Back to Site

  1. Home
  2. >
  3. 2020
  4. >
  5. July
World Hepatitis Day

World Hepatitis Day

Jul 27th, 2020

Archive for July, 2020

World Hepatitis Day

Monday, July 27th, 2020

Hepatitis refers to inflammation of the liver. Inflammation is a tissue’s reaction to irritation or injury which generally results in swelling and can cause pain. The condition can be self-limiting or can progress to fibrosis (scarring), cirrhosis, or liver cancer if left untreated. Hepatitis viruses are the most common cause of hepatitis in the world but other infections, toxic substances (e.g. alcohol, certain drugs), and autoimmune diseases can also cause hepatitis.

There are 5 main hepatitis viruses, referred to as types A, B, C, D and E. As per World Health Organisation (WHO), 300 million people across the world are infected with Hepatitis, yet unaware of it and do not undergo treatment. It is essential to be proactive about your liver health and get tested for hepatitis. Over time, untreated hepatitis B or C can cause hardening and scarring (cirrhosis) of the liver, which can cause complications like liver cancer or liver failure.

Types of Hepatitis

There are at least five different types of viral hepatitis: A, B, C, D and E.

Hepatitis A
Hepatitis A is spread by either direct contact with an infected person’s faeces or by indirect faecal contamination of food or water.

Symptoms include:

  • Fever
  • Light stool
  • Dark urine
  • Jaundice

Maintaining high levels of hygiene, before and after meals, while cooking and after using the washroom is a good way to prevent hepatitis A. Take the Hepatitis A vaccination.

Hepatitis B
Hepatitis B virus (HBV) can be spread through:

  • Urine
  • Semen
  • Body fluids
  • Mother to child

Symptoms can include:

  • Jaundice
  • Nausea
  • Abdominal pain
  • Vomiting
  • Fever

A blood test helps diagnose Hepatitis B. There is a vaccine available to protect people at high risk for the infection. Practice safe sex, do not share needles or razors, and get tattoos done only at hygienic places.

Hepatitis C
Hepatitis C (HCV) is most commonly spread by exposure due to contaminated blood or needles, and unsafe sex. Symptoms for HCV are similar to other types of hepatitis. There’s no vaccine available for Hepatitis C.

Hepatitis D
Unlike the other forms, hepatitis D can’t be contracted on its own. It can only infect people who are already infected with hepatitis B. People with HBV often develop hepatitis D (HDV).

Hepatitis E
Hepatitis E virus (HEV) is found in underdeveloped areas of the world and is spread by the faecal/oral route. The risk factors for hepatitis E are related to poor sanitation, contaminated drink water, and poor personal hygiene.

Hepatitis: Myths & Facts

Myth: All Hepatitis viruses are the same.
Fact: Hepatitis A, B, C, D and E are different viruses with different modes of transmission and clinical manifestations. While Hepatitis A and E are transmitted by ingestion of contaminated food, Hepatitis B and C are transmitted by blood transfusion, unprotected sex, and tattoos. Hepatitis D occurs only in patients with Hepatitis B.

Myth: All patients with Hepatitis have jaundice.
Fact: Absence of jaundice does not rule out acute hepatitis viral infection, which can present sometimes only with constitutional symptoms such as fever, vomiting, poor appetite, lethargy with high liver enzymes.

Myth: Hepatitis is hereditary
Fact: Hepatitis is not a genetic disease and is not inherited. However, Hepatitis B is often transmitted from mother to child during childbirth. This can be prevented if the Hepatitis status of the mother is known and the newborn is vaccinated on time.

Myth: If one gets hepatitis A, then one is immune to the other forms of hepatitis.
Fact: Patients with Hepatitis A get lifelong protection against hepatitis A only. One is still at risk of infection with other forms of hepatitis like B, C, and E.

Myth: Hepatitis virus cannot survive outside the human body
Fact: Hepatitis B virus can survive in dried blood for up to 7 days and remains capable of causing infection. Hepatitis C virus can survive on environmental surfaces for up to 16 hours.

Myth: Vaccine is available against all types of Hepatitis virus.
Fact: Vaccines are available only against Hepatitis A and B.

Prevent Hepatitis

Here are some health tips to follow to protect your liver health and to prevent the spread of the highly infectious viral Hepatitis infection:

  • Don’t have unsafe sex.
  • Don’t inject illegal drugs.
  • Don’t drink alcohol as it harms your liver and makes your hepatitis worst.
  • Don’t share any personal items such as razors or toothbrushes.
  • Speak to your doctor about getting vaccinated against hepatitis A and B.
  • Follow strict food safety guidelines.

