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What Doctor Treats Hepatitis B

Can Hepatitis B Be Prevented

Hepatitis B: Causes | Symptoms | Treatment | Dr Suneetha Narreddy

The hepatitis B vaccine is one of the best ways to control the disease. It is safe, effective and widely available. More than one billion doses of the vaccine have been administered globally since 1982. The World Health Organization says the vaccine is 98-100% effective in guarding against the virus. Newborns should be vaccinated.

The disease has also been more widely prevented thanks to:

  • Widespread global adoption of safe blood-handling practices. WHO says 97% of the blood donated around the world is now screened for HBV and other diseases.
  • Safer blood injection practices, using clean needles.
  • Safe-sex practices.

You can help prevent hepatitis B infections by:

  • Practicing safe sex .
  • Never sharing personal care items like toothbrushes or razors.
  • Getting tattoos or piercings only at shops that employ safe hygiene practices.
  • Not sharing needles to use drugs.
  • Asking your healthcare provider for blood tests to determine if you have HBV or if you are immune.

How To Treat Hepatitis B

This article was medically reviewed by Raj Vuppalanchi, MD. Dr. Raj Vuppalanchi is an Academic Hepatologist, a Professor of Medicine at Indiana University School of Medicine, and the Director of Clinical Hepatology at IU Health. With over ten years of experience, Dr. Vuppalanchi runs a clinical practice and provides care to patients with various liver disorders at the University Hospital in Indianapolis. He completed dual fellowships in Clinical Pharmacology and Gastroenterology-Hepatology at Indiana University School of Medicine. Dr. Raj Vuppalanchi is board certified in Internal Medicine and Gastroenterology by the American Board of Internal Medicine and is a member of the American Association for Study of Liver Diseases and the American College of Gastroenterology. His patient-oriented research is dedicated to finding new treatments for various liver disorders as well as the use of diagnostic tests for non-invasive estimation of liver fibrosis and portal hypertension .There are 13 references cited in this article, which can be found at the bottom of the page.wikiHow marks an article as reader-approved once it receives enough positive feedback. In this case, several readers have written to tell us that this article was helpful to them, earning it our reader-approved status. This article has been viewed 116,150 times.

Symptoms Of Hepatitis B

The majority of people experience no significant symptoms during the acute phase of infection. However, some people develop a rapid onset of the disease with symptoms that last a few weeks, including extreme fatigue, yellowing of eyes and skin, dark urine, abdominal pain, nausea and vomiting.

A small amount of people with acute hepatitis experience liver failure which can result in death. Sometimes the Hepatitis B virus can end up in a chronic infection that can develop such consequences as liver cancer or cirrhosis. However, more than 90% of adults recover naturally within the first year without any special treatment. But its important to remember that an infected person can transmit HBV to other people even if he or she has no symptoms.

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How Do I Get Hepatitis B Treatment

Usually for adults, hepatitis B goes away on its own and you wont need treatment. Your doctor might tell you to rest, eat well, and get plenty of fluids. You may also get medicines to help with any symptoms you might have but be sure to talk with your doctor or nurse before taking anything.

If you have chronic hepatitis, there are medicines you can take to treat it. Your doctor will tell you about your options and help you get whatever treatment you need.

What Are Dosages Of Hepatitis B Vaccine

Top Health Doctors

Dosages of Hepatitis B Vaccine:

Dosage Considerations Should be Given as Follows:

  • Engerix B: 1 mL intramuscularly at 0, 1, and 6 months
  • Recombivax HB: 1 mL intramuscularly at 0, 1, and 6 months
  • Adults receiving dialysis or other immunocompromising conditions
  • Recombivax HB : 40 mcg intramuscularly at 0, 1, and 6 months, OR
  • Engerix-B : 40 mcg intramuscularly at 0, 1, and 6 months

Routine vaccination

Catch-up vaccination

  • Unvaccinated children should complete a 3-dose series
  • Children aged 11-15 years: 2-dose series of adult formulation Recombivax HB is licensed for use in children aged 11 through 15 years

Dosing Considerations

Pediatric:

Suspected adverse events after administration of any vaccine may be reported to Vaccine Adverse Events Reporting System , 1-800-822-7967

This document does not contain all possible side effects and others may occur. Check with your physician for additional information about side effects.

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How Is Hepatitis B Diagnosed

Blood tests are used to diagnose hepatitis B. Blood tests can tell your doctor whether your liver is working properly, and they can also be used to monitor your condition during treatment.

Your doctor may want to look at your liver with an ultrasound exam or X-rays. You may also need a liver biopsy. During a liver biopsy, a small piece of the liver is removed and looked at under a microscope. A liver biopsy can help your doctor diagnose your illness and see the condition of your liver directly.

How Do You Know If You Have Hepatitis B

The only way to know if you have hepatitis B is bya medical exam. There are several blood tests yourhealth care provider can use to diagnose hepatitis B.These tests can tell you:

  • If it is an acute or a chronic infection
  • If you have recovered from infection
  • If you are immune to hepatitis B
  • If you could benefit from vaccination

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What Are Signs Of Hepatitis B

When you first get hepatitis B, it is called acutehepatitis B. Most adults who have hepatitis B willrecover on their own. However, children and someadults can develop chronic hepatitis B.

