Q: My son aged nine-and-a-half years is suffering from jaundice, detected on last week. Weight – 27 kgs. The child also has a history of frequent colds. I would like to know the following: a) What diet restrictions are required for this disease? Should consumption of salt and oils be restricted? b) What do high S.G.O.T. and S.G.P.T. levels mean? c) Can milk and curd be given? d) What is the recovery period of this disease? Can the child go to school (resume normal activities) during the course of treatment? e) The child also complains of body itching. Is this related to the disease and what can be done to prevent it? Please help.

A:1. Diet can be as tolerated - there is no restrictions on oils or salt provided your son tolerates them. He is likely to feel more hungry during the morning and less so later in the day initially. 2. These levels reflect damage to the liver cells. These levels decrease gradually in acute hepatitis. 3. Again, provided they are tolerated there should be no problem with this. 4. Your son very likely has hepatitis A, or Hepatitis E. I do not see that these tests have been done. Recovery takes about 2 weeks with this condition in young patients such as your son. He should start school only when he feels well enough to do so. He is likely to be infectious to other children at this time and this is one more reason he should not go to school right away. 5. Itching is common with Hepatitis A, and will go away with recovery. I must emphasize that the cause of jaundice is MOST LIKELY a virus, but based on the limited information available I cannot be absolutely sure.