HEPATITIS

Hepa means liver and titis inflammation and therefore hepatitis means liver inflammation. Hepatits can be caused by drugs or infections. Some drugs prescribed for chest or urine infrections, sucha as antibiotics, painkillers, lipid lowering agents can cause hepatitis. another group of offending agents is herbal products. Alcohol is also a frequent cause of hepatitis.

The common infectious causes of hepatitis are viral hepatitis B and viral hepatitis C. These viruses must be treated effectively as they can result in chronic liver disease, cirrhosis and liver cancer. Non alchoholic steathohepatitis or fatty liver is alo being increasingly recognised as one of the important causes of hepatitis.

All the above causes are usually asymptomatic, meaning the patient feels very well and experiences no symptoms. The problem is only discovered during liver function test during a normal check-up.

There is also a group of hepatitis patients who will present with abdominal pain, weight loos or jaundice (yellowing of skin). they may subsequently be found to have gallstones or pancreatic cancer.