Viral hepatitis A, as well as C, alas, occupyfar from being the last in the list of frequently occurring liver diseases - they account for up to 70% of all ailments. However, despite the fact that these hepatitis viruses are quite similar, the differences in their clinical manifestations and the negative impact on the body are radically different. In order to determine the type of hepatitis and get the necessary medical care, a sick person should seek medical help as soon as possible. The doctor diagnoses the disease, clarifies a variant of the hepatitis virus, and prescribes the necessary treatment.
Hepatitis A
Viral hepatitis A, also calledBotkin's disease, and the usual name of viral hepatitis "jaundice", radically differs from all other types of viral hepatitis. This disease, unlike all the others, does not have chronic forms of flow, and is transmitted by the fecal-oral route. This viral hepatitis A is similar to hepatitis E - the least common form of hepatitis. Viral hepatitis A very favorably differs from hepatitis C in that the liver cells are damaging. In fact, viral hepatitis A is an inflammatory process in which liver cells infected with the virus are involved. In response to the penetration of the pathogen into the liver cells, protective cells begin to be actively developed in the blood. The spread of viral hepatitis A is very widespread - according to doctors, this virus has been affected by every fourth person. Moreover, very many of them had been ill with this disease as a child, and often asymptomatically - children suffer hepatitis C much easier than adults, and get immunity for the rest of their lives. In adults, however, the disease often occurs in extremely severe form - a sick person has to be hospitalized. As a rule, this is explained by the fact that in adults there is much more variety of accompanying diseases. To date, most often outbreaks of hepatitis A are localized in countries with a warm climate, especially if the sanitary conditions are unsatisfactory. Doctors note the fact that people who recently returned from trips to countries such as Turkey, India, Central Asia, Egypt often turn to them for help. As a result of the examination, doctors diagnose hepatitis A. The hepatitis C insidiousness lies in the fact that it is very resistant to various external influences, and in the environment it can remain viable for a very long time - sometimes up to several months. Even with targeted treatment, the hepatitis A virus does not die right away. Judge for yourself:
- Boiling for ten to fifteen minutes, and in some cases more.
- Chlorination of the infected surface is approximately 30 to 40 minutes continuously.
- Treatment of the infected surface with formalin - at least three hours continuously.
- Treatment of the infected surface with 20% ethyl alcohol.
Methods of transmission of hepatitis A
The only source of hepatitis C infection isToday is a sick person. With feces, he releases into the environment the hepatitis A virus, which sooner or later gets into the natural water cycle. And this means that the virus with a high degree of probability can get into the drinking water, food - and with them to penetrate the human body. That is why it is so important to carefully heat all meat and fish dishes, as well as seafood dishes. In addition, the lion's share of all infections occurs in the summer, when there are a lot of fruits and vegetables - they often also have a very large number of hepatitis A viruses. This is why the use of dirty vegetables and fruits is inadmissible. And not all water is suitable for washing them - you should not use it unsuitable for drinking, since it can also contain hepatitis A viruses. Unlike hepatitis C, infection with hepatitis A during transfusion of contaminated blood or its components is extremely rare. And this is not surprising - children who have this form of hepatitis can be asymptomatic, donors of blood can not be, and in adults it proceeds in a pronounced form, so it can not become a donor either. Scheme of infection is standard - the hepatitis virus passes through the oral cavity into the digestive system, and from the intestine is absorbed and penetrates into the blood. With the blood flow, viruses very quickly penetrate into the liver cells, in which the inflammatory process develops. After that, the viruses through the bile ducts into the intestine, and from the intestine - again into the environment. The most dangerous for the surrounding sick person in the next period of time - during the last week of the incubation period and the first week of the disease. The incubation period of hepatitis A is approximately 14 to 20 days, but in most cases, the time of infection, of course, is not known to the sick person. At a time when the hepatitis A virus is in the blood of a sick person, outwardly the disease manifests itself as symptoms of an acute respiratory illness: cough, runny nose, fever, common signs of intoxication. But