Do you or someone you know have Hepatitis? Did you know there are different types of Hepatitis? This may be more serious than you may think depending on the type. I know there are many websites that have information on Hepatitis but I want to give you my take on this. By using the best information pooled together in one article.
The first thing I think we all want to know is what actually is Hepatitis? That’s what we are going to start off with and go over each one.
What is Hepatitis?
Hepatitis can be caused by a wide range of different type viruses that may not even show symptoms to all the way to absolute liver failure or cancer.
These viruses cause inflammation of the liver that is called Hepatitis. Now there are other ways to damage our liver a couple of them are alcohol consumption and certain medications.
Today we are only going to be talking about Hepatitis and the different types.
Hepatitis Types
There are seven or more types of hepatitis but only five main types that we are going to be discussing.
Starting with A, B, and C the most common that you have probably heard of.
1. Hepatitis A – is a virus known as HAV that infects the liver. Usually shows no signs when we are young. Not everybody has symptoms, for the ones that do, from the time it starts it will last 2 to 6 weeks of contracting the virus. Less than 1,000 cases a year in the U.S. very rare usually spread through contaminated water or food.
2. Hepatitis B – an infection of the liver caused by the Hepatitis B (HBV) virus. It is spread through blood and bodily fluids and transmitted through direct contact.
3. (NEW INFO) Hepatitis C – is caused by the Hepatitis C (HCV) virus nearly 4 million people in the U.S. have this virus. There is a 95% cure for late stage Hep C patients. (not all patients get cured)
There are different types of Hep C the most common is type 1.
A blood born virus that affects the liver and you can only be infected by the blood of an infected person, by bodily fluids, sex or sharing needles.
4. Hepatitis D – caused by the hepatitis D virus (HDV) and affects the liver as well. For hepatitis D to spread you have to have the hepatitis B virus(HBV). This is the difference between HDV and other hepatitis viruses.
5. Hepatitis E – like all the hepatitis viruses it affects the liver. This works on the liver by causing it to become inflamed and swollen.
Hepatitis Symptoms
Hep A – symptoms usually last from 2 to 6 months
nausea
fever
fatigue
diarrhea
jaundice
loss of appetite
Hep B – symptoms could last 2 to 4 weeks or more
nausea
vomiting
fever
joint pain
loss of appetite
fatigue
Hep C – symptoms could last for months even years
nausea
vomiting
fatigue
fever
jaundice
body pain
dark yellow urine
loss of appetite
Hep D – only affects the ones that have the Hep B virus both at the same time can severely damage the liver
nausea
vomiting
diarrhea
fever
fatigue
loss of appetite
body pain
Hep E – symptoms usually last a few weeks
nausea
vomiting
fever
fatigue
loss of appetite
abdominal pain
jaundice
joint pain
New Hepatitis C Info.
This chart will help you understand a little bit more of what Hepatitis.
Hepatitis Treatments
Hep A – you may have to last it out for 2 to 3 weeks, it heals on its own with a change of lifestyle
Hep B – medication, blood transfusions, liver transplant
Hep C – medications and liver transplant. Recently a new pill has come out that cures 95% of patients so this is close to a full cure but not for all. We are looking for a 100% cure.
Hep D – treating symptoms, bed rest, most people recover over a few months
Hep E – usually goes away on its own, stay hydrated, don’t alcohol, and eat right
Prevention
The best prevention for hepatitis is cleanliness or proper sanitation.
Good personal hygiene
Clean water
Sanitary waste disposal
Sanitary food preparation
Reason for Article
Livegreaterhealth has written this article to give information on something that is very serious and can be so easy to contract without thinking twice. Spreading knowledge about Hepatitis will keep us thinking about what we eat or drink more often and where it comes from. How we prepare it and where our water comes from.
Conclusion
This is all livegreaterhealth has for hepatitis, for now, we’ve put together the most important information that we think everybody needs to know. When it comes to hepatitis cleanliness is the most important thing that has to be thought about. We hope this is what you need to know about this infectious disease. If there be something that may be of some interest to you on this topic please leave a comment below and let us know. We appreciate you reading this article and come back again.
Oh gosh, I had no idea that there were so many different strains of hepatitis! What a terrible illness and the fact that 4 million Americans are suffering from hepatitis C at ant one time just shows what a serious problem it actually is.
It is great that you have listed all the symptoms of each one separately here so you can see at a glance if you may be infected.
It seems that the symptoms are pretty severe in ALL of them and immediate medical attention would be required if you have suspicions that you could be infected. Do you think that early treatment would help you heal faster? And can some of them be cured? Thanks, and great article!
