All the Different Types of Hepatitis - Description & Symptoms
Hepatitis is an inflammation of the liver that, depending on the type of hepatitis you have, it can later develop into a range of further conditions, from a fibrosis to liver cancer. The emergence of this disease comes from a virus or infection can also lead to a poisoning of the body or some other infection, it all depends on the type of virus you have.
To give detailed information about this disease, at OneHowTo we explain all the different types of hepatitis there are, so you know to differentiate these and know their symptoms and consequences.
Hepatitis A (HAV)
Hepatitis A spreads through contaminated water or food, it can also be spread by sexual intercourse and contact with the blood of an infected person. In most cases hepatitis A is mild and the patient completely recovers from the virus.
Common symptoms of hepatitis A can be compared to the symptoms of the flu as fever, tiredness, loss of appetite, nausea and stomach pains are experienced. You may also notice that your urine is darker in tone and the colour of the skin and eyes becomes a little yellowish.
Hepatitis A does not usually require hospitalization because just by resting and taking extreme care of the utensils used, can achieve overcome the disease.
The incubation period of hepatitis A ranges from 3 to 5 days, between which the first symptoms of the disease begin to be experienced. The duration of symptoms can be extended between 2-6 weeks, during which the patient can lose weight and experience the above symptoms.
Hepatitis B virus (HBV)
Hepatitis B is one of the different types of hepatitis that can become a chronic. It is a virus that directly affects the liver causing it to swell and altering the natural function of the organ.
Hepatitis B is spread through the exchange of bodily fluids such as saliva, semen, blood, vaginal fluids, and so on. The symptoms of hepatitis B include jaundice (yellowing of the eyes and skin) and other more general symptoms that can be confused with more common diseases: fatigue, fever, nausea, stomach pain, and so on.
The consequences of hepatitis B, in the event that it becomes a chronic disease, is its possible development into other diseases such as fibrosis, cirrhosis or liver cancer. If hepatitis B is acute it can be treated by a specific treatment whose duration is between 4 and 6 months. The spread of hepatitis B can also be prevented with a vaccine that protects for 20 years.
Hepatitis C virus (HCV)
Hepatitis C is one of the types of hepatitis that are transmitted, in most cases, by the exposure to blood contaminated with this infection (blood transfusions, medical instruments, consumption of injected drugs, etc); in addition, it can also be contracted through sexual intercourse but here the spread is less common.
It may be the case that there are no symptoms of hepatitis C experienced, however, it can lead to fatigue, jaundice, dark urine, fever and so on. In the event that you are infected with this disease, there is a specific medical treatment aimed at eliminating the virus and reducing the risk of cirrhosis or liver cancer.
Hepatitis D (HDV)
Hepatitis D develops only if the person is a carrier of the hepatitis B virus. It may be that the person infected with hepatitis D has never experienced the symptoms of hepatitis B but develops the D type virus anyway.
Hepatitis D infections are derived from contact with blood, it can also be passed by genetic transmission (if a mother is infected with the virus she can pass it to her children) or by exchanging fluids with infected persons (saliva, semen, vaginal fluids, etc.).
As in the other types of hepatitis, the consequences of D are similar: stomach pains, fever, dark urine, nausea, etc. The duration of acute hepatitis D is between 2-3 weeks and can be treated with medication prescribed by your doctor. The levels of liver enzymes returned to normal after 16 weeks.
Hepatitis E (HEV)
Hepatitis E is a type of hepatitis which it is mainly transmitted through contaminated water. Overall, the duration of the disease is between 4 to 6 weeks when the patient has symptoms very similar to those mentioned above: jaundice, dark urine, fever, nausea, lack of appetite and so on.
The transmission of hepatitis D is primarily by fecal or oral passage by drinking contaminated water, although other routes of transmission can be eating food infected with the virus or by blood transmission, or transmission of an infected mother to her child.
Rarely Hepatitis E becomes severe and grave; the disease usually clears and normal levels in the body are re-established. There is no medical treatment that can be prescribed to treat this disease, therefore it is effective to prevent it by extreme hygiene, especially when handling food and avoiding consuming water of unknown origin.
Hepatitis F (HFV)
Hepatitis F is an emerging virus and people with this diseases have only been documented in India, UK, Italy and France. very little is known about hepatitis F, what little we know it is that it has single-stranded DNA and is believed to be a virus that comes from hepatitis B.
Hepatitis G (HGV)
Hepatitis G is another of the newly discovered hepatitis conditions (identified in 1995), therefore, we still lack specific information about the causes and consequences. It is believed that the main factor of infection is intravenous injection between among drug addicts or also by other disorders relating to blood clotting.
This article is merely informative, oneHOWTO does not have the authority to prescribe any medical treatments or create a diagnosis. We invite you to visit your doctor if you have any type of condition or pain.
If you want to read similar articles to All the Different Types of Hepatitis - Description & Symptoms, we recommend you visit our Diseases & secondary effects category.