Botkin's disease, and in another way - epidemic hepatitis, has been known to doctors for a long time. As a rule, therapists were engaged in it, since they saw just such an approach to the treatment of the disease. In 1888, Sergei Petrovich Botkin put forward one suggestion, and soon proved it that catarrhal jaundice (that was what the disease was called then) has an infectious spread and acts destructively not only on the liver, but on the whole organism. Already in Soviet times, scientists identified the hepatitis virus and confirmed Botkin's theory.
Botkin's disease in the human body can be triggered by two types of viruses - type A and type B. The source of the disease is a person who either suffers from the disease, or the virus in his body is still in the incubation stage. The environment in which the pathogen is located is blood, liver, and gastric juice. However, you can get infected by the fecal-oral route, when the hepatitis virus is released into the environment by a sick person and already poses a threat to others. In this regard, special attention should be paid to personal hygiene and food hygiene - it is important to wash hands after being in public places, and vegetables and fruits - before eating, and also follow the rules of cooking (observe the temperature, etc.). Hepatitis can also be infected with blood transfusions, injections, and medical and cosmetic procedures.
Botkin's disease primarily affects the liver, and already the liver affects the entire body. Metabolism is disturbed, the composition of the blood changes. Before the onset of symptoms, the pathogen can persist in the human body from two weeks to a month. Moreover, the carrier, without knowing it, can infect others.
Botkin's disease, the symptoms of which are manifested quite clearly, does not cause difficulties in diagnosis. Usually in the first phase of patients fever, they have broken stool by the nature of dyspepsia. The condition of the body worsens significantly - patients note fatigue, pain in the right hypochondrium in the liver, lack of appetite, and nausea. Temperature may rise above subfebrile.
The very height of the disease is very indicative. The skin of patients of Botkin acquire a yellow tint, this is especially noticeable on the whites of the eyes, a little later the face, body, and limbs turn yellow. The peak of the disease occurs from the fourth to the seventh day. During this period, patients are especially tired, do not want to move. They experience headaches, itching on the skin, any help surrounding them annoys them. Blood pressure decreases, less often the pulse. The liver increases in size, it is easy to determine when palpating. May change in size (upward) of the spleen. Clinical tests of blood and urine show an increased content of bilirubin, and feces, on the contrary, are reduced.
Botkin's disease is quite long - in some cases, the symptomatology lasts for two to three months. With a severe form of hepatitis disease, necrotic events in the liver can occur, which, if not provided with proper care, can lead to death. There are rare cases when the disease lasts like an outbreak for two to three days, almost without affecting the patient's condition. Then they talk about a mild form of the disease.
You can confirm the improvement when the color of the skin normalizes, the size of the liver decreases and the dysfunctional intestinal disorders disappear. For some time, in order to avoid relapse, the patient patronizes the medical institution, making tests for hepatitis.
The disease should be treated strictly in a hospital of a medical institution. Patients usually spend four weeks there. The main thing to remember is that Botkin’s disease is treatable, but such a long way to recovery is justified, because hepatitis can cause infection of others and lead to an epidemic.