Reactive hepatitis in children - what is it? How dangerous is this? Is it worth it to be afraid? In fact, many are asking similar questions. And this is nothing bad, as they say, warned - that means armed. Reactive hepatitis is a disease that affects the liver. The causes of infection can lie in intoxications, diseases of the digestive tract, severe infections and other possible disorders. Do not close your eyes to a worsening condition, pain in the right side and on the right side of the back, it is better to start treatment on time. But more on this later in the article.
The basic concept of reactive hepatitis
This disease is classified as secondary. Nonspecific reactive hepatitis, as a rule, gives way to the strength of infection with drug or alcoholic hepatitis, which can be attributed to primary ones.
However, due to this classification, it does not become less dangerous. Liver tissue, responding to various extrahepatic diseases, can be affected by reactive hepatitis. The latter develops under the influence of toxins that spread throughout the body during prolonged, chronic or severe diseases.
More on the reasons
Often the reasons why reactive hepatitis can develop lie in diseases of the gastrointestinal tract. Damage to the liver occurs if the patient is ill with pancreatitis, gastritis, peptic ulcer of the duodenum and stomach, gastroduodenitis, colitis or with the appearance of malignant neoplasms in the digestive tract. In this case, hepatitis can develop once. With proper and timely treatment, you can quickly eradicate the disease.
However, there is a permanent form of the disease. Chronic reactive hepatitis can occur due to diabetes mellitus, systemic lupus erythematosus, hemolytic anemia, polyarteritis nodosa, rheumatoid arthritis, thyrotoxicosis, and even ordinary rheumatism. It is worth noting that the chronic form of the disease is much more difficult and more difficult to treat, so in any case, do not delay the call to the doctor.
Reactive hepatitis in children
If the child often develops allergies or has a chronic disease in the form of bronchial asthma, one should be wary of reactive hepatitis. You should carefully monitor the state of your child, because everything can start with simple malaise and fatigue, as well as with a little tearfulness, which subsequently often develops into aggression. Hepatitis in children is often accompanied by constipation or diarrhea - it is worth paying special attention to these signs and not delay the diagnosis of the disease.
Symptoms
The symptomatology of the disease is very specific. There are two subcategories of the disease - portal and lobular. This classification is used for different localization of inflammatory and dystrophic processes. Reactive hepatitis is almost always accompanied by small foci of necrosis, located in different parts of the liver lobes. But since these symptoms are internal and indistinguishable, it is worth paying attention to the external condition of the patient. Often, the disease begins and proceeds with little or no signs of infection.
The most common symptoms of reactive hepatitis are weakness, fatigue, malaise, and headaches. In addition, the severity and pain in the hypochondrium on the right side, loss of appetite and nausea can cause anxiety. It is possible that reactive hepatitis will be accompanied by yellowness of the skin, but only in rare cases. The easiest way to identify the disease with the help of tests: an increased content of hepatic enzymes in the blood, sometimes bilirubin, will help give an accurate answer. Upon examination, the specialist will easily determine that the liver is moderately enlarged. This will lead him to a more thorough examination of the body and the search for the causes of malaise.
Diagnosis of the disease
An informed doctor knows for sure that talking about reactive hepatitis is possible only after other causes of the disease have been ruled out. The very first action is a blood test for viruses and infections. In addition, it is necessary to conduct studies using the instrumental method. In some cases, a histology study of the liver tissue taken by biopsy takes place.
Additionally, the patient is questioned about the use of drugs, alcohol and various kinds of medications. If necessary, you can ask about working conditions in order to clarify the possibility of infection in the workplace. In case of suspected autoimmune hepatitis , an additional blood test is carried out immunologically.
Reactive hepatitis: treatment
The most important thing in eradicating a disease is the elimination of the infection that caused it. The liver is a unique organ that has an excellent regenerative function, so after eliminating the cause of the disease, the organ can recover itself. A patient with reactive hepatitis should cease to endure heavy loads, both physical and moral. It is worth paying attention to nutrition, excluding from the diet all harmful products. If we talk about the drug side, then detoxification agents, enterosorbents, hepatoprotectors and vitamins are prescribed. In the presence of more severe forms of the disease, intravenous solutions are administered for more effective and faster detoxification.
Note that reactive hepatitis does not always cause significant harm to the health of the patient. The success of the treatment lies in the timely treatment of the clinic and the strict implementation of all the doctor’s prescriptions. Do not forget about the daily routine and proper nutrition. All these measures together will give a positive result and help to eliminate the disease in the shortest possible time. In the presence of reactive hepatitis against the background of another chronic disease, the latter should be controlled with extreme caution so as not to allow liver damage to develop.