November 9, 2024

Hepatitis Part 1

Hepatitis Part 1

Dr. Claire Arcidiacono, ND

When I first began to even just think about a series on our liver and kidney health, I knew it was important to to write about hepatitis. Viral hepatitis is a huge problem worldwide. In fact, according to the World health organization viral hepatitis is the second leading infectious cause of death globally. (1) But just what is hepatitis? What causes it? What are the long-term complications? And just what if anything can we do to reduce our risk factors? As you can guess there is an awful lot to cover so to keep it from becoming overwhelming, I will be splitting this topic into two parts. So, let us get into it, shall we?

Let us start with the simple question of just what is hepatitis? Hepatitis is when there is inflammation in your liver. Just like with cirrhosis anything that can cause injury to your liver can trigger inflammation or hepatitis. Depending on what is triggering the hepatitis it can be short term (acute) or long term (chronic). (2) Please look at the attached picture so you can compare an inflamed liver to a healthy liver. (3)

While there is more than one type of hepatitis I will be focusing on viral hepatitis and alcohol induced hepatitis because these are the types that I get the most questions about. Just so your familiar with the other types I will list them here. These include toxic hepatitis, metabolic dysfunction associated steatohepatitis and autoimmune hepatitis.

One of the differences between viral hepatitis and alcoholic induced hepatitis is that viral hepatitis is contagious, and alcohol induce hepatitis is not. Let us look at the types of viral hepatitis? Well, there is hepatitis A, B, C, D, and E. Other viral infections linked to viral help include Epstein Barr virus and cytomegalovirus. Regarding alcohol use and hepatitis everyone has a different tolerance, and this tolerance changes what levels will trigger inflammation and thus lead to alcohol induced hepatitis. (2) One of the concerns in those that have alcohol induced hepatitis or inflammation is that it can leave them at a higher risk of contracting viral hepatitis. So, to answer the question of can you get more than just one type of hepatitis a time the answer is that in a roundabout way yes you can. To put this in simple terms – Alcohol induced hepatitis or even just overall excessive alcohol intake can and does increase the risk of viral hepatitis. (4)

What are the signs and symptoms of hepatitis? In the initial stages of hepatitis, you may notice few if any symptoms. As the disease progresses you will start to see more severe symptoms. This is because the liver is less able to do all its jobs correctly. In general, you may notice nausea, loss of appetite and even fatigue. You may have upper abdominal pain and even a fever. Eventually you may notice jaundice and even changes to the color of your urine and stool. You may notice pruritus, or itchy skin. Over time you may develop something called hepatic encephalopathy, which presents as confusion, disorientation or even drowsiness. (2)

Our next blog on this topic will talk about how viral and alcohol induced hepatitis present. I will also be talking about important risk factors for hepatitis as well as any complications that can occur. Finally, I will be reviewing supplements that that can help to reduce risk factors for hepatitis as well as things to help our overall liver health. As a preview I will just say that this will include classics such as NAC, Milk Thistle and even Glutathione!

Sources: