Hepatitis A

Hepatitis A is a viral condition that causes inflammation and damages in your liver which can create further problems in your organs. This is a virus that may last for a couple of weeks. In rare cases, Hepatitis A may cause liver failure which can lead to organ transplant. 

How can you get Hepatitis A

Hepatitis A can spread from person to person. Most likely, you can get it, by having contact with the stool of a person that’s infected, in any way. This might be any type of contact to the food and water of the person infected that didn’t wash their hands after going to the bathroom. Here are a couple of ways in which you might contract this virus:

• Person to person contact 
• Eating contaminated food or drink
• Having sex with a person that is infected

People are at higher risk of hepatitis A if they:

• Are experiencing homelessness
• Use any type of illegal drugs (not only injected ones)
• Are a man who has sexual contact with other men
• Travel or work in areas of the world where the condition is common
• Have a clotting-factor disorder (like hemophilia)

Symptoms

There are a couple of symptoms that you might experience while having Hepatitis A. These symptoms may start 2-7 weeks prior to contracting the virus. On another note, these symptoms might go away within months and you wouldn’t need treatment. A couple of the symptoms are:

• Vomiting
• Dark yellow urine
• Fever
• Diarrhea
• Pain in the abdomen

How to prevent Hepatitis A

What the doctors recommend to prevent Hepatitis A might be to get the Hepatitis A vaccine. This vaccine has decreased  the spread of this virus, significantly through the years. If you previously had this virus, you can’t contract it again. Also, other ways you can prevent getting Hepatitis A is to wash your hands every time you go to the bathroom or are preparing and touching food. 

As soon as you get symptoms, it’s important to go to the doctor and do blood tests to make sure you don’t have this virus. If you do have it, the doctor might prescribe a couple of medicines that may help with treating Hepatitis A. Here at the Digestive and Liver Center we are here to help. If you have any questions or concerns about this virus, you can make an appointment with one of our GI experts in Orlando calling our phone number: 407-384-7388