Health Tip - Hepatitis

Health Tip Week January 10-14, 2011

Hepatitis A, B, C

Hepatitis means inflammation of the liver. The main types in the United States are A, B, and C.

Hepatitis A symptoms are often similar to a stomach virus resolved within a month.

Hepatitis B and C can cause sudden illness and can lead to liver cancer or a chronic infection that can lead to serious liver damage called cirrhosis

   

A killer among us

Types of Hepatitis:

• Hepatitis A - Present in feces
• Hepatitis B - Found in blood
• Hepatitis C - Found in the blood of people who have hepatitis C  - semen 

Hepatitis A is spread by:

• Eating food or drinking beverages that have been contaminated with feces of an infected person
• Changing a diaper
• Sexual contact
• Poor sanitation and poor hygiene
• Unclean hands
• Shellfish from polluted water
• Contaminated:
• Fruits and vegetables

Hepatitis A can survive outside the body for months

                   Infected Livers

Hepatitis B is spread by:

• Blood
• Semen (sexual contact)
• Other body fluids
• Dental
• Tattoos and piercing
• Pedicures, manicures, and hair cuts
• Tooth brushes
• Razors
• Nail clippers
• Wash clothes
• Needles

           Hepatitis B Virus

How To Protect Yourself From Hepatitis A, B, or C:

• Vaccination
• Hand-washing
• Sharing needles, toothbrushes and other fluid carring objects
• Watch other people (blood)

For more information go to http://www.webmd.com/, http://www.ask.com/, www.cdc.gov/hepatitis.com, http://www.hepatitis.about.com/, http://www.hepfi.org/

Live well
Doc V