Is liver inflammation contagious?

Hepatitis is a common liver disease. Everyone knows that hepatitis is contagious, but if you are vaccinated regularly, your body will have antibodies and you will generally not be infected. Moreover, the hepatitis virus in human saliva is very small compared to that in the blood. Therefore, you can rest assured that as long as you avoid contact through the three transmission routes, you will generally not be infected with hepatitis.

What are the ways to prevent chronic hepatitis?

1. Prevention of chronic hepatitis with vaccines

Hepatitis B can be prevented by injecting hepatitis B vaccine to produce hepatitis B surface antibodies. The higher the level of hepatitis B surface antibodies, the stronger the protection it provides to the human body. Before injecting the hepatitis B vaccine, you need to check liver function and five hepatitis B tests. Usually the hepatitis B virus is not transmitted through the respiratory and digestive tracts. Therefore, daily study, work or life contacts, such as working in the same office (including sharing computers and other office supplies), shaking hands, hugging, living in the same dormitory, eating in the same restaurant and sharing toilets, etc., which are contacts without blood exposure, generally will not transmit the hepatitis B virus. There is currently no effective vaccine to prevent hepatitis C.

2. Strict screening of blood donors

Strictly implement the "Blood Donation Law of the People's Republic of China" and promote voluntary blood donation. By testing serum HBsAg, anti-HCV, and alanine aminotransferase (ALT), blood donors are strictly screened to reduce blood-borne transmission.

3. Prevention of transdermal and mucosal transmission

Promote safe injection. Dental instruments, endoscopes and other medical instruments should be strictly disinfected. Medical staff should wear gloves when coming into contact with patients' blood and body fluids. Provide psychological counseling and safety education to intravenous drug users, and persuade them to quit drugs. Do not share razors and toothbrushes, etc. Barbering tools, piercing, tattooing and beauty tools should be strictly disinfected.

4. Prevention of sexually transmitted diseases

Those with a history of sexual promiscuity should be checked regularly and managed more strictly. It is recommended that HBV and HCV infected persons use condoms during sexual intercourse during the period of positive viral replication. Correct sex education should be given to young people.

5. Prevention of mother-to-child transmission

Pregnant women with positive HBV DNA should go to specialized medical institutions to implement mother-to-child transmission prevention, with a success rate of >95%; pregnant women with positive HCV RNA should avoid amniocentesis, shorten delivery time as much as possible, ensure the integrity of the placenta, and reduce the chance of newborns being exposed to maternal blood.

How to prevent icteric hepatitis

First of all, people should pay attention to diet and hygiene in daily life, which is the most important way to prevent icteric hepatitis. Good personal hygiene plays a decisive role in the spread of disease. In daily life, people should develop the good habit of washing hands before, after, and after going to the toilet, and should not eat unclean food. In addition, all utensils used by people must be disinfected in a timely manner to prevent the spread of germs.

Secondly, isolation measures should be taken for people who have been in contact with patients with icteric hepatitis to prevent more people from being harmed by icteric hepatitis. To prevent the gradual spread of icteric hepatitis, contacts must be isolated and observed until the incubation period is over.

Finally, people can be vaccinated to prevent the infection of icteric hepatitis. After contact with a hepatitis B patient, they should be promptly injected with a shot of hepatitis B high-efficiency immunoglobulin, and the first shot of hepatitis B vaccine 2-4 weeks later. The second-third shot of hepatitis B vaccine should be injected again at 1 month and 6 months. If they are in contact with a hepatitis A patient, they should be intramuscularly injected with immunoglobulin containing anti-hepatitis A antibodies within 2 weeks.

Patients with acute icteric hepatitis should also pay attention to their eating habits while receiving treatment: eat light food, avoid spicy, raw, cold and other irritating foods, eat liquid food, soft food, etc.; do not smoke or drink; exercise appropriately, avoid strenuous exercise, and combine work and rest.