Hepatitis

What is hepatitis? The word hepatitis is derived from the Greek words hepar and itis. Hepar signifies the liver in Greek and itis signifies inflammation or injury. So from the above translation and the meaning, we can infer that Hepatitis is a disease or condition that affects the liver. The liver is the organ that is targeted by the hepatitis virus or a group of hepatitis viruses and this attack might cause permanent damage to the liver. The liver being an organ, which can repair itself to an extent, the strength of the hepatitis infection can determine the extent of damage to the liver and its subsequent recovery.

There are two types of hepatitis infection that can be classified by the duration and strength of the attack. Usually hepatitis infection that last more than 6 months in duration is termed as chronic infection and lesser than six months as acute infection. What are the causes behind a hepatitis infection? Hepatitis infection can be caused due to a myriad of reasons. Viral infections, excessive usage and consumption of alcohol and drugs, toxins, ischemia, pregnancy, auto immune conditions or Wilsons disease are the major causes of hepatitis.  Although hepatitis clearly shows outward indications of infection in the body by way of excessive bleeding, weight loss, fever, indigestion, loss of appetite and skin eruptions, there are chances that some forms of hepatitis infections can remain hidden and dormant in the body for a long period of time making this disease a potentially dangerous condition to detect and treat early. However, vaccinations against hepatitis have proved to be useful in countering this serious health threat.