Information provided by the National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases (NIDDK)
What is hepatitis A?
Hepatitis A is a virus, or infection, that causes liver disease and inflammation of the liver. Viruses can cause sickness. For example, the flu is caused by a virus. People can pass viruses to each other. Inflammation is swelling that occurs when tissues of the body become injured or infected. Inflammation can cause organs to not work properly.
What is the liver?
The liver is an organ that does many important things. You cannot live without a liver. The liver removes harmful chemicals from your blood, fights infection, helps digest food, stores nutrients and vitamins, and stores energy.
Who Gets Hepatitis A?
Anyone can get hepatitis A, but those more likely to are people who:
- Travel to developing countries
- Live with someone who currently has an active hepatitis A infection
- Use illegal drugs, including non-injection drugs
- Have unprotected sex with an infected person
- Provide child care
Also, men who have sex with men are more likely to get hepatitis A.
How Could I Get Hepatitis A?
You could get hepatitis A through contact with an infected person’s stool. This contact could occur by:
- Eating food made by an infected person who didn’t wash his or her hands after using the bathroom
- Drinking untreated water or eating food washed in untreated water
- Having close personal contact with an infected person, such as through sex or caring for someone who is ill
You Cannot Get Hepatitis A From:
- Being coughed or sneezed on,
- Sitting next to, or hugging an infected person
- A baby cannot get hepatitis A from breast milk.
What are the symptoms of hepatitis A?
Most people do not have any symptoms of hepatitis A. If symptoms of hepatitis A occur, they include:
- Feeling tired
- Muscle soreness
- Upset stomach
- Fever
- Loss of appetite
- Stomach pain
- Diarrhea
- Dark yellow urine
- Light-colored stools
- Yellowish eyes and skin, called jaundice
Symptoms of hepatitis A can occur two to seven weeks after coming into contact with the virus. Children younger than age six may have no symptoms. Older children and adults often get mild flulike symptoms. See a doctor right away if you or a child in your care has symptoms of hepatitis A.
How is Hepatitis A Diagnosed?
A blood test will show if you have hepatitis A. Blood tests are done at a doctor’s office or outpatient facility, and sent to a lab to test for hepatitis A.
How is Hepatitis A Treated?
Hepatitis A usually gets better in a few weeks without treatment. However, some people can have symptoms for up to six months. Your doctor may suggest medicines to help relieve your symptoms. Talk with your doctor before taking prescription and over-the-counter medicines. See your doctor regularly to make sure your body has fully recovered. If symptoms persist after six months, you should see your doctor again. When you recover, your body will have learned to fight off a future hepatitis A infection. However, you can still get other kinds of hepatitis.
Next month, part two will cover how to avoid getting hepatitis A. The National Digestive Diseases Information Clearinghouse (NDDIC) is a service of the National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases (NIDDK). For more information, visit: www.digestive.niddk.nih.gov.
Acknowledgments available on request.
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