Hepatitis B and C Profile Test

Private MD Lab Services offers the following test to aid in the diagnosis of hepatitis B and C:

Hepatitis B and C Profile Test $128.88	Add To Cart
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What is hepatitis B?

Hepatitis B is a viral infection of the liver. The liver becomes inflamed and tender. It may also become swollen. Areas of liver tissue may be destroyed by the inflammation. Hepatitis B is a serious, sometimes severe and even fatal type of hepatitis.

How does it occur?

Hepatitis B is caused by the hepatitis B virus. You get hepatitis B by direct contact with the blood or body fluids of an infected person. For example, you can get it from:

Having unprotected sex with someone infected with hepatitis B
Sharing needles for drug injection with an infected person
Your mother if she had hepatitis B at the time she gave birth to you
Getting a body part pierced or a permanent tattoo with nonsterile equipment.

The disease can be spread by people who do not have any symptoms and may not know they carry the virus. These people are called asymptomatic carriers.

What are the symptoms?

You may not have any symptoms of hepatitis until several weeks or months after you are infected with the virus. Or you may never have any obvious symptoms.

If you have symptoms, the illness usually begins with these flulike symptoms:

Loss of appetite
Fever
General aching
Tiredness.

Other early symptoms may include:

Itching, sometimes with hives
Painful joints
Loss of taste for cigarettes if you are a smoker

After several days you may also have these symptoms:

Nausea and vomiting
Foul breath and bitter taste in the mouth
Dark brown urine
Yellowish skin and eyes (jaundice)
Pain just below the ribs on your right side, especially if you press on that part of your abdomen
Bowel movements that are whitish or light yellow and may be looser than normal.

Some people develop a chronic form of the disease without having any obvious symptoms, even though damage to the liver may be occurring. The symptoms of chronic hepatitis may be persistent fatigue, weakness, and loss of appetite, as well as some of the other symptoms listed above.

How is it diagnosed?

Your health care provider will ask about your medical history and symptoms. Especially important is your history of hepatitis risk factors such as IV drug abuse.

Your provider will examine your skin and eyes for signs of hepatitis. Your provider will check your abdomen to see if the liver is enlarged or tender.

You will have blood tests. If blood tests show that your liver is not working normally, your provider will do tests to see if you are infected with the hepatitis B virus.

If your provider thinks you may have chronic hepatitis or serious liver damage, or if the diagnosis is uncertain, you may have a liver biopsy. A biopsy is a procedure in which a needle is used to remove a small amount of tissue. This is done through the skin over the liver after the area is numbed with an anesthetic. The sample of tissue is sent to a lab for tests to check for damage to your liver.

How is it treated?

The usual treatment is rest. In addition, your health care provider will recommend that you avoid alcohol for at least 6 months. Usually it is not necessary to stay at the hospital. If you become severely dehydrated from nausea and vomiting, you may need to go to the hospital to receive intravenous (IV) fluids.

If you develop chronic hepatitis B, you may need treatment with medicines. The types of drugs used are interferon and other antiviral drugs.

How long do the effects last?

The symptoms generally last several weeks and are usually followed by a slow but complete recovery. It may take 6 months before tests of your liver show that it is working normally again.

Some people who have hepatitis B develop the chronic form of the disease. This means the virus continues to affect their liver for several months. The continued inflammation can damage the liver, resulting in cirrhosis (scarring of the liver) and possible liver failure. Your health care provider may check your blood every few months for signs of chronic liver disease.

Infection with the hepatitis B virus increases your risk for liver cancer.

How can I take care of myself?

Follow your health care provider's instructions for taking medicine to relieve your symptoms. When you have hepatitis, you need to avoid taking certain medicines (for example, acetaminophen). Ask your provider which medicines you can safely take for your symptoms (such as itching and nausea).
Follow your provider's advice for how much rest you need and when you can return to your normal activities, including work or school. As your symptoms improve, you may gradually increase your level of activity. It is best to avoid too much physical exertion until your provider tells you it is OK.
Eat small, high-protein, high-calorie meals, even when you feel nauseated. Sipping soft drinks or juices and sucking on hard candy may help you feel less nauseated.
Do not drink alcohol unless your provider says it is safe.

What can be done to help prevent the spread of hepatitis B?

Hepatitis B is highly contagious for 2 to 6 weeks before symptoms appear. It continues to be contagious for some time after you start having symptoms. After you have been diagnosed, your health care provider will want to see you for a follow-up. Your provider may test your blood to see if you are still contagious. Some people who get hepatitis B become chronic carriers of the virus. A blood test can determine whether you are a chronic carrier.

To avoid spreading the disease to others:

Always wash your hands thoroughly with soap and very warm water, especially after you use the restroom and before you eat or prepare food. Bathe often.
Do not allow your body fluids, including saliva, to contact others.
Do not share food or drink with others.
Clean any blood stains with a disinfectant.
Do not share needles, toothbrushes, or razor blades with others.
Avoid sexual contact with others until your provider tells you that you are no longer contagious.
Do not donate blood

Three shots of a hepatitis B vaccine can prevent infection with the hepatitis B virus. The second shot is given 1 month after the first shot. The third shot is given 6 months after the first shot.

