Hepatitis

Hepatitis A, B and C are infections caused by different viruses affecting your liver. They are spread in different ways.

For more information visit the Hepatitis Education Project

Hepatitis A

How do you get it?
Hepatitis A passes between people via a “fecal/oral” route. And no, you don’t have to eat shit: rimming an infected partner can give you the virus, as can kissing. You also risk infection when you take off that condom and forget to wash your fingers before they end up in your mouth. Likewise if you’ve been fingering someone’s ass without using gloves. Eating raw shellfish from contaminated waters or food prepared by infected workers can also give you Hepatitis A.

How do you avoid it?
By getting vaccinated against it! Short of that, you can avoid rimming, or use a dental dam, cut-open condom or non-microwaveable plastic wrap. You can also make sure neither you nor your partner’s fingers get in your mouth until after they’ve been washed thoroughly with soap and water, although remember that fecal matter could travel from ass to finger to other places, like your dick or his, before it reaches your mouth. Bottom line: once you start playing with your partner’s asshole, keep your mouth shut. Of course this means people who rim without protection are at high risk for Hepatitis A.

Symptoms?
You might not notice any, but if they do appear, they usually do so in 2 to 4 weeks: diarrhea, nausea, vomiting, fever, exhaustion and loss of appetite. Also: yellow (jaundiced) skin and eyes, dark urine and pale shit. This usually lasts about 1 to 4 weeks. About 1% of people who get Hepatitis A get very sick. Some of these people die or require liver transplantation. Hepatitis A does not cause a chronic infection.

Testing and treatment
Your health care provider will collect a blood sample and get it tested. There is no effective medication for Hepatitis A infection. You will need to rest, eat well, and cut back on alcohol because of potential serious liver damage.

HIV connection?
Your liver processes most medication, so if you’re HIV-positive you need to keep it healthy. If you’re infected with Hepatitis A or B, you may have to go off anti-HIV drugs, so vaccination is a smart move if you’re at risk.

What else should you know?
A vaccine is available for Hepatitis A and B through most health care providers or at a community clinic. Call the Seattle-King County HIV/STD hotline at (206) 205-7837 for information and referrals.

  • Avoid having sex until your health care provider believes you are no longer infectious.
  • A low fat diet is more readily digested when you are sick with Hepatitis.
  • Once you’ve recovered from Hepatitis A, you can’t pass on the virus to others and you won’t catch it again.

Hepatitis B

How do you get it?
By getting an infected person’s blood or cum into your bloodstream through unprotected anal or oral sex, or by sharing infected needles and other injecting equipment (such as those for tattooing and/or piercing). Unlike Hepatitis A, you can’t get it through dirty plates or glasses.

How do I avoid it?
By getting vaccinated against it! Short of that, by using a condom for anal sex and possibly for oral sex with an infected person, and by not getting an infected person’s cum in your mouth.

Symptoms?
The same as for Hepatitis A, but they take up to six months to appear. Again, they may not show up at all. Unlike Hepatitis A, some people with Hep B become chronically infected. Most chronic Hepatitis B carriers don’t have any symptoms, but they have an increased risk of developing cirrhosis of the liver, which can be fatal.

Testing and treatment
Your health care provider will test for Hepatitis B by drawing a blood sample. Treatment for it is not given for most self-limited infections (when symptoms last for only a few months). So all you can do is rest and eat well. Alpha-Interferon injections are the standard treatment for chronic Hepatitis B, though new drugs, like limivudine, adefovir, and Emtricitabine are sometimes used as well.

HIV connection
Hepatitis B is passed the same way as HIV, but much more easily. If you contract it, you may also be putting yourself at risk for HIV infection and might want to consider testing for that as well. If you have HIV, you should consider the Hepatitis B vaccine. Though less effective than in HIV-negative people, the vaccine still works for most people.

What else should you know?
Approximately 5% of adults who acquire Hepatitis B become chronic carriers; the majority of them show no symptoms but remain infectious and at-risk for potentially deadly liver cancer and cirrhosis of the liver. If you are a chronic Hepatitis B carrier, it is important to have your liver checked regularly and avoid exposing others to your blood.

Hepatitis C

How do you get it?
Hepatitis C has symptoms and diagnosis similar to those of Hepatitis B. Rates of chronic Hepatitis C are much higher, however, with 60-85% of those with Hepatitis C becoming chronic carriers, and 5-20% develop cirrhosis of the liver. Hepatitis C is primarily transmitted through infected blood or shared needles; the role of sexual transmission in Hepatitis C is controversial. Basically, it is possible to pass it through unprotected anal or vaginal sex. An estimated 3.9 million Americans are infected. Hepatitis C is the most common cause of liver transplants.

How do you avoid it?
Sexually, by observing the same general rules of avoidance with infected people as those for Hepatitis B or HIV. Otherwise, do not inject drugs or use clean needles or other injecting equipment if you do.

Symptoms?
The same for Hepatitis A and B; they take between two weeks and six months to show up. Many Hepatitis C patients never have symptoms. Chronic Hepatitis C infection is associated with cirrhosis of the liver, which increases the risk of liver cancer.

Testing and treatment
Your health care provider draws a blood sample to determine if you are positive for Hepatitis C and if so there is follow up with more complex testing that reveals the strains and viral load of Hepatitis C that can help with treatment issues. The therapy for chronic Hepatitis C has evolved steadily since alpha interferon was first approved for use in this disease more than 10 years ago. At the present time, the optimal regimen appears to be a 24 or 48-week course of the combination of pegylated alpha interferon and ribavirin. Treatment is successful in about 50% of HIV-negative patients, but varies depending on viral type. Only 15-30% of HIV-positive patients respond to treatment.

HIV connection
Like with Hepatitis B, if you contract Hepatitis C you’re also putting yourself at risk for HIV transmission. For the HIV-positive people with Hepatitis C the rate of chronic infections is higher than for people without HIV.

What else should you know?
There is no vaccine for Hepatitis C. Most people with Hep C will carry the virus in their blood for the rest of their life and can pass it on to others. As with Hep B, Hepatitis C can also lead to liver cirrhosis or cancer.

The Hepatitis Education Project (HEP) offers free Hepatitis C testing at their offices, located in The Maritime Building at 911 Western Ave. #302 (between Marion and Madison). Currently, testing is by appointment only. Please call (206) 732-0311 or (800) 218-6932 to set up an appointment. Or e-mail hepinfo@hepeducation.org.

There are also other strains of Hepatitis – D through H, and counting – that seem to have similar symptoms.

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