Hepatitis is a disease that you can live with for a long time before realising that it’s caused liver damage. It’s a silent and sneaky condition that can cause some serious problems. Knowing about hepatitis, what to look out for and how you can prevent it is important for helping your child live happily and healthily. This article is going to look at hepatitis in children and what you need to know.
What is hepatitis?
Hepatitis is an inflammation in the liver. The reason it’s so dangerous is that it can cause the damage and destruction of liver cells which can in turn have permanent ramifications. There are 5 forms of the hepatitis virus and different ways in which it can be contracted:
Hepatitis A
This form of the virus is contracted through faecal-oral contact and can be spread or contracted by:
- Eating food prepared by someone who is infected and hasn’t washed their hands properly
- Drinking water that contains contaminated faeces.
- Touching the faeces of someone who is infected and then putting that hand near your mouth.
Hepatitis B
Spread via blood, this form of hepatitis in children can be particularly dangerous. Infection is caused when there is blood to blood contact that can be caused by needles, sticks and a variety of other sharp instruments.
If the mother is carrying the virus, there is also risk of infection to the child during birth and it can also be spread to a child through cuts and scrapes.
Hepatitis C
This form of the virus can also be transferred through blood to blood contact but in addition to this, it can spread through sexual contact.
Hepatitis D
If your child is infected with hepatitis B, then this form of hepatitis can also occur, or develop at a later date. This form of hepatitis in children can only occur if your child already has hepatitis B and cannot be passed from mother to baby during pregnancy.
Hepatitis E
Similar to Hepatitis A, this form of the virus transfers via faecal-oral contact and is common in developing countries.
How can you prevent your child from contracting one of the Hepatitis viruses?
There are a number of things you can do to help prevent hepatitis in children:
- Hepatitis A and B can be vaccinated against around the age of a year old and so it’s important that your child receives these vaccinations. With the capability to protect them for 15-20 years, this is one of the most effective prevention tips.
- When travelling to other countries, avoiding drinking tap water.
- Make sure you and your child wash your hands thoroughly before preparing food and after going to the toilet.
- Be mindful of sharp objects and any blood to blood contact that might happen.
- Get yourself tested to see if you’re a carrier. This will be done whilst you’re pregnant to determine if there will be any risk during birth.
If you have any concerns about your child, you should speak to your doctor. There’s no cure for hepatitis, just a series of treatments that are used to manage the condition and prevent it from worsening so it’s important that you understand how hepatitis is contracted and take the correct preventative measures.
Resources:
http://www.stanfordchildrens.org/en/topic/default?id=hepatitis-in-children-90-P02517
http://kidshealth.org/en/kids/hepatitis.html
https://www.urmc.rochester.edu/encyclopedia/content.aspx?ContentTypeID=90&ContentID=P02517
https://medlineplus.gov/magazine/issues/spring09/articles/spring09pg25.html
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