Treatment of viral hepatitis

Written by Zhang Jian Kang
Infectious Disease
Updated on February 23, 2025
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Once viral hepatitis occurs, the liver function is obviously abnormal. Patients may have significant discomfort symptoms such as fatigue, poor appetite, nausea, vomiting, and bloating after eating. Therefore, the treatment of patients with viral hepatitis mainly consists of two aspects. The first aspect is bed rest combined with a light, low-fat diet. The second aspect is pharmacological treatment. For patients with significantly abnormal liver function, medications that protect the liver and reduce enzyme levels are needed. If significant jaundice occurs, medications to reduce jaundice are required. Additionally, if the viral hepatitis is caused by hepatitis B or C, antiviral medications might be necessary. Only through active antiviral treatment can the damage to the liver by the virus be reduced, and thus better recovery of the patients can be achieved.

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Written by Xiong Hong Hai
Infectious Disease
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Viral hepatitis is what kind of inflammation?

Viral hepatitis is caused by infection with hepatitis viruses, resulting in liver damage and is somewhat contagious, commonly including types A, B, C, D, and E, totaling five types. In fact, the hepatitis virus itself may not cause liver damage directly, rather it is the immune responses triggered by the infection that lead to immunological damage. Thus, viral hepatitis is essentially an immune-mediated inflammation. Different types of viral hepatitis have different outcomes and prognoses. The transmission routes of viral hepatitis mainly fall into two categories: hepatitis A and E are primarily transmitted via the fecal-oral route, while hepatitis B, C, and D are mainly spread through blood and other body fluids. Treatment should be tailored according to the specific circumstances.

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Written by Xiong Hong Hai
Infectious Disease
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Symptoms of viral hepatitis

The clinical symptoms of viral hepatitis are mainly related to liver function. Generally, there are no obvious symptoms when liver function is normal or mildly abnormal. However, when liver function becomes significantly abnormal, symptoms such as fatigue, aversion to oil, nausea, abdominal distension, and poor appetite may occur. Different types of viral hepatitis have different prognoses and severity of illness. Treatment should be tailored to the actual situation, including liver protection, enzyme reduction, and addressing the cause through comprehensive treatment.

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Written by Zhang Jian Kang
Infectious Disease
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Can you stay up late with viral hepatitis?

Patients with viral hepatitis should avoid staying up late at night, because the liver rests and detoxifies during night hours. Staying up late might lead to liver function damage. For a healthy individual, staying up late might cause mild liver function abnormalities the following day. Over time, if a patient with viral hepatitis continues to stay up late, their liver function may repeatedly become abnormal. Even if their virus status is negative and they are just carriers, their long-term poor lifestyle habits could lead to the onset of hepatitis. Therefore, it is crucial for patients with viral hepatitis to avoid staying up late and drinking alcohol.

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Written by Xiong Hong Hai
Infectious Disease
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Is viral hepatitis transmitted through saliva?

Regarding the question of whether viral hepatitis can be transmitted through saliva, it depends on the actual situation. Some types of viral hepatitis that are transmitted through the fecal-oral route in the digestive tract might also be transmitted through saliva, such as Hepatitis A and Hepatitis E, which are acute viral hepatitis transmitted through the fecal-oral route. Generally, saliva is considered contagious in these cases. However, for Hepatitis B, Hepatitis C, and Hepatitis D, these types of viral hepatitis are not generally transmitted through the digestive tract, and therefore, saliva is not considered contagious.

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Written by Xiong Hong Hai
Infectious Disease
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What indicators are checked for viral hepatitis?

Viral hepatitis requires relevant hepatitis markers, such as hepatitis A antibodies IgG and IgM for hepatitis A, and for hepatitis B, the "hepatitis B two and a half pairs" test is conducted to check for surface antigens. If the surface antigen is positive, it indicates a hepatitis B virus infection; if negative, there is no hepatitis B virus infection. Hepatitis C is primarily screened through hepatitis C antibodies; if the screening is positive, further testing for hepatitis C virus RNA is needed. Hepatitis E mainly involves testing for hepatitis E antibodies IgG and IgM.