Hepatitis in India
With an estimated 40 million people suffering from chronic Hepatitis B and six to 12 million people infected with Hepatitis C, Hepatitis has become a public health concern in India. Viral Hepatitis caused by Hepatitis Viruses A, B, C, D and E is a huge economic and social burden on the affected individuals and their families. Low awareness levels and lack of timely treatment may damage your liver health.

Concerned about any jaundice like symptoms? Suspect Hepatitis? Specialists at our Department of  Hepato Pancreato Biliary help you with further diagnosis and testing. The team supports Hepatitis patients with a complete recovery plan. For more information about Hepatitis and its treatment please visit our HepatoPancretoBiliary department.

Your Mental Health Matters

Saturday, July 18th, 2020

Mental health refers to cognitive, behavioural, and emotional well-being. It is all about how people think, feel, and behave. A good mental health also means the absence of a mental disorder. Your mental health affects your ability to cope with stress, overcome challenges, build relationships, and recover from life’s setbacks and hardships. According the World Health Organization (WHO), mental illness makes about 15% of the total disease conditions around the world.

Common mental health disorders

One in four people in the world will be affected by mental disorders at some point in their lives. Treatments are available, but nearly two-thirds of people with a known mental disorder never seek help from a health professional. Stigma, discrimination, and neglect prevent care and treatment from reaching people with mental disorders.

The most common types of mental illness are:

Anxiety disorders
People with these conditions have severe fear or anxiety, which relates to certain objects or situations. Restlessness, fatigue, tense muscles, disturbed sleep are some physical symptoms.

Mood disorders
People with these conditions have significant changes in mood, generally involving either mania, which is a period of high energy and elation, or depression. Examples of mood disorders include:

  • Major depression: An individual with major depression experiences a constant low mood and loses interest in activities and events that they previously enjoyed. They can feel prolonged periods of sadness or extreme sadness.
  • Bipolar disorder: A person with bipolar disorder experiences unusual changes in their mood, energy levels, levels of activity, and ability to continue with daily life.
  • Postpartum Depression: Postpartum depression (PPD) is a type of depression that affects some women after giving birth to an infant. Symptoms include sadness, changes in sleeping and eating patterns, anxiety, and irritability.

Panic disorders
People with a panic disorder experience regular panic attacks, which involve sudden, overwhelming terror or a sense of imminent disaster and death.

Phobias
There are different types of phobia:

  • Simple phobias: These might involve a disproportionate fear of specific objects, scenarios, or animals. Fear of closed spaces called claustrophobia is a common example.
  • Social phobia: Sometimes known as social anxiety, this is a fear of being subject to the judgment of others. People with social phobia often restrict their exposure to social environments. 

Post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD)
PTSD can occur after a person experiences or witnesses a deeply stressful or traumatic event. During this type of event, the person thinks that their life or other people’s lives are in danger.

Schizophrenia disorders
Schizophrenia is a serious mental disorder in which people interpret reality abnormally. Schizophrenia may result in some combination of hallucinations, delusions, and extremely disordered thinking and behaviour that impairs daily functioning.

Top tips for good mental health
Taking care of your mental and emotional health is as important as your physical health. Here are a few health tips to keep yourself mentally healthy:

Get plenty of sleep
Sleep helps to regulate the chemicals in your brain that transmit information. These chemicals are important in managing your moods and emotions. Lack of sleep can make you feel depressed or anxious.

Eat a healthy diet
Certain mineral deficiencies, such as iron and vitamin B12 deficiencies, can make you feel low. Have a healthy and balanced diet.

Avoid alcohol, smoking, and drugs
Drinking and smoking negatively impact your mental health. It can make you feel more depressed and anxious.

Get plenty of sunlight
Sunlight is a great source of vitamin D. Vitamin D helps your brains to release chemicals that improve your mood, like endorphins and serotonin.

Manage stress
Stress is often unavoidable, but knowing what triggers your stress and knowing how to cope is key in maintaining good mental health. Meditation helps reduce your stress level.

Activity and exercise
Activity and exercise are essential in maintaining good mental health. Regular exercise promotes the release of feel-good brain chemicals.

Do something you enjoy
Take out some “me time” to do fun things you enjoy. Listen to music, take up a hobby or watch a TV show you enjoy to relax and unwind.

Stay connected
Staying in touch with friends and family is important not just for your self-esteem, but also for providing support when you’re not feeling too great.

Mental health in India

India shares a huge global burden of mental health diseases. Be it childhood mental disorders like autism or adult conditions such as depression, anxiety, substance abuse, and psychosis or dementia in old age, the world is facing a challenge in the form of mental illness. The deep stigma around mental health in India contributes to denial and shame among the patients. They fear seeking medical help for their problems. People experiencing mental health problems must seek timely medical help just like they would for other physical health problems.

