Should I Cook Meals?

People with hepatitis A or E should not prepare or handle food to be eaten by others. Limitations on food handling are not necessary for people with hepatitis B, C, or D.

What Hope for the Future?

During the past ten years, tremendous advances through research have been made in the field of viral hepatitis. Identifying the specific viruses that cause the disease is the first step in finding effective treatment programs.

Tips for prevention Hepatitis A & E

Vaccines are available to protect people against hepatitis A. Good sanitation and personal hygiene will reduce the spread of hepatitis A and E. Water should be boiled if there is any question about contamination. Food should be cooked well and fruits peeled if there is any question about sanitation in the area. Avoid eating shell fish that feed in contaminated waters. To prevent the spread of hepatitis A and E in the family or with close personal contacts, wash hands, eating utensils, bedding and clothing in soap and water.

Hepatitis B
Vaccines are available to protect people against hepatitis B. Avoid exposure to blood or body fluids of an infected person. Do not have sexual contact with a hepatitis B infected person without the use of condoms. Do not share scissors, razors, nail files, toothbrushes, or needles with hepatitis B infected persons. Needles used for intravenous drugs or to give tattoos and body piercing can be other means of spreading hepatitis B.

Hepatitis B is frequently passed from infected mothers to newborns. It is important that all newborns of hepatitis B infected mothers be immunized against the virus at the time of birth.

A treatment plan to prevent liver damage may also be prescribed by your doctor.

Hepatitis C
Blood banks screen blood to insure the safety of the blood supply. This has greatly reduced the number of hepatitis C cases resulting from transfusions.

Avoid exposure to blood or body fluids of persons known to have or carry the hepatitis virus. Sharing needles with anyone must not be done.

What are the symptoms of Gallstones?

The most typical symptom of gallstone disease is severe steady pain in the upper abdomen or right side. The pain may last for as little as 15 minutes or as long as several hours. The pain may also be felt between the shoulder blades or in the right shoulder. Sometimes patients also have vomiting or sweating. Attacks of gallstone pain may be separated by weeks, months, or even years.

It is thought that gallstone pain results from blockage of the gallbladder duct (cystic duct) by a stone. When the blockage is prolonged (greater than several hours), the gallbladder may become inflamed. This condition, called acute cholecystitis, may lead to fever, prolonged pain and eventually infection of the gallbladder. Hospitalization is usually necessary for observation, treatment with antibiotics and pain medications, and frequently for surgery.

More serious complications may occur when a gallstone passes out of the gallbladder duct and into the main bile duct. If the stone lodges in the main bile duct, it can lead to a serious bile duct infection. If it passes down the bile duct, it can cause an inflammation of the pancreas, which has a common drainage channel with the bile duct. Either of these situations can be extremely dangerous. Stones in the bile duct usually cause pain, fever, and jaundice (yellow discoloration of the eyes and skin).

Many people with gallstones have no symptoms. Often the gallstones are found when a test is performed to evaluate some other problem. So–called "silent gallstones" are likely to remain silent, and no treatment is recommended.