Acute hepatitis B: Signs of acute hepatitis B canappear within 3 months after you get the virus.These signs may last from several weeks to 6 months.Up to 50% of adults have signs of acute hepatitis Bvirus infection. Many young children do not show anysigns. Signs include:

  • Yellow skin or eyes
  • A longer than normal amount of time for bleedingto stop

Treatment For Hepatitis A B And C

Viral hepatitis (A, B, C, D, E) – causes, symptoms, diagnosis, treatment & pathology

For those diagnosed with hepatitis B or C, our experts work together to create and coordinate personalized care plans to suppress the virus and, when possible, provide a cure. Our doctors can recommend new antiviral medical therapies that have the potential to treat hepatitis B and C effectively, without the side effects of prior treatments. Treatment is also available for hepatitis A, although this condition often resolves on its own without therapy.

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Prevent Infection After Contact With The Virus

If you think you have been in contact with the hepatitis B virus, see your doctor right away. Doctors typically recommend a dose of the hepatitis B vaccine to prevent infection. In some cases, doctors may also recommend a medicine called hepatitis B immune globulin to help prevent infection. You must get the vaccine dose and, if needed, HBIG shortly after coming into contact with the virus, preferably within 24 hours.

Chronic Hepatitis B Symptoms

Most patients with chronic hepatitis B are asymptomatic unless their disease progresses. Others might have nonspecific symptoms, such as fatigue.

Some patients experience worsening of the infection and develop signs and symptoms similar to acute hepatitis.

If patients with chronic hepatitis B progress to cirrhosis they will develop signs and symptoms of liver failure, including:

  • Hepatocellular carcinoma

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What Happens With Hepatitis B

A majority of adults who contract hepatitis B have between mild symptoms and no symptoms at all, and then the virus resolves spontaneously however, about 5% of people are not able to eliminate the hepatitis B virus and develop chronic infection. If a chronically infected mother gives birth, 90% of the time her infant will be infected and develop chronic hepatitis B, usually for life. This may give rise to serious complications of liver disease later in life such as liver damage, liver failure, and liver cancer.

How Do Doctors Treat The Complications Of Hepatitis B

Hepatitis B

If chronic hepatitis B leads to cirrhosis, you should see a doctor who specializes in liver diseases. Doctors can treat the health problems related to cirrhosis with medicines, minor medical procedures, and surgery. If you have cirrhosis, you have an increased chance of liver cancer. Your doctor may order blood tests and an ultrasound or another type of imaging test to check for liver cancer.

If chronic hepatitis B leads to liver failure or liver cancer, you may need a liver transplant.

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What Are The Risk Factors For Hepatitis B And C

Hepatitis B: Although most commonly acquired early in life, adults can also contract it. Hepatitis B is largely transmitted through bodily fluids. It can be passed at birth from a hepatitis B-infected mother or through exposure in early childhood to body fluids, blood or contaminated medical instruments. Hepatitis B can also be transmitted through intranasal and injection drug use as well as infected tools used during tattooing and body piercing.

Hepatitis C: The key risk factors are also intranasal and injection drug use, tattoos and body piercings, high-risk sexual contact, blood transfusions before 1992 and organ transplantation.

Another key risk factor for hepatitis C is being born from 1945 to 1965, during the baby-boom years. Eighty percent of all people who currently have hepatitis C in the United States were born in that timeframe.

Although the reasons that baby boomers are more likely to have hepatitis C than others arent entirely understood, its believed that most were infected in the 1970s and 1980s, when rates of hepatitis C were at their peak.

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and the U.S. Preventive Services Task Force recommend that all U.S. adults born from 1945 to 1965 undergo a one-time screening test for hepatitis C. Connecticut is one of several states that has written this recommendation into law. In Connecticut ,the law requires that primary care clinicians screen all adults born within those years.

Could I Give Hepatitis C To Someone Else

Yes, once you have hepatitis C, you can always give it to someone else. If you have hepatitis C, you cannot donate blood. You should avoid sharing personal items like razors and toothbrushes. It is very rare to pass hepatitis C in these ways, but it can happen. Always use a condom when you have sex. If you have hepatitis C, your sexual partners should be tested to see if they also have it.

Talk to your doctor first if you want to have children. The virus isnt spread easily from a mother to her unborn baby. But it is possible, so you need to take precautions. However, if youre trying to have a baby, do not have sex during your menstrual cycle. The hepatitis C virus spreads more easily in menstrual blood.

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Who Is More Likely To Get Hepatitis C

People more likely to get hepatitis C are those who

  • have injected drugs
  • have been on kidney dialysis
  • have been in contact with blood or infected needles at work
  • have had tattoos or body piercings
  • have worked or lived in a prison
  • were born to a mother with hepatitis C
  • are infected with HIV
  • have had more than one sex partner in the last 6 months or have a history of sexually transmitted disease
  • are men who have or had sex with men

In the United States, injecting drugs is the most common way that people get hepatitis C.13

How Do Doctors Treat Hepatitis B

Hepatitis B | Dr. Vinay Kumar

Doctors typically dont treat hepatitis B unless it becomes chronic. Doctors may treat chronic hepatitis B with antiviral medicines that attack the virus.

