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Excessive consumption of alcohol can cause inflammation of the liver, which is referred to as alcoholic hepatitis.
Hepatitis is an inflammation of the liver due to viral infection, medications, drugs, toxins, or alcohol. There is also a type called autoimmune hepatitis that occurs when your body makes antibodies against your liver tissue. Hepatitis caused by viral infections is contagious. World Hepatitis Day is observed on July 28 every year to raise global awareness of viral hepatitis Hepatitis A, B, C, D, and E and encourage prevention, diagnosis and treatment.
The idea of Hepatitis day originated in Odisha when Professor SP Singh, Head of the Dept. of Gastroenterology, SCB Cuttack proposed to celebrate Hepatitis day in the institute on July 28. In May 2010, the 63rd World Health Assembly also adopted a resolution to celebrate World Hepatitis Day on July 28 to mark the birth anniversary of Nobel Laureate Baruch Samuel Blumberg, the discoverer of the hepatitis B virus. It is estimated that around 290 million people are living with viral hepatitis unaware worldwide. The World Hepatitis Alliance's (WHA) global campaign Find the Missing Millions focuses on finding the undiagnosed viral hepatitis patients and linking them to care. Under the theme "Hepatitis-free future," World Hepatitis Day 2020 is aimed at preventing hepatitis B among mothers and newborns. Let's look at the types and symptoms of viral hepatitis.
Hepatitis A, B, C, D, and E are caused by viral infections of the liver. While Hepatitis A and E usually acute, the other three types - B, C, and D - are most likely to become ongoing and chronic.
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Hepatitis A: This type of hepatitis is caused by an infection with the hepatitis A virus (HAV). One may catch the virus from consuming food or water contaminated by feces from an infected person.
Hepatitis B: The disease is caused by the hepatitis B virus (HBV), which can be transmitted through contact with infected body fluids, such as blood, vaginal secretions, or semen.
Hepatitis C: Caused by the hepatitis C virus (HCV), this liver disease can be transmitted through direct contact with infected body fluids, typically through injection drug use and sexual contact.
Hepatitis D: Also called delta hepatitis, it is a serious liver disease caused by the hepatitis D virus (HDV) that is transmitted through direct contact with infected blood. Hepatitis D is a rare form of hepatitis and occurs only in conjunction with hepatitis B infection.
Hepatitis E: It is a waterborne disease caused by the hepatitis E virus (HEV), which is contracted through the consumption of water contaminated by feces from an infected person. Therefore, Hepatitis E is mainly found in areas with poor sanitation.
Autoimmune hepatitis and other types of hepatitis caused by toxic substances like overuse or overdose of medications, alcohol consumption and exposure to poisons are non-infectious.
When the inflammation of the liver is caused by alcohol, it is referred to as alcoholic hepatitis. It is most likely to occur in people who drink heavily over many years, but sometimes people who drink only moderately also develop the disease. If you have alcoholic hepatitis, the first thing to do is stop drinking alcohol. Or else you face a high risk of serious liver damage and death.
One of the most common signs of alcoholic hepatitis is the yellowing of the skin and whites of the eyes (jaundice).
Other signs and symptoms include loss of appetite, nausea, vomiting, abdominal tenderness, fever, fatigue and weakness. Severe alcoholic hepatitis can lead to -
If not treated, alcoholic hepatitis can eventually lead to irreversible scarring (cirrhosis), the final stage of alcoholic liver disease.