Clinical Reference Systems: Pediatric Advisor 10.0
Viral Hepatitis
Description
Viral hepatitis is infection and inflammation of the liver
caused by a virus.
Symptoms of hepatitis include:
- fever
- loss of appetite
- nausea
- tiredness
- muscle and joint aches
- yellow color of the skin
- darker yellow or orange color of the urine
- pain on the right upper side of the abdomen (belly).
Cause
Different types of hepatitis are caused by different
viruses. Your child may have hepatitis A (most common) or
hepatitis B (second most common). The exact type of
hepatitis your child has cannot be known right away. Blood
test results can determine exactly what type of hepatitis
your child has, but the test takes several days.
Hepatitis A is caused by exposure to another person with
hepatitis A or from swallowing something contaminated with
the infected person's bowel movement (stool). Symptoms may
appear in the exposed person 2 to 7 weeks after the
exposure.
Hepatitis B is caused by exposure to an infected person's
body fluids, such as blood and saliva, or by sexual contact.
Unlike hepatitis A, hepatitis B is not passed through stool-
to-mouth contact. Symptoms of hepatitis B may appear 6
weeks to 4 months after exposure.
A person who has hepatitis A or B may not seem or look sick
or unhealthy at all, so it may be hard to tell how your
child got hepatitis. Sometimes there are outbreaks at day
care centers or restaurants.
Home Care
The treatments for hepatitis A and hepatitis B are the same.
There is no medicine that gets rid of the hepatitis virus or
heals the liver. The body's immune system fights the
infection.
- Fluids and diet
The best treatment is to make sure your child drinks a
lot of fluids and eats well. Your child should avoid
eating fatty foods. The body has difficulty digesting
fat when the liver is not working well because of the
hepatitis.
- Rest
Your child should rest while he or she has fever or
jaundice. When fever and jaundice are gone, your child
may gradually resume and increase activity as tolerated
with the consent of your doctor.
- Medications
Your child should not take any medications, prescription
or nonprescription, without consulting your doctor.
- Follow-up
Your child will have blood tests at follow-up
appointments to check on the condition of the liver and
the progress of the illness. Keep all appointments as
scheduled.
Recovery
Your child may feel sick with any of the symptoms listed
above for several weeks.
Children may return to day care facilities 1 week after
symptoms first appear, with your doctor's permission.
Most children with hepatitis get better on their own without
liver problems later on in life. However, some children do
have liver problems later on. This is one of the reasons it
is important to keep in close touch with your doctor and to
keep all follow-up appointments.
Chronic, or relapsing, infection does not occur with
hepatitis A, but it does occur with hepatitis B in about 5%
to 10% of cases.
Prevention
The best way to prevent exposure to hepatitis is good
handwashing. Children should wash their hands every time
they go to the bathroom. Good handwashing should be
enforced at home and at day care.
With hepatitis A, it is also important to maintain a clean
environment, such as clean toilets, bathrooms, and clothing.
After the type of hepatitis your child has is determined by
the blood test, household contacts will be treated to
prevent spread around the house. Your doctor will be in
charge of treating the rest of your family.
Hepatitis B can be prevented by a vaccine that all babies
should receive (three shots by 18 months of age). If a
child has not received the hepatitis vaccine as a baby, he
or she may be vaccinated in childhood or adolescence.
Call Your Child's Doctor IMMEDIATELY If:
- Your child has changes in symptoms, is confused, is
difficult to wake up, is lethargic (sluggish) or
irritable.
- Your child is unable to drink fluids.
- Your child is getting much more yellow.
- Your child has signs of dehydration such as no urine in
over 8 hours or a dry mouth.
- Your child starts to act very sick.
Call Your Child's Doctor During Office Hours If:
- You have other questions or concerns.
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