, hav characteristics will appear after 2 to 6 weeks of
infection with the virus. Symptoms can be mild to severe, including:
- Urine is dark yellow,
- Feeling tired,
- nausea and vomiting,
- A mild fever,
- pain in the joints,
- stomach ache
- loss of appetite,
- skin and the whites of yellowing eyes(jaundice),
- fecal colors such as clay and pale, and
- itching.
Compared to
children, adults tend to experience symptoms. This condition is also more prone
to occur in older people (elderly). If you share the symptoms above,
immediately contact your doctor to get the proper treatment.
When to check with the doctor?
In addition to
symptoms, consult a doctor or health clinic to get treatment if experiencing
conditions such as:
- after traveling from a place that has
an outbreak of hepatitis A,
- living or interacting with people
diagnosed with hepatitis, as well as
- Having sex with hepatitis.
If you test
positive for HAV, your doctor won't inject the vaccine right away but instead
recommends you undergo simple treatment.
You will be asked
to rest more and meet the needs of nutrients and fluids.
Causes and
risk factors
What causes
hepatitis A?
The cause of
hepatitis A is an HAV virus infection that attacks liver cells. As a result,
the liver becomes inflamed and triggers several symptoms that have been
mentioned.
The HAV virus
enters the liver through intense epithelial cells. Then, the virus multiplies
itself in hepatocytes, which are cells that play a role in the metabolism of
nutrients, fight toxins, to digest drugs.
While in the
liver, the virus will not immediately develop but instead undergo an incubation
period of 28 days with a range of 15-40 days.
How is hepatitis A transmitted?
Transmission of
hepatitis A can occur
through blood or tools used by sufferers. This hepatitis infection takes place
when the virus enters the body through the following conditions.
Direct interaction
Hepatitis A is a
disease that can be transmitted even before an infected person feels specific
symptoms. The virus can move through direct contact with the patient, such as:
- Having
unprotected sex,
- treating people with hepatitis, or
- Sharing syringes.
Consumption of contaminated food and beverages
In addition to
direct contact, the consumption of contaminated food and beverages can also transmit
the virus. Hav virus can move when food and drinks containing the virus are
consumed.
The virus that
causes hepatitis is often found in raw or cooked foods. In addition, food
derived from water contaminated with waste disposal also can contain the HAV
virus.
What are the factors that increase the risk of developing this condition?
You can reduce
your risk of developing this disease by avoiding the causative factors. The chance
of getting hepatitis A can also increase if you experience certain conditions,
namely:
- travel or work in areas with high
cases of hepatitis A,
- visiting a daycare or working in a
daycare center,
- men who have sex with other men,
- people with HIV,
- suffers from blood clotting
disorders, such as hemophilia,
- receiving blood transfusions from
people with hepatitis A,
- misuse of illegal drugs, whether
injected or not,
- living with people with hepatitis A,
and
- have fecal-oral contact with
hav sufferers.
Diagnosis
How to
diagnose this condition?
Basically, the hepatitis A test is not much different from other types of
hepatitis. The doctor will ask about the symptoms and complaints experienced.
After that, you
can undergo a simple physical examination. If the condition indicates the
presence of a virus in the body, the doctor will ask you to undergo a series of
investigations, such as blood tests.
Hepatitis A blood
tests are performed to detect an HAV virus in immunoglobulin G (IgM) antibodies
in a blood sample.
In addition, you
may also undergo an RT-PCR test to detect hepatitis virus in RNA. However, this
examination is less often done because it requires a unique laboratory.
What treatment options can be made for hepatitis A?
Hepatitis A
treatment does not require special treatment. Because your body will clean the
HAV virus by itself, although it takes a lot of time.
Most cases report
that the patient's liver will heal within 6 months without permanent damage.
Here are some simple ways to treat hepatitis that doctors recommend.
Rest
Hepatitis A
patients may be asked to rest more. This is because most hav sufferers feel
tired and powerless.
Controlling nausea
One of the
symptoms of hepatitis that need to be controlled is nausea. Nausea can decrease
appetite. You can control nausea by:
- snacking all day,
- Getting enough calories,
- eat high-calorie foods, as well as
- Drink fruit juice or milk.
Avoid the use of painkillers and alcohol.
Pain medications,
such as acetaminophen or paracetamol, should be avoided if you experience
symptoms of nausea and vomiting. In addition, you are also asked to stop
drinking alcohol during infection with the virus so that liver health is
maintained correctly.
In addition to
simple treatments, some patients may need medications to control bothersome
symptoms, such as fever.
Even so, the
doctor will still give drugs when the symptoms of hepatitis experienced are pretty
severe. These drugs aim to control the symptoms experienced by sufferers.
How is the body after recovering from hepatitis A?
Once confirmed to
recover, this disease should not have the potential to cause any health
consequences in sufferers. The body will instead form antibodies against the
HAV virus after recovering.
These antibodies
will build immunity that will prevent infection if you are exposed to the HAV
virus later.
Prevention
There are many
ways to prevent hepatitis, including hepatitis A, from vaccinations
to little things like washing your hands.
Here are some
ways that can be done to protect yourself from viral hepatitis infection.
Hepatitis A vaccine
The hepatitis A
vaccine is one of the
best options to prevent this disease. Once injected with the vaccine, the body
will form antibodies that fight the virus within a month.
This vaccine can
still be obtained after being infected with the virus. Even so, the
effectiveness rate of this vaccine only works within 2 weeks after exposure to
the virus.
Hepatitis A
vaccine is one of the safe vaccines to use and has almost no harmful side
effects.
The process of
giving the vaccine will be done gradually twice over 6 months. You are advised
to get vaccinated in total so that the body can build a perfect immune system.
Maintain cleanliness
Maintaining
personal hygiene and the surrounding environment is the primary key to efforts
to prevent hepatitis A. In fact, maintaining cleanliness, such as washing
hands, is done as a treatment for hepatitis at home.
Try to adopt a
clean lifestyle, such as:
- always peel and wash your own
vegetables and fruit,
- Avoid eating undercooked or raw meat.
- wear appropriate protection while
working, such as glasses and gloves,
- drink bottled water or boil water
when it is not available, and
- Avoid drinking unknown drinks.
Avoid sexual activity
As long as you
are infected with hepatitis A, you should avoid having sex with your partner.
Various types of
sexual activity are at risk of transmitting the virus to partners. Condoms are
also considered not to provide adequate protection.
If you have any
further questions, please contact your doctor to get the right solution.
