Nikki Sommer, a nurse with the Key West Surgical Group, joined Good Morning Keys on Keys Talk 96.9/102.5FM this morning for Medical Matters.
Hepatitis B is a silent liver infection that can be prevented.
Sommer said, “Hepatitis B means it’s inflammation of the liver. It’s a virus of the liver. The initials are HBV, which can be very confusing, because we have HIV, and then we have a disease called haemophilensis influenza, which can also be HIV. So this is HBV. There’s treatment for hepatitis B, but if it goes untreated, it can lead to cirrhosis or liver cancer. More than 250 million people worldwide live with chronic hepatitis B. Sometimes you don’t you’re infected because it is silent. It’s a silent virus. How it spreads and how long it survives, this is the important key features that you need to understand about hepatitis B, so it is spread through blood and certain body fluids, not through casual contact or not like hugging, kissing or sharing food. It can occur during sexual contact with an infected person, sharing needles or syringes. You think nobody does that anymore, but when you’re into drugs and IV drug abuse, a lot of times that falls by the wayside. So sharing needles and syringes, big no, no. Accidental needle sticks in health care settings. I’ve had these several times over the years. It’s something that you try your best to avoid, but accidents happen. From a mother to baby during childbirth. So if there is a mother that is infected with hepatitis B, she can spread it to the baby during childbirth. Sharing razors, toothbrushes, nail clippers or other personal items that may have blood on that item you can contract hepatitis B. One of the biggest things that parents don’t understand, and I know this isn’t a vaccination debate. But the reason why Hepatitis B is recommended very early on in children, for these reasons, is because Hepatitis B can be transmitted through bites. And toddlers bite, children bite each other. If you’ve had a kid in daycare or on the playground, they go through a phase where they bite. So if a child that has hepatitis B bites another unvaccinated child, that child can contract Hepatitis B. Also putting contaminated objects in your mouth. I’m just going to tell this really crazy story. Thirty years ago, when I started in healthcare and I was in college, I worked briefly, for this doctor. He did kind of like internal medicine. He was like a walk in and a mother, now, this is in the 90s when HIV, we really didn’t know how it was transmitted, and there was no treatment for it, besides hepatitis B and hepatitis C, while the mother was sitting on the bed getting her vital signs taken, her toddler was walking around the room. In the room was a very big sharps container. They have large ones that are on the floor because they did a lot of injections. This child stuck his hand in a biohazard box that was full of needles. I mean, nothing happened, thank God. But the fright and the scream that came from the mother and the terror, because at that time, there were so many things on the news about HIV, not even hepatitis B, and how to get it. He had multiple fingers, his hand had multiple little pin pricks on it from the needles that were in the bucket. So you want to talk about accidents, and freak occurrences. The child was okay, thank God, but these are things to keep in mind.”
Hepatitis B can survive outside the body for up to seven days.
Sommer said, “That is what people don’t realize, is that the virus can live. If you cut yourself, and you brush up against the counter and you don’t realize it, and you have a hepatitis B, the virus is alive for seven days on that dried blood on that surface.”
What are the symptoms of Hepatitis B?
Sommer said, “Hepatitis B, like we said, is silent, and some people don’t have symptoms at first. They can include fatigue or weakness, nausea or poor appetite, pain under the right ribs, where the liver sits, dark urine or pale stools, yellowing of the skin or eyes, which is known as jaundice. So there really is no, like, oh, I have cold symptoms or I have a fever. It’s kind of things that occur over time, and all those things you can think it’s fatigue or weakness. I’m just not getting enough sleep, nausea or poor appetite, I’m not eating well, or if you have acid reflux, there’s a lot of other things that you might not consider Hepatitis B as being a concern.”
Testing is important.
Sommer said, “A simple blood test can tell whether you have hepatitis B now, had it before, or are protected through vaccination. So when they do the blood work, the test looks for specific markers like the Hepatitis B surface antigen and protective antibodies. Healthcare workers like myself, I got vaccinated when I was a respiratory therapist, so when I applied for school, and I got accepted, I had to get the vaccine. They weren’t giving them, I think at that time to newborns, it was something that I had to get as a teenager going into college, because I was now at high risk right for needle stick, and which I’ve had an occasional few throughout the years. So people with multiple sexual partners, it is important to be tested routinely. Anyone who had IV drug use in the past, who has shared needles, or anybody who received blood transfusions before 1992, those are people that should be tested regularly.”
Prevention is the best protection.
Sommer said, “The best way to prevent Hepatitis B is vaccination. The hepatitis B vaccine is safe, effective, and it protects life, and whether you choose to vaccinate your child, very young, at some point in their life, they should be vaccinated against it, as they approach adult life, things can happen. Practice safe sex, use condoms and know your partner status, just like HIV and Hepatitis C, you need to know your partner’s status. You need to ask those uncomfortable questions. There’s a lot of people that don’t stay with one partner for very long, and you don’t know what anybody’s past sexual history is. So it’s important to discuss that and use condoms until you know the history. Don’t share personal items like razors, toothbrushes or nail tools. Like we said, the virus can live on surfaces for up to seven days. Clean up any blood spills with bleach, bleach based disinfectant. Again, the virus can last for seven days. Bleach can kill the virus. So if you see the blood, clean it immediately. Then teach children don’t share toothbrushes, don’t share pacifiers or bite others. But sometimes that toddler, you have no idea what they’re thinking when they bite another child. It just seems to be something that happens in that early toddler daycare stage. Living with hepatitis B, good medical care and healthy habits. People can live with hepatitis B. They can live long, full lives. There are treatments, there are medications they can take to suppress the virus, things you could do to avoid problems with hepatitis B, avoiding alcohol, eating a balanced diet, staying active, and just make sure you get your liver checked regularly. If you have chronic hepatitis B, I’m sure your provider will order liver enzymes and check your viral levels at least yearly, if not more often, if there seems to be a change, like a rise in your numbers.”
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