as soon as the jaundice period comes, the hepatitis A virus completely and completely leaves the body of the sick person, and jaundice is just an immune response of the body. However, I would like to recall once again that often viral hepatitis A can occur at all without icteric period. The appearance of icteric period indicates that there was a fairly extensive lesion of the liver - about 65 - 70%, so the patient is shown immediate hospitalization in the infectious department. It is still not worth to refuse hospitalization, because with proper and timely treatment, which is provided in the hospital, liver function, as well as its structure, is fully restored. In the event that viral hepatitis A occurs in an absolutely healthy person, it always ends in complete recovery. But in the event that a sick person has this or that disease, especially chronic forms of other types of hepatitis, the disease is much harder and longer, and the doctors' forecast is not so optimistic. In some sick people, after a while - weeks, and sometimes even months, the recurrence may develop - the person again has all the symptoms of the icteric period - yellowing of the sclera and mucous membranes, a general intoxication of the body. And hepatitis treatment has to start again. Similar relapses are observed in about 25% of all adults who have fallen ill with hepatitis A. In some cases, hepatitis A can provoke the development of complications such as hemolysis. Hemolysis doctors call the destruction of blood cells, such as red blood cells. As a result, kidney damage and, as a result, the development of acute kidney failure - as a result, a person's life will be threatened. Despite the fact that viral hepatitis A almost never leads to pathological changes in the liver, in some cases it does happen. Basically, this phenomenon occurs in the elderly, in whom the disease is almost asymptomatic. As a rule, in such cases, the patient does not observe bed rest, therefore, the risk of hepatic fibrosis, a pathological cicatricial change in hepatic tissue, is very high. Such a complication can lead to biliary dyskinesia.
Diagnosis of hepatitis A
Diagnosis of hepatitis A is not a specialcomplexity if, of course, it is not about the asymptomatic course of the disease. First of all, the doctor draws attention to the obvious clinical manifestations of the disease - the symptoms of acute respiratory disease, icteric manifestations. Noticing these manifestations, the doctor will appoint a number of examinations. The first thing to do is to examine the blood in the laboratory. As a rule, the doctor - laboratory assistant notes the increased content of certain hepatic enzymes and, of course, bilirubin. These indicators clearly indicate that there is damage to the liver cells and tissues. Immediately after this, it is necessary to conduct differential diagnosis of other viral hepatitis.
Treatment of viral hepatitis A
The most important in the treatment of acute hepatitis Ais strict adherence to diet and diet. In the first two weeks of illness, a sick person is shown a strict bed rest. This requirement doctors explain by the fact that the blood supply to the liver in the prone position is much more effective, which means that the restoration of hepatic cells and tissues damaged by the hepatitis A virus will occur much more intensively. Equally important and strictly adherence to the therapeutic diet. First, immediately it is necessary to pay attention to the fact that the best option is a fractional food - the sick person should receive food in small portions, but the time interval between meals should not be more than two hours. Permitted food for a sick person: A sick person should refuse fresh bread, replacing it with breadcrumbs, or, in extreme cases, bread baked at least a day or two ago. From the first dishes it is necessary to give preference to vegetable and milk soups, as well as soups from pasta based on vegetable broth. Of the second course, a sick person can consume lean beef and chicken breast, either baked or boiled. In addition, you can eat lean varieties of boiled fish, such as hake, carp, pike, navaga. In addition, you can without limit use vegetables, greens, semi-tangled cereal, oat and curd puddings and casseroles. From drinks it is recommended to use tea, cranberry mors, kissels. In the event that viral hepatitis A is mild, no additional treatment is required. However, despite this, the sick person should be in hospital conditions, under the constant supervision of medical workers, so that if the deterioration begins, immediately begin pharmacological therapy. In the same case, if the symptoms of the disease are very pronounced, doctors will begin conducting detoxification therapy. The essence of this therapy is to reduce the level of toxins in the body of a sick person. These toxins accumulate as a result of impaired liver function. For this, intravenous administration of special solutions is usually used.
