Acidity and GERD: Beyond the Antacid Bottle
Reaching for an antacid several times a week is not a solution — it is a symptom. Persistent reflux damages the oesophagus and occasionally hides something more serious.
Read articleHepatitis B is a viral infection of the liver spread through blood, unsafe injections, unprotected sex and from mother to baby at birth. Many people carry it for years without symptoms, and it is preventable by a safe and widely available vaccine.
Symptoms
Not everyone gets every symptom, and the pattern can differ in older people, in people with diabetes and in children. These are the ones most often reported.
- Often no symptoms at all in chronic infection
- Tiredness, loss of appetite and nausea in acute infection
- Yellowing of the eyes and skin with dark urine
- Pain over the right upper abdomen
- Joint pains and low-grade fever in the acute phase
- Swelling of the abdomen and legs in advanced liver disease
When to see a doctor
Do not wait these out
If any of the following applies, arrange to be seen the same day. For anything sudden or severe, call 9281862028 or come straight to the emergency department at SIMS — it is open 24 hours and does not need an appointment.
- A positive hepatitis B report on a blood donation, pre-employment or antenatal screen
- Yellow eyes, dark urine or persistent vomiting
- Known infection in a household member or sexual partner
- Any pregnancy with hepatitis B, so the newborn can receive protection at birth
Tests that may be advised
Your consultant will order only the investigations that change the plan. Most of the following are available on the SIMS campus, so results usually come back the same visit.
- Hepatitis B surface antigen and related viral markers
- Hepatitis B viral load (HBV DNA)
- Liver function tests
- Ultrasound of the abdomen and liver stiffness assessment
- Screening of family members and household contacts
How it is treated
Treatment is decided case by case — by how advanced the problem is, what else you are being treated for, and what you can realistically sustain. Broadly, it involves the following.
- Regular monitoring, since not every carrier needs antiviral treatment immediately
- Long-term antiviral medication when viral load and liver tests meet treatment criteria
- Complete avoidance of alcohol and of unsupervised herbal or over-the-counter liver remedies
- Vaccination of family members and household contacts
- Birth-dose vaccine and immunoglobulin for babies born to infected mothers
- Periodic surveillance for liver cancer in patients with cirrhosis
This page is general information, not a diagnosis
Hepatitis B can look like several other conditions, and the reverse is equally true. Nothing here can replace an examination, your test results and the judgement of the doctor treating you — and no medicine mentioned by name to a friend or relative should be started on the strength of this page. If you recognise yourself in it, book a consultation with the Medical Gastroenterology department. If a symptom is sudden or severe, call 9281862028.
