Que es hepatitis?

What is hepatitis?
Hepatitis (he-puh-TEYE-tuhs) means inflammation (swelling) of the liver. Hepatitis can be caused by:
• Toxins
• Certain drugs
• Some diseases
• Heavy alcohol use
•Bacterial and viral infections
Hepatitis is most often caused by one of several viruses, which is why it is often called viral hepatitis. The most common types of viral hepatitis in the United States arehepatitis A, hepatitis B, and hepatitis C.

What are the signs of viral hepatitis?
Some people with viral hepatitis have no signs of the infection. Symptoms, if they do appear, can include:
•Jaundice (JOHN-duhs), which is when the skin and whites of the eyes turn yellow
• Low-grade fever
• Headache
• Muscle aches
• Tiredness
• Loss of appetite
• Nausea ,vomiting
•Diarrhea,Dark-colored urine and pale bowel movements
• Stomach pain

How do you get viral hepatitis?
• Eating food prepared by a person with the virus who didn’t wash his or her hands after using thebathroom and then touched the food
• Contact with infected household members or sexual partners
• Touching diaper changing tables that aren’t cleaned properly
• Eating raw shellfish that came fromsewage-contaminated water
You can get hepatitis B if you come into contact with an infected person’s:
• Blood
• Semen and other fluids from having sex
• Needles from drug use
How is viralhepatitis treated?
Viral hepatitis will often get better on its own after several weeks to several months. However, when hepatitis becomes a chronic or long-term illness, the infection may need to betreated with specific medications called antivirals.
If you think you have any type of viral hepatitis, talk to your doctor about what treatments may be right for you.


How can I prevent viralhepatitis infection?
Hepatitis A prevention
• Get vaccinated. People with certain risk factors and health problems need this vaccine, so ask your doctor if the vaccine is right for you.
• Properly...