How can Hepatitis B infection be managed?
Consultant Gastro-enterologist Physician,
Leigh Infirmary, England
Q: I am a 24 years old male suffering from hepatitis B for the last two years. How can it be treated? Do I need to take medicines to treat hepatitis B?
A:I note that your blood test is positive for Hepatitis B infection and that you suffered from Jaundice two years ago and that you are well at present, except for positive blood test. I would surmise from this that you had an attack of infection by the virus Hepatitis B which affects the liver and causes inflammation to the liver cells and the damage depends on the severity of the infection.
In most cases it is mild but can be severe and lead to chronic continued inflammation of the liver cells. After having said this a good proportion of people who get infected, carry a bit of the virus particle in their blood for varying periods, some of them for years. They thus carry the virus particle and are known as carriers. The carriers are very infective to the others and this would need treatment with anti-viral drugs such as Interferon and/or other agents to get rid of the virus and free of the infective carrier state. This probably explains your letter and to explain more I need far more details about your liver functions. I suggest you consult a liver specialist as you need to have further investigations.