Hepatitis (liver inflammation)

Reviewed by Dr Janice Main, senior lecturer and honorary consultant physician in infectious diseases and general medicine

What is hepatitis?

Hepatitis is the Latin word for liver inflammation. It is characterised by the destruction of a number of liver cells and the presence of inflammatory cells in the liver tissue.

Hepatitis can be caused by diseases that primarily attack the liver cells. It can also arise as a result of a disease such as mononucleosis. Hepatitis can be divided into two subgroups according to its duration:

acute hepatitis - lasting less than six months

chronic hepatitis - lasting longer than six months.

What can cause acute hepatitis?

Acute hepatitis has a number of possible causes.

Infectious viral hepatitis such as hepatitis A, hepatitis B, hepatitis C, hepatitis D and hepatitis E.

Other viral diseases such as: mononucleosis and cytomegalovirus.

Severe bacterial infections.

Amoebic infections.

Medicines, eg paracetamol poisoning and halothane (an anaesthetic).

Toxins: alcohol and fungal toxins, eg toadstool poisoning.

What can cause chronic hepatitis?

Chronic hepatitis also has a number of different causes.

Contagious viral hepatitis such as hepatitis B, hepatitis C and hepatitis D.

Medicines.

Toxins such as alcohol.

Autoimmune hepatitis. This is a disease in which a number of liver cells are destroyed by the patient's own immune system. Autoimmune hepatitis can also sometimes occur as acute hepatitis. The cause is unknown.

Inborn metabolic disorders, such as Wilson's disease (disorder of the body's copper metabolism) and haemochromatosis (disorder of the body's iron metabolism).

How do you get hepatitis?

A person can develop hepatitis if they contract one of the viruses that can cause liver inflammation, or as a result of exposure to substances that can cause hepatitis - alcohol, fungal toxins and certain medicines.

There are two ways in which medicines can lead to hepatitis: it can either occur as a result of medicine poisoning through overdoses of a medicine (eg paracetamol), or it can occur as a result of an abnormal reaction of the liver to a normal dose (eg halothane, the anaesthetic). Fortunately, the latter type of hepatitis is rare.

What are the symptoms of hepatitis?

Acute hepatitis The symptoms of acute hepatitis vary considerably from person to person. Some patients have no symptoms at all, and in most cases, children only show mild symptoms.

In the early stages:

tiredness, general malaise, slight fever

nausea, poor appetite, changes in taste perception

pressure or pain below the right ribs caused by an enlarged liver

aching muscles and joints, headache, skin rash.

The jaundice phase:

yellowing of sclerae (the white portions of the eyes), skin and mucous membranes

dark urine

light-coloured stools

around this time, the other symptoms subside.

The recovery phase:

tiredness that can last for weeks.

Go To Next Page>>



The documents contained in this web site are presented for information purposes only. The material is in no way intended to replace professional medical care or attention by a qualified practitioner. The materials in this web site cannot and should not be used as a basis for diagnosis or choice of treatment. Conditions for use



© Copyright 1998 - 2004 NetDoctor.co.uk - All rights reserved