Hepatitis A – Causes, Symptoms, Treatment and Prevention
What is Hepatitis A
Hepatitis A is a highly contagious liver disease caused by the HAV virus. The symptoms for this disease range from mild illness lasting a few weeks to months long severe symptoms. It primarily gets spread through contaminated water or food but is easily treatable once detected.
What are the symptoms of Hepatitis A?
Symptoms of Hepatitis A infections mostly do not appear until after a few weeks. In fact, children below 6 years of age do not even develop them. Other people, when they do, show following symptoms:
- Dark urine
- Flu like symptoms like fatigue, fever and body aches
- Abdominal discomfort or pain
- Sudden vomiting and nausea
- Low grade fever
- Joint pain
- Jaundiced skin and eyes
- Diarrhoea
- Itching
These symptoms appear usually after 14 to 28 days of contracting the virus and may keep persisting even after 6 months
What causes Hepatitis A?
A person can catch Hepatitis A mainly by drinking contaminated water or eating contaminated food. Other causes of this diseases include:
- Eating fruits and vegetables or other food items that are being handled by a Hepatitis A infected person
- Swallowing contaminated food & water
- Eating raw shellfish caught from water containing HAV virus
- Coming in close contact with an infected person
Though there is no long term liver damage caused by this disease, there are some rare cases handled by the best hospital in Faridabad who suffer from long term complications caused by this disease. Thus, it is best to maintain a safe and hygienic environment and eat and drink safe and clean food and water.
How is Hepatitis A treated?
There is no medication available to treat Hepatitis A virus even with the best hepatologist in Faridabad. He or she can only treat the symptoms and give supportive care till they go away sometimes leads to liver failure Tests are also done to keep a check on the liver working and healing of the body. In the meantime, you can take following steps:
- Get ample rest
- Avoid alcohol consumption
How can Hepatitis A be prevented?
The best way of preventing Hepatitis A contraction is by getting Hepatitis A vaccine. This vaccine is administered over a period of 6-12 months’ gap. In addition, following steps can be taken to avoid catching this virus even remotely:
- Thorough washing of hands with soap before eating and after using restroom
- Drink bottled water instead of regular water in areas suspected of containing contaminated water
- Eat food at reputed restaurants rather than street vendors
- Avoid eating peeled fruits and vegetables in low sanitation areas
What is the importance of Hepatitis A vaccination?
Hepatitis A is a serious liver disease that gets spread easily through contaminated water or food. Not only does the vaccine protect kids from getting infected from the same, it also helps in preventing bigger outbreaks. Catch up vaccinations can be administered by best hospital in Faridabad for teens, adults and children who have never been vaccinated with the complete vaccine course previously.