Not everyone with chronic hepatitis B needs treatment. If blood tests show that hepatitis B could be damaging a persons liver, a doctor may prescribe antiviral medicines to lower the chances of liver damage and complications.

Medicines that you take by mouth include

A medicine that doctors can give as a shot is peginterferon alfa-2a .

The length of treatment varies. Hepatitis B medicines may cause side effects. Talk with your doctor about the side effects of treatment. Tell your doctor before taking any other prescription or over-the-counter medicines.

For safety reasons, you also should talk with your doctor before using dietary supplements, such as vitamins, or any complementary or alternative medicines or medical practices.

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Hepatitis B Causes And Risk Factors

Itâs caused by the hepatitis B virus, and it can spread from person to person in certain ways. You can spread the hepatitis B virus even if you donât feel sick.

The most common ways to get hepatitis B include:

  • Sex. You can get it if you have unprotected sex with someone who has it and your partnerâs blood, saliva, , or vaginal secretions enter your body.
  • Sharing needles. The virus spreads easily via needles and syringes contaminated with infected blood.
  • Accidental needle sticks.Health care workers and anyone else who comes in contact with human blood can get it this way.
  • Mother to child.Pregnant women with hepatitis B can pass it to their babies during childbirth. But thereâs a vaccine to prevent newborns from becoming infected.

Hepatitis B doesnât spread through kissing, food or water, shared utensils, coughing or sneezing, or through touch.

Do I Need A Liver Specialist

A liver specialist specializes in liver disease conditions and up to date with current treatments and testing needed to evaluate and monitor your condition. They are also familiar with complications and associated conditions related to hepatitis C.

They can be familiar with patient assistance programs and work as your patient advocate to help you obtain assistance from the right resources for treatment. Choosing your healthcare team is very important. You are the captain, but a liver specialist, nurses, and pharmacy/treatment providers are essential in fighting hepatitis C and liver disease.

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Should I Be Screened For Hepatitis B

Screening is testing for a disease in people who have no symptoms. Doctors use blood tests to screen for hepatitis B. Many people who have hepatitis B dont have symptoms and dont know they are infected with hepatitis B. Screening tests can help doctors diagnose and treat hepatitis B, which can lower your chances of developing serious health problems.

Your doctor may recommend screening for hepatitis B if you9,14

  • were born in an area of the world where 2 percent or more of the population has hepatitis B infection, which includes Africa, Asia, and parts of the Middle East, Eastern Europe, and South America
  • didnt receive the hepatitis B vaccine as an infant and have parents who were born in an area where 8 percent or more of the population had hepatitis B infection, which includes sub-Saharan Africa and parts of Asia
  • are HIV-positive

How Do Doctors Test For Hepatitis C

How is Hepatitis B treated?

Doctors check for hepatitis C through a blood test called an HCV antibody test.

When a person contracts HCV, their immune system releases HCV antibodies into the bloodstream. The HCV antibody test looks for the presence of these proteins.

A negative, or nonreactive, result shows that the person does not currently have an HCV infection. A positive, or reactive, result indicates that the person contracted HCV at some point.

It is important to note that a positive antibody test does not necessarily mean that the individual currently has hepatitis C. Once someone has had hepatitis C, they will always have hepatitis C antibodies.

For this reason, if a blood test returns a positive HCV result, the doctor will order another blood test to check for an active infection. This test, called the nucleic acid test , detects HCV genetic material called RNA, which will be present if the person has an active HCV infection.

A negative NAT result means that the person previously had an HCV infection but that the virus is no longer in their body. If the result is positive, the person currently has the virus in their body, and it can transmit to other people.

A person will need to receive treatment for an acute HCV infection. However, this may not be possible if they are pregnant. Experts recommend against taking HCV drugs during pregnancy, as they may damage the developing baby.

Anyone with chronic hepatitis C should visit a doctor regularly to monitor their liver health.

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Living With Hepatitis B

Risk of chronic infection caused by hepatitis B is related to your age, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Protection . Approximately 90% of infected infants become chronically infected compared with 2%-6% of adult, reports the CDC.

Chronic hepatitis B infection can lead to serious health issues. If you have it, you should be monitored regularly by a doctor. This means you should check in with your doctor at least once or twice a year. Some people who have chronic hepatitis B infection require medicine, but others do not. Your doctor can discuss treatment options with you.

If you have chronic hepatitis B infection, it will likely stay in your blood and liver for a lifetime, according to The Hepatitis B Foundation. This means that you could pass the virus to others, even if you dont feel sick.

The most important thing to remember is that hepatitis B is a chronic medical condition that can be successfully managed if you take good care of your health and your liver, reports the Hepatitis B Foundation. You should expect to live a long, full life.

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