Seek professional help

One of the most important ways to keep yourself mentally healthy is to recognise when you’re not feeling good and to know when to ask for help. Remove the stigma around mental health. If you’ve made consistent efforts to improve your mental and emotional health and still aren’t functioning optimally at home, work, or in your relationships, it may be time to seek professional help.

Consult highly trained psychiatrists and psychologists at our Department of Psychiatry to help address your mental health problems. At Kokilaben Dhirubhai Ambani Hospital we also provide online consultations through video calls from the safety of your home. Please find below link for more details: https://www.kokilabenhospital.com/departments/clinicaldepartments/psychiatry.html

Monsoon Diseases

Saturday, July 4th, 2020

The last few months have been difficult for everyone. The world has been struggling to fight a pandemic and learning the rules of the new normal.  The norms of personal hygiene, sanitization, and physical distancing has gained importance than ever before. The much-awaited monsoon season has certainly brought joy to many people. Are you looking forward to enjoying a hot cup of tea as you see the raindrops from your window? However this joy is short-lived. This cool season arrives with a swarm of unwanted and harmful viruses and diseases. Cold and cough, malaria, dengue, diarrhoea, fever, typhoid are some of the diseases which are commonly seen in monsoon.

Common Monsoon Diseases
Some of the common monsoon illnesses that are highly infectious and which may also prove life-threatening if not attended to on time.

  • Malaria
    Malaria, caused by a single-celled parasite called Plasmodium, is one of the major health concerns in India during monsoons. It is the breeding season for mosquitoes (type: Anopheles minimus) that is a host to this malaria-causing parasite. Symptoms include high fever, chills, headache, nausea and vomiting.
  • Typhoid
    Typhoid fever is a result of contaminated food and water. This is a bacterial infection caused by Salmonella typhi. Maintaining proper hygiene and sanitation and at the same time using clean water is recommended to avoid this infection.
  • Chikungunya
    Chikungunya, caused by the Aedes albopictus mosquito, is a non-fatal viral disease. These mosquitoes breed in stagnant water and can bite you not only during the night but also during the day. The symptoms include headache, muscle pain, joint swelling, or rashes.
  • Dengue
    It is caused by a virus that is transmitted by mosquitoes known as the tiger mosquito, which has black and white stripes on their body. Symptoms of dengue include severe joint and muscle pain, swollen lymph nodes, headache, fever, rashes, and exhaustion.
  • Cholera
    This is a water-borne infection, caused by many strains of bacteria called Vibrio cholera. Cholera affects the gastrointestinal tract causing severe dehydration and diarrhoea. Hence, it is advisable to drink boiled or purified water to keep the germs at bay.
  • Viral Fever
    Sudden weather change can cause viral fevers. This is highly contagious and it can spread through air and physical contact. The symptoms of this fever are fatigue, chills, body aches, and fever.
  • Leptospirosis
    The bacteria that cause leptospirosis are spread through the urine of infected animals, which can get into water or soil and can survive there for weeks to months. Avoid walking through flooded waters as this infection enters your body through minor cuts on your skin.
  • Cold and cough
    The drastic fluctuation of temperature which happens during this rainy season makes the body susceptible to bacterial and viral attacks, resulting in cold and flu. This is the most common form of viral infection. One must consume highly nutritious foods and strengthen your immunity.
  • Diarrhoea
    Usually, towards the end of summer and early rainy season, seasonal diarrhea is common. This is spread through contaminated food and water. Maintain utmost hygiene while cooking and avoid eating outside food during monsoon.
  • Jaundice
    Jaundice is a condition wherein the colour of the skin and the eyes turn yellow. It is the cause of increased levels of bilirubin in the bloodstream. Jaundice harms your liver if left untreated.

Preventive Measures

Prevention is better than cure, take these health precautions during monsoon to help prevent the spread of monsoon illnesses. Here are a few health tips:

  • Drink safe and clean water.
  • Wash vegetables, fruits thoroughly.
  • Avoid eating outside food.
  • Use mosquito repellents.
  • Wear clean and dry garments.
  • Use hand sanitizers.
  • Use mosquito nets in your house
  • Clear stagnant water around your house.
  • Maintain high personal hygiene.

Make sure you protect yourself and your family from these dangerous diseases this monsoon season. However, despite your best efforts if you are infected with any monsoon illness please seek medical care. You can visit us or consult our experts online too. For more information please visit www.kokilabenhospital.com