Hepatitis is an acute or chronic inflammation of the liver tissue of various etiologies. The world society faced the need to actively combat the rapid spread of this pathology. The main cause of mass diseases is the human factor. Namely, the lack of moral principles, a low level of hygiene and poor awareness of people about the ways of infection, methods of treatment and prevention of the disease. This gap needs to be filled by everyone.
Common signs of hepatitis viral form
The term "hepatitis" combines several types of infectious and non-infectious lesions of the body, which can lead to cirrhosis and death of a person. In the first place is the viral form. Despite the variety of pathogens (A, B, C and so on), some symptoms of viral hepatitis are common. These include: loss of appetite, fatigue, migraine, fever, nausea and vomiting, rash, pain in the joints and in the upper right abdomen. Such symptoms are often confused with manifestations of other diseases.
Signs of chronic hepatitis
Other signs of hepatitis appear with impaired liver function, resulting in the release of bile into the blood. The following symptoms result from this: yellowing of the skin, secretion of discolored stools and dark urine. This may indicate the transition of pathology into a chronic form.
Hepatitis is insidious!
But not all types of this disease are accompanied by active symptoms. In a large number of people, signs of hepatitis are mild or nonexistent. This is the "cunning" of the disease. The incubation period can take from two weeks to six months.
Often a person does not suspect the presence of pathology, attributing small periodic changes in the functioning of the body to fatigue from processing, gastrointestinal upsets or flu. This is due to the similarity of some symptoms. Thus, the patient goes to the hospital at a later stage, when the signs of hepatitis become pronounced. Naturally, in this case, precious time is lost.
The main criteria for diagnosis
From the foregoing, we can conclude that the symptoms do not always allow you to determine the diagnosis of hepatitis in the early stages. The main criteria are laboratory and clinical studies showing changes in blood composition and the presence of viruses of this type.
Children are in danger!
The situation in modern society is such that cases of infection of children not only with Botkin's disease, but also with other types of viruses have become more frequent. The difficulty in treating small patients (however, adults, too) lies in the limitation of acceptable drugs. This is due to the danger of the negative effect of drugs on the liver itself. As a result, an acceleration of the development of the disease can be obtained. In addition, hepatitis in children causes complications incomparable with the consequences in adults.
No to alcoholism and drug addiction!
Do not also forget about non-infectious forms of this pathology of the liver. Relatively rare lesions are caused by autoimmune diseases and radiation sickness due to exposure to chemicals and certain medications.
Alcoholism and drug addiction (not counting infection through sexual contact and through the blood) are the most common causes of toxic hepatitis. Often this type of pathology is in parallel with the viral form.
Depends on everyone!
In the end, it should be said that it depends only on each member individually and on society as a whole whether humanity can cope with the massive spread of hepatitis. Attentive, sincere attitude towards oneself and others, observance of moral principles and hygiene standards from childhood will become the key to a successful fight against “social diseases”.