[MERGED] Hepatitis B

[archerguy]

I remember having a series of vaccinations for Hepa B in 1991. After that my doctor told me to return in his clinic in 1996, or 5 years after for the Booster dose. But he left for the States already, and it's been 4 years now and I still did not get that booster. Are my earlier vaccinations worthless now?

[Ira]

It actually depends on your antibody levels. Recent studies show that a booster dose is not necessary following hepatitis B vaccination, which appears to protect against HBV for at least 12 years. A booster dose is controversial, although a lot of local physicians recommend a booster dose after 5 years, but this is quite arbitrary. To be on the safe side, do get your booster dose after 5 years, but I'm sure that your antibody levels are still high right now, so your vaccination is not useless.

[jopert]

My cousin was diagnosed as hepatitis B reactive. What does it mean? he is still sleeping beside his 5 month old pregant wife, is it still ok? is he contagious? Please give me details about this hepatitis b reactive thing. thanks.

[Ira]

I assume that means your cousin is HBsAg positive. That means he's had or or still has hepatitis B. Whether or not he still is infective would depend on his hepatitis profile results. The scope of hep B reactive is really too long and wide to discuss here, so if he has had the hepatitis profile done already, just post the results here if you want. I can answer your questions better that way.

[jopert]

OK doc! we'll just wait forthe result to come back. thanks!

[RicGen]

please i need to know more about it...causes,preventions,medications etc..etc..

[Ira]

Just read the Center for Disease Control's Hepatitis B page. It's all there already.

Viral Hepatitis B

[RicGen]

hi doc ira! it seems wala ata ang webpage nila i have checked it na hmmm baka down or sumtin' neweys slamuch ha!

[Ira]

Hmm....I just clicked the link I made and it's working fine.

Anyway, you can also check the following websites:

WHO Information on Hepatitis B
Hepatitis Central
Hepatitis B by Howard J. Worman, M. D.
Hepatitis B Virus Information Page
What I need to know about Hepatitis B by NIH

[Spicybabe]

Hi! I'm not very familiar with this Hepatitis B. I have a friend who died last July 18 because of this. She was only 18 years old and what really struck me was that she was healthy and the type of person you'd never expect to have hepa B.

Now this is what's been bugging me, her boyfriend is rumored to have hepa B also. They had sex before and he still kisses her even though she was already confined in the hospital ( as in positive na yung friend ko with hepa B and he still kisses her!!)

I don't hang out with him anymore as in! Ever since the confinement of my late friend last May but my other friends still do.

How is this virus transmitted and is it airborn? A couple of friends said they share the same glass with him, as in they (3 of them) drink from the same glass!! Isn't that contangious?

[eyedoc]

Hepatitis B is spread through the following means:

1. sexual transmission
2. transfusion of infected blood
3. needlestick injuries (pricked by a needle which was used on a infected person).
4. pregnant mother to fetus

It is not transmitted through sharing of food (this is usually the way hepatitis A, a milder form, is transmitted), hugging, holding, staying in the same room. So, unless he has undergone a blood test saying that he is positive for the antigen &/or the antibody, there is the chance that he isn't infected. And even if he is, you won't catch it unless you have sex with him or your blood gets contaminated with his blood. Relax!



More info here.

[Spicybabe]

Originally posted by eyedoc
Hepatitis B is spread through the following means:

1. sexual transmission
2. transfusion of infected blood
3. needlestick injuries (pricked by a needle which was used on a infected person).
4. pregnant mother to fetus

It is not transmitted through sharing of food (this is usually the way hepatitis A, a milder form, is transmitted), hugging, holding, staying in the same room. So, unless he has undergone a blood test saying that he is positive for the antigen &/or the antibody, there is the chance that he isn't infected. And even if he is, you won't catch it unless you have sex with him or your blood gets contaminated with his blood. Relax!



More info here.

Ei THANKS A LOT! I sounded so paranoid... It's a good thing I asked about it first, instead of blurting out to him that he should stay away (which sounds kinda mean..!!!) but i won't do that anyway!

THANKS AGAIN!

[heymikey]

In order to be completely safe, get a Hepa B immunization.

[PasteL]

I had that immunization when I was young, so that kinda makes me less scared. I haven't got the chance to really talk to him about IT yet. Pero if ever, I hope he's already taking medication.

[Ellheym]

what are the signs of Hepa B

[eyedoc]

According to the CDC (Center for Disease Control), about 30% of persons have NO signs or symptoms.

Signs and symptoms are less common in children than adults.

Signs and symptoms:
jaundice - "yellowing of the skin"
fatigue
abdominal pain
loss of appetite
nausea, vomiting
joint pain

[sweethums]

Hi there doc,

just few days ago, my friend told me that shes positive with Hepatitis B?
I know there are diff types of Hepa. What are they? and is Hepa B curable? what are the symptoms? is it true that you really cant mate with your partner and kiss? how true is this? im scared and concerned about this matter. what are the medicines for this? hope to hear from you. thanks in advance!

[bjmanabat]

used to be there are only 2 types of hepatitis that is A and B. right now you have C,D,E, and lately F. those with clinical significance however in our local set up are hepatitis A,B and C.

hepatitis A is spread by orofecal route so it can be present in water, food, utensils, secretions. so ingestion is the usal manner of transmission. it usually run a benign course of 2 to 6 weeks with symptoms like fever, jaundice, abdominal pain, dark colored urine and light colored stools.

hepatitis C is usually transmitted by blood transfusion. the actual incidence in the philippines is unknown and the symptoms can be like hepatitis A or no symptoms at all as in cases of carriers.

I will discuss more on hepatitis B because this is the actual case of your friend. firstly hepatitis B can be of different types the carrier state (the most common and usually discoverd incidentally by routine laboratoty screening), chronic active and the chronic persistent hepatitis. the carriers are usually assymptomatic while those with chronic hepatitis are in a way symptomatic. carriers usually runs a benign course while chronic hepatitis may lead to cirrhosis and/or liver cancer in the future. to know if someone with hepatitis is contagious, an additional test called hepatitis profile should be done. it will tell you how long its been going on, if your body already developed antibodies against it and if you are contagious.

[jtan]

as far as i know nagagaling yun hepatitis. and there are cases na induced lang yun hepatitis if you are on some medication or overdose of niacin, and when you stop, it usually go back to normal.

[bjmanabat]

you are partly correct because almost all hepatitis A cases (about 98%) recovers without complications. if you are talking of hepatitis B and C however its an entirely diffferent story. some may be assymptomatic "silent carries", others will have symptoms but the will recover in 2months to as long as 1 year, others will be chronic carriers and will eventually lead to liver cirrhosis and/or liver cancer.

its true that some drugs are hepatotoxic and may cause hepatitis but maybe you are talking about isoniazid, an anti tb drug as an example. niacin on the other hand is actually part of your vitamin B complex which also include thiamin, riboflavin, pyridoxine and cyanocobalamin.