People in the following categories have a high risk of getting hepatitis B and should get shots of the hepatitis B vaccine:

Health care workers
Public safety workers who work with drug abusers
Volunteers and employees at homeless shelters
Sexual partners of people who carry the virus
Male homosexual

In addition, the American Academy of Pediatrics and the American Academy of Family Physicians now recommend that all children get hepatitis B shots. As the cost of the shots decreases, more people, especially teenagers and young adults, are also being encouraged to get the shot to prevent sexually transmitted hepatitis B. Ask your health care provider if you should be immunized against hepatitis B.

What is hepatitis C?

Hepatitis C is a viral infection of the liver. The liver becomes inflamed.

How does it occur?

Hepatitis C is caused by the hepatitis C virus. The virus is spread mainly through contact with infected blood. Sometimes it is spread through sexual contact. You can get it from:

Receiving infected blood, blood products, or transplanted organs
Long-term kidney dialysis if you unknowingly shared supplies or equipment that had someone else's blood on them
Contact with infected blood on the job if you are a health care worker, especially from accidental needlesticks
Your mother if she had hepatitis C at the time she gave birth to you
Intravenous (IV) drug abuse
Sharing nasal cocaine equipment with other people
Sharing razors or toothbrushes with an infected person
Getting a permanent tattoo with unsterile equipment
Having unprotected sex with someone infected with hepatitis C.

Before 1990 one of the most common ways to get hepatitis C was blood transfusion. However, now blood donors are screened for the virus.

The disease can be spread by people who do not have any symptoms and may not know they carry the virus. These people are called asymptomatic carriers.

What are the symptoms?

You may not have any symptoms of hepatitis until several weeks or months after you are infected with the virus. Or you may never have any obvious symptoms.

If you are one of the few people who have symptoms, the illness usually begins with these flulike symptoms:

Loss of appetite
Fever
General aching
Tiredness.

Other early symptoms may include:

Itching with or without hives
Painful joints
A loss of taste for cigarettes if you are a smoker.

Some people develop a chronic form of the disease without ever having had any obvious symptoms. Liver damage can occur slowly without symptoms in the early stages. When symptoms of chronic hepatitis C do begin, they are often persistent fatigue, weakness, and loss of appetite, as well as some of the other symptoms listed above.

How is it diagnosed?

Your health care provider will ask about your medical history and symptoms. Especially important is your history of hepatitis risk factors such as IV drug abuse.

Your health care provider will examine your skin and eyes for signs of hepatitis. Your provider will check your abdomen to see if the liver is enlarged or tender. You may have blood tests to see if your liver is inflamed and if you are infected with the hepatitis C virus.

If your health care provider thinks you may have chronic hepatitis or serious liver damage, or if the diagnosis is uncertain, you may have a liver biopsy. A biopsy is a procedure in which a needle is used to remove a small amount of tissue. This is done through the skin over the liver after the area is numbed with an anesthetic. The sample of tissue is sent to a lab for tests to check for damage to your liver.

How is it treated?

The usual treatment is rest and a healthy diet. In addition, your health care provider will recommend that you avoid alcohol for at least 6 months. Usually it is not necessary to stay at the hospital.

You may be given interferon, a drug that boosts your immune system, or other antiviral drugs.

Doctors are continuing to search for the best ways to treat hepatitis C. As new information becomes available, treatments change. You should discuss possible new treatments with your health care provider.

How long will the effects last?

Symptoms of first infection, when they occur, may last 1 to 6 weeks and then they usually go away completely.

Some people who have hepatitis C develop the chronic form of the disease. This means the virus continues to affect their liver for several months or years. The continued inflammation can damage the liver, resulting in cirrhosis (scarring of the liver) and possible liver failure. Your health care provider may check your blood every few months for signs of chronic liver disease.

Infection with the hepatitis C virus increases your risk for liver cancer.

How can I take care of myself?

Follow your health care provider's instructions for taking medicine to relieve your symptoms. When the hepatitis C virus is active, you need to avoid taking certain medicines (for example, acetaminophen). Ask your health care provider which medicines you can safely take for your symptoms (such as itching and nausea).
Follow your health care provider's advice for how much rest you need and when you can return to your normal activities, including work or school. As your symptoms improve, you may gradually increase your level of activity. It is best to avoid too much physical exertion until your health care provider tells you it's OK.
Eat small, high-protein, high-calorie meals, even when you feel nauseated. Sipping soft drinks or juices, and sucking on hard candy may help you feel less nauseated.
Do not drink alcohol unless your health care provider says it is safe.
Ask your health care provider if you need shots to prevent hepatitis A and hepatitis B.
Contact your health care provider if:

Your appetite continues to decrease.
You have worsening fatigue.
You have vomiting, diarrhea, or abdominal pain.
You develop jaundice.
You have a new rash.

What can be done to help prevent the spread of hepatitis C?

There are no shots that protect against hepatitis C. If you have hepatitis C, you can help prevent its spread by following these guidelines:

Do not let others come in contact with your blood; for example, when you have a bloody nose or a cut.
Do not share razor blades or toothbrushes with others.
Do not share needles or other drug equipment with others.
Practice safe sex.
Do not donate blood.

Hepatitis B and C Profile Test $128.88	Add To Cart
View tests included