Thanks for the comment Stefanie. I know that their working to find a cure and are close with Hep C. They haven’t completely got it yet. Early detection is a must for every disease to make healing quicker.
Thanks for the topic and the overview of the different Hep types. I just wanted to add, that there were huge breakthroughs in the development of agents to treat Hep C in the last years. Today, Hepatitis C is healable. The drug is called Epclusa and if you take it once daily for 12 weeks, chances are 95{0580942254a8404b9cbb1b1bb95a6f06e3c05404a4a3e100977df26e356e3e53} to cure the disease.
Thanks for the comment Felix. Yes they are getting closer to a cure and 95{0580942254a8404b9cbb1b1bb95a6f06e3c05404a4a3e100977df26e356e3e53} is good but we’re looking for 100{0580942254a8404b9cbb1b1bb95a6f06e3c05404a4a3e100977df26e356e3e53}, because we can’t tell that to the 5{0580942254a8404b9cbb1b1bb95a6f06e3c05404a4a3e100977df26e356e3e53} that didn’t get cured.
This is really great information. I see the commercials all the time urging everyone to get tested for Hep C. I think, well I surely don’t have it. It was nice to see the list of symptoms, and the wealth of information. I did not know that it could lead to cancer. Is this curable?
Hep C is not completely curable but they have come along way with it. They have come out with a medicine that’s supposed to be 95{0580942254a8404b9cbb1b1bb95a6f06e3c05404a4a3e100977df26e356e3e53} curable but that’s not 100{0580942254a8404b9cbb1b1bb95a6f06e3c05404a4a3e100977df26e356e3e53} like we want that means 5{0580942254a8404b9cbb1b1bb95a6f06e3c05404a4a3e100977df26e356e3e53} won’t get healed I don’t want to be in that number. If let go it could lead to cancer.
I had heard of Hep A, B, and C but not D and E. Are these more recent “mutations” of the virus?
Hep A is very common when travelling abroad as not everyone has the same sanitary conditions you have back home, so you can get Hep A from someone putting an ice cube in your drink, which is why they recommend travellers (even to Mexico (actually ESPECIALLY Mexico) get vaccinated months before their trip with Twinrex (I think that’s it).
I think there have always been these types and I think there is more that just haven’t been brought into the light yet. Hep A an E are not as serious as the rest but they are all bad and you don’t want them. Vaccinations should be used for the viruses.
Wow, you have taught me yet again new information about something I thought I already new about. I knew there were three types of Hepatitis but not five. I heard on a commercial that there are lots of older people walking around with Hep C and unaware of it. They did how ever make a treatment that can cure it, I know because someone I know had it and it worked for them. Thanks for the info!
Thanks for the comment, Melissa. The only thing about that is yes they a partial cure for 95{0580942254a8404b9cbb1b1bb95a6f06e3c05404a4a3e100977df26e356e3e53} of the people but what about the other 5{0580942254a8404b9cbb1b1bb95a6f06e3c05404a4a3e100977df26e356e3e53} tell them that there is a cure. Unless it’s a 100{0580942254a8404b9cbb1b1bb95a6f06e3c05404a4a3e100977df26e356e3e53} then there is not a cure, right? It may work for some and some it doesn’t. I have updated this article on this new medicine.
I was tested for hepatitis when I was throwing up every 3 minutes and my liver enzymes were high – I think I was only tested for A, B and C — and I have NEVER heard of D & E – so that is news to me that there even is a Hepatitis D & E.
Thank goodness, I was negative for hepatitis. We eventually found out that toxic mold, hidden behind the walls of our house was causing my liver problems and plenty of other problems in my body!
Thank you for the comment, Heather. I’m glad you were negative for Hepatitis. I’m curious about the mold in your walls you said it was making you sick makes me wonder about my house now. How did they discover the mold?
What an informative post. I hadn’t realised they were coming so close to a cure for HepC. That is great news – hopefully a full cure for HepC is very near! Would be wonderful if they had those 95{0580942254a8404b9cbb1b1bb95a6f06e3c05404a4a3e100977df26e356e3e53} success rates for all the Hepatitis strains.
Thank you for the comment, Megan. Your right 95{0580942254a8404b9cbb1b1bb95a6f06e3c05404a4a3e100977df26e356e3e53} would be nice if they all were that close. I didn’t even realize they were that close to a cure until I started studying on the topic. That means they have been working hard on it and that makes me feel good about it.