Hepatitis is a liver disease. It is due to inflammation of the liver. It can be caused by viruses, medications (including complementary herbal medications), alcohol, a person own immunity and others.
A common cause of hepatitis in Malaysia is viral hepatitis. There are many types of viral hepatitis, the common ones are :
Hepatitis A caused by hepatitis A virus
Hepatitis B caused by hepatitis B virus
Hepatitis C caused by hepatitis C virus
What are the warning signs of Hepatitis?
Many people have no symptoms. If symptoms are present they are the same for the different causes of hepatitis
The symptoms are:
*tiredness
*loss of appetite
*nausea
*vomiting
*abdominal pain
*yellow discolouration of the white of the eyes, skin
*tea-coloured urine
*pale or clay-coloured stool
What are the complications of chronic Hepatitis?
Hepatitis B and C can be come choric (ie infection persisting for more than 6 months). Chronic Hepatitis can imfalmination cause significant damage to the liver. If the damaged liver is replaced by fibrous tissue, this must lead to severe scarring, the condition is called liver cirrhosis.
Additional symptoms and complications with liver cirrhosis ascites :
*abdominal swelling (ascites)
*easy bruising
*altered behaviour or alertness (encaphalophaty)
*vomiting of blood
*passing of black tarry stool
*liver cancer (hepatocellular carcinoma)
*death
When the cirrhotic liver cannot maintain its function or the above complications become uncontrollable, some patients will need a new liver (liver transplantation).
