Hepatitis B is a disease of the liver. It's caused by the hepatitis B virus. Your liver is the largest organ inside your body. It sits under your right ribcage. The liver has many important roles. It filters harmful chemicals from your blood. It helps you fight infections and it helps you digest your food. It stores nutrients, vitamins and energy. If your liver gets infected by the virus, it becomes inflamed. Inflammation is the body's response to an injury or infection. The inflammation from the hepatitis B virus can affect your liver's ability to do its job. You can have an acute or short-term hepatitis B infection. You may have mild to severe symptoms that last a few months, or you can have an ongoing (chronic) infection.
Hepatitis BHepatitis B is a disease of the liver. It's caused by the hepatitis B virus. Your liver is the largest organ inside your body. It sits under your right ribcage. The liver has many important roles. It filters harmful chemicals from your blood. It helps you fight infections and it helps you digest your food. It stores nutrients, vitamins and energy. If your liver gets infected by the virus, it becomes inflamed. Inflammation is the body's response to an injury or infection. The inflammation from the hepatitis B virus can affect your liver's ability to do its job. You can have an acute or short-term hepatitis B infection. You may have mild to severe symptoms that last a few months, or you can have an ongoing (chronic) infection.How you might get hepatitis BThe hepatitis B virus spreads from person to person. It does this through contact with blood, saliva, semen, vaginal fluid and other body fluids of an infected person. The virus can also live outside the body for at least seven days. Because of this, objects such as needles or razors can spread the virus, if used by an infected person and then used by others. People at high risk for hepatitis B include healthcare workers exposed to the virus and people with certain diseases. These include HIV and other sexually transmitted diseases and diabetes. These people are also at high risk for infection: IV drug users, people with many sex partners, men who have sex with men, babies born to mothers infected with hepatitis B and people having hemodialysis. Talk with your healthcare provider to find out your own risk.Signs and symptomsSymptoms, if they occur, can start anytime between eight weeks and five months after exposure to the virus. On average, if symptoms occur, they start about 90 days after exposure. Many people with hepatitis B have no symptoms, but can still spread the virus. Babies and children are more likely to have an ongoing (chronic) infection. Some adults can also develop chronic hepatitis B. Symptoms, if they occur, vary and can include fever, being very tired, loss of appetite, dark-colored urine, yellow-colored eyes or skin called jaundice, abdominal pain, nausea, vomiting, clay-colored bowel movements and joint pain.DiagnosisYour healthcare provider may be able to tell if you have hepatitis B based on your symptoms. You will also have a blood test. The test looks at certain proteins in the blood called antibodies. Your body makes more of these proteins when it responds to an infection. If your blood tests show that you have chronic hepatitis B, you may need to have a test called a biopsy. In this test, a needle is put into your liver. The needle takes out a small piece of liver. The piece is then looked at under a microscope. This can show if there is liver damage.TreatmentIf you have chronic hepatitis B, you should be monitored regularly for liver disease and you may need treatment to prevent certain diseases. These include liver cancer, liver failure and scarring of the liver, also known as cirrhosis. You may be given shots of the antiviral drugs interferon or peginterferon. These can lessen or get rid of the virus in your body. You may be given other antiviral drugs, taken by mouth. These also help to fight the virus. If your liver is very damaged from the virus, liver transplant surgery may be needed. While you are sick, do not drink alcohol. Check with your healthcare provider before taking any over-the-counter medicines or supplements.PreventionVaccination against the hepatitis B virus before being exposed to it is the best way to prevent an infection. Three shots are generally recommended for most people. People who should receive the vaccine include all babies by age 6 months, children younger than age 19 who have not had the vaccine and adults who are at high risk.What you can doMany people who have hepatitis B have no symptoms. This means they likely don't know that they are infected. Even if you don't have symptoms, you could still develop liver damage. If you think you may be at risk, ask your healthcare provider to test you for the virus. Also make sure to ask your healthcare provider about the hepatitis B vaccine if you have not had it. Let your healthcare provider know if you have been exposed to hepatitis B. Let your healthcare provider know if you have symptoms of hepatitis B. Always use a condom during sex. Never share needles and other drug supplies. Never share personal items, such as a toothbrush or razor.What we have learnedHepatitis B is a virus that can spread through contact with an infected person's blood. True or false? The answer is true. It can also be spread by using a contaminated needle or razor.There are always clear symptoms that show you might have hepatitis B. True or false? The answer is false. Many people who get the virus have no symptoms.One step to prevent hepatitis B is to ask your healthcare provider about the hepatitis B vaccine. True or false? The answer is true. Get the vaccine if you have not had it.
Date Last Reviewed: 01/01/2021
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