Acute hepatitis - this is always a difficult disease, as disturbed function of the liver - the main body, cleansing the body from toxins of various origins. For suspected acute hepatitis patient should be immediately taken to hospital for specialized care.
Causes and types of acute hepatitis
Acute hepatitis - an acute inflammation of the liver, which usually has a viral or toxic nature. In connection with this are acute infectious and toxic hepatitis. Toxic hepatitis, depending on their cause may be drugs, alcohol, or caused by industrial plant poisons.
The cause of infectious hepatitis can be such infectious agents viral, hepatitis A virus, Epstein-Barr virus (the causative agent of mononucleosis), agents of enterovirus and adenovirus infection, and others. Most of these diseases are transmitted by the fecal-oral route, ie faeces and coughing, sneezing, talking. The causative agent of hepatitis A can also be transmitted sexually.
Toxic factors contributing to the development of acute hepatitis, can be internal (endogenous) and external (exogenous). Endogenous factors include the toxins produced in the body in a variety of infections and burns, and to exogenous - drugs, alcohol, industrial poisons (eg, phosphorus and organophosphorus insecticides) and plant toxins (eg poison pale toadstool). The cause of acute hepatitis can also be ionizing radiation
Radiation and its biological effect: gently infected!
.
Acute hepatitis infectious origin
Acute viral hepatitis occurs cyclically, in the course of his distinguished four periods: incubation, prodromal (preicteric), height of the disease (jaundice), and convalescence. Sometimes the disease is asymptomatic.
The incubation period for hepatitis A is 3-6 weeks prodrome lasts 1-2 weeks, but may be absent. During this period, the patient can rise temperature, pain in the joints
Joint pain - how to understand what is going on?
, Cough, runny nose, malaise, vague abdominal pain in the right hypochondrium. The most characteristic symptom of this period is to increase the blood levels of liver enzymes - transaminases.
Jaundice period lasts about a month and is characterized by jaundice staining of the skin, dark urine and discolored feces, as well as the emergence of direct bilirubin in the blood and urine urobilin. The patient is braked, concerned about pain in the liver and strong itching.
The period of convalescence (lasts from one week to three months or more), the patient's condition is gradually recovering, but can pass the disease to a chronic form. Liver pain with exacerbation of hepatitis B is a typical manifestation of this process.
Acute toxic hepatitis
In acute toxic hepatitis is also seen cyclical, but the symptoms develop rapidly, often combined with signs of intoxication and toxic damage other organs and systems. At the height of the disease occurs icteric staining of the skin and mucous membranes, discolored stools, dark (beer color) urine spot and larger hemorrhages in the skin, mucous membranes and internal organs, nosebleeds, itchy skin. Patients irritable, suffer from insomnia.
Acute drug-induced hepatitis
Hepatitis - the scourge of our time
It can be caused by medications such as Mercazolilum, methyltestosterone, Voltaren
Voltaren - relieve inflammation and pain
Indomethacin, reopirin, sulfadimetoksin, chloramphenicol, furadonin, Cordarone, TB, drugs to lower blood pressure (methyldopa, atenolol, metoprolol, labetalol, acebutolol, enalapril, verapamil), antifungal agents (ketoconazole, fluconazole), anti-androgenic therapy (flutamide) and others.
The risk of acute hepatitis increased by concomitant use of drugs 2-3. Time of taking the drugs prior to the development of acute hepatitis varies from 5-8 days to several months and sometimes years. Acute drug-induced hepatitis occurs cyclically, but difficult and creates the risk of developing acute liver failure, and thus threaten the patient's life. When the massive areas of necrosis disease can end in cirrhosis.
Acute alcoholic hepatitis
Acute alcoholic hepatitis - an illness that occurs when the intake of alcohol greatly exceeds the rate of its clearance and excretion for several days or weeks. Symptoms vary - from anicteric form with a slight increase in temperature to the development of severe liver failure and coma.
Diet for acute hepatitis
Diet with acute hepatitis should protect the liver, but be full. Patients should receive a food rich in proteins, carbohydrates and vitamins. Excluded from the diet spicy, fried, fatty food, strong broths, canned meats, pickles, mushrooms, alcohol, strong tea and coffee, limited intake of salt. The latter is necessary to ensure that normal output fluid from the body. All dishes are steamed or boiled. They feed patients with acute hepatitis is 5-6 times a day in small portions. Meals during exacerbation of hepatitis is based on the same principle.
Acute hepatitis - is always serious, so the attitude should be appropriate.
Galina Romanenko