Hepatitis C
To date, one of the most relevantThe problem is viral hepatitis C. The disease is very insidious - the doctors dubbed him "affectionate killer." Often, the disease is suspected only when a person develops cirrhosis or even liver cancer. As shown by medical statistics, these pathologies develop in about half of all patients with hepatitis from humans. There are several varieties of hepatitis, but viral hepatitis C is the most widespread. Doctors believe that this trend is due to the fact that this disease for a very long time is asymptomatic, which means that a sick person, not knowing about his disease, infects the people around him. According to official medical statistics, today there are more than 5 million infected people in Russia alone. Hepatitis C virus for scientists - microbiologists is of great interest - today a lot of different varieties of this virus are known. And the most interesting is that several varieties of the hepatitis C virus can co-exist with the same sick person. These varieties in medicine are usually called pseudo-species. These so-called pseudoviruses of the virus are formed due to the amazing ability of the hepatitis C virus to modify, already in the body of the infected person. Due to this property, the hepatitis C virus avoids the harmful effects of the cells of the immune system. It is because of this that the disease progresses so quickly, at times even despite complex treatment. In addition, the hepatitis C virus is quite resistant to environmental negative influences and viable. Even at room temperature in the environment, the virus remains unchanged for 16 to 24 hours. In some cases, some subspecies of the hepatitis C virus remain viable for several days. 
Infection with the hepatitis C virus
To date, doctors know two main ways of transmission of the hepatitis C virus:
- Sexual intercourse
The hepatitis virus is in large numbers onmucous membranes of genital organs and in all biological fluids - sperm, vaginal discharge. Therefore, in the case of unprotected sex, the risk of infection is very high, and can reach 90%. Therefore, in no case should you not allow sexual contact without taking all the necessary precautions. At the risk of transmitting the hepatitis C virus through sex, homosexuals and all those who lead a promiscuous sex life without using personal protective equipment are involved.
- Hematogenous method
Also, the hepatitis C virus can penetrate the bodya person with a blood transfusion to him or her components, the donor of which is an infected person. Not so long ago this path of infection was widely spread, but in recent years, with the introduction of laboratory diagnostic methods and mandatory laboratory testing of donors for the presence of the hepatitis C virus, such a path of infection is extremely rare.
- Non-sterile instruments
Currently, the most commonthe method of infection with hepatitis C, except, of course, sexual intercourse, is the use of non-sterile medical and cosmetic instruments. So, for example, recently there has been a real surge in hepatitis C disease in those people who did tattoos or piercings. To the great regret, even in the most expensive beauty parlors, sometimes, sterilization of tools is treated unfairly. Therefore, try to choose those salons that use disposable tools. The same goes for the manicure rooms. And do not forget the rules of personal hygiene - do not give anyone your own and do not take someone else's toothbrushes, shaving machines. Medical needles are also often a source of infection with the hepatitis C virus. For example, the greatest number of patients with hepatitis is found among drug addicts. As a rule, they practically never care about any kind of sterility - often the same needle injects two, one, four people, and sometimes more. In addition, sometimes the victims of such methods of infection become medical workers who accidentally pricked with needles, which before that they injected the sick person.
Acute hepatitis C
The incubation period of hepatitis C in itsduration can vary greatly - from two weeks to 160 days. However, the average duration is about 50 days. And despite the fact that most people have hepatitis without any symptoms for several months and sometimes even years, sometimes an acute form of hepatitis C develops in some patients. An acute form of hepatitis C develops in two stages. The first stage of the disease is called the jaundiced period, since at this stage the patient has a number of signs of general malaise, such as:
- Decrease or total loss of appetite, a significant decrease in the body weight of the patient.
- Rapidly arising fatigue, increased drowsiness, general lethargy.
- Disturbance of digestion - nausea, vomiting, increased gas formation, belching.
- In some cases, a significant increase in body temperature is possible.
- Signs of ARI - cough, runny nose, headache, pain in the throat.
This condition lasts about two weeks,after which the icteric period of acute hepatitis C occurs immediately. The very first symptom causing anxiety is a change in the color of urine - its darkening. Urine acquires the color of dark beer, dark brown. About a day after changing the color of urine, a yellow tint is acquired by the sclera, the mucous membranes of the eyes and mouth, the skin - especially the palms. When the icteric period comes, the symptoms of general malaise, so pronounced in the first period, almost completely disappear. And to replace them comes a sense of heaviness in the right hypochondrium and providing feces, which arises from the blockage of the bile ducts. The treatment of hepatitis C is rather complicated and time-consuming, therefore it can only be carried out under the close supervision of medical personnel. However, sick people should not despair - viral hepatitis C to date allows you to lead sick people a full life! We advise you to read:
