Hepatitis Health Center
Understanding Hepatitis -- Diagnosis and Treatment
How Do I Know If I Have It?
Hepatitis is diagnosed by your symptoms, your doctor’s exam to look for signs of hepatitis, and blood tests to see if you have evidence of a hepatitis virus in your blood.
For hepatitis C, the CDC recommends that you have a blood test if any of the following is true:
- You have been notified that you received blood from a donor who later tested positive for the disease.
- You have ever injected drugs, even once many years ago.
- You received a blood transfusion or an organ transplant before July 1992.
- You received a blood product used to treat clotting problems that was made before 1987.
- You have had long-term kidney dialysis.
- You have signs or symptoms of liver disease.
- You have HIV.
- You have a known exposure to HCV (i.e. needle stick in health care workers).
- Children born to HCV positive mothers (after 18 mos of age).
Screening for hepatitis B is done routinely in pregnant women and patients with HIV. It may also be done on the sexual partners and household contacts of people known to be infected with hepatitis B or people with other known exposures (needle sticks or blood exposures). Otherwise, routine screening for hepatitis typically is not recommended unless you have symptoms of the condition.
If You Have Symptoms
When the patient's symptoms suggest hepatitis, the doctor normally takes blood samples and runs tests to check for the presence of an antigen or antibody. More blood samples may be necessary later -- even after the symptoms have vanished -- to check for complications and determine if the patient is a carrier of the disease.
The doctor may also require a liver biopsy, or tissue sample, in order to determine the extent of the damage. A biopsy is commonly performed by inserting a needle into the liver and drawing out a fragment of tissue, which is then sent to a laboratory to be analyzed.
What Are the Treatments?
The treatment for viral hepatitis depends on the type and stage of the infection. Over the last several years treatments for both Hepatitis B and C have become available. More treatments are being evaluated all the time.
Conventional Medicine
If your hepatitis, either viral or nonviral, is in the acute stage, avoid alcoholic beverages, as the body's efforts to process alcohol put an added strain on the already injured liver. Also be aware that the sexual partner of an infected person, particularly if he or she has hepatitis B, may run the risk of contracting the disease.
A primary care physician can usually provide adequate care for patients with all types of hepatitis. However, severe cases may require treatment by a hepatologist or gastroenterologist -- specialists in diseases of the liver. Hospitalization is normally unnecessary unless the patient cannot eat or drink or is vomiting.
WebMD Medical Reference
