Hepatitis A Causes and Symptoms

What is Hepatitis?

Hepatitis is a liver disease caused by virus. It is of many types but types A, B and C are more common having different effects on the human body. The treatment for each type is also different. All types are infectious and can travel from one person to another.

Liver is "chemical factory" of the body. If it does not function correctly, many things in the body go wrong. When this virus attacks the liver, it causes dysfunction of this important organ. In case of hepatitis A, this dysfunction becomes prominent much sooner than other types. In case of Hepatitis B, C, D and E, initially the virus works silently but as the disease progresses, the symptoms start becoming obvious. It is said that hepatitis is a disease of middle age but it is not true. It can also be found in the individuals in their early twenties.

Hepatitis A

This type is caused by Hepatitis A virus and can affect persons of all ages, both males and females. It is also called jaundice in common language. As result of the infection, the liver becomes inflamed and the level of billirubin in the blood rises above normal (normal range being 0.1-1.0 mg%).

Common Causes of Hepatitis A

• Bad personal hygiene.
• Improper sanitation
• Incorrect medication
• Use of infected water, food or utensils
• Intimate contact with the infected person
• Using belongings of the infected person like towel, handkerchief, blades etc.

Symptoms of Hepatitis A

• The entire body including the nails and sclera (whites of the eyes) becomes yellow. In fact every visible organ where the blood circulates becomes yellow. The only thing left out is the hair because there is no blood circulation in the them. The affected person looks bloodless. Even the urine becomes dark yellow. This yellowish appearance of hepatitis is different to pale look due to anemia.
• In most cases the stool also becomes yellow.
• Loss of appetite
• Nausea and vomiting (not always)
• Diarrhea (not always)
• Lethargy due to general weakness
• Continued low fever (in most cases but not always)
• In certain cases the skin may not be very yellow but level of bilirubin in the blood may still be above normal. If other symptoms exist, it would be better to consult the doctor and have the blood tested.

Prevention and treatment of Hepatitis A have been covered in the next article.