Home Health Center Hepatitis B   Hepatitis B - Treatments

Treatment for Hepatitis B


The treatments for Hepatitis B depend on the nature of the infection. If you have in some way come in contact with the virus, seek medical attention immediately. You may be protected against infection with the help of hepatitis B immune globulin injection within the initial 24 hours after exposure.

In case of acute hepatitis B infection, treatment is usually not required since the symptoms last for a short period of time and subside by themselves. Your doctor may prescribe treatment to reduce the symptoms and may advise you to undergo certain follow-up blood tests to ensure that the virus is no longer present in your body.

In case of chronic hepatitis B infection, the following treatment may be recommended:

  • Medications: Antiviral medications help to fight the hepatitis B virus and prevent it from damaging the liver. There are many medications available and your doctor will prescribe the one that is most suitable for you.
  • Liver Transplant: In case of severe damage to the liver, a transplant may be the only remaining option. The damaged liver is removed and replaced with a healthy one.

Prognosis
Home Remedies
References
  1. Robert P. Perrillo, Robert G. Gish, Marion Peters, Emmet B. Keeffe, Alfredo Alberti, Maria Buti, W. Graham E. Cooksley, Michael W. Fried, Stephanos J. Hadziyannis, Yun–Fan Liaw, Nikolai V. Naoumov, Eugene R. Schiff, Chloe L. Thio, Naoky Tsai, Solko Schalm, Chronic Hepatitis B: A Critical Appraisal of Current Approaches to Therapy, Clinical Gastroenterology and Hepatology, Volume 4, Issue 2, February 2006, Pages 233-248, ISSN 1542-3565, 10.1016/S1542-3565(05)00983-3.
  2. Emmet B. Keeffe, Acute hepatitis A and B in patients with chronic liver disease: prevention through vaccination, The American Journal of Medicine, Volume 118, Issue 10, Supplement, October 2005, Pages 21-27, ISSN 0002-9343, 10.1016/j.amjmed.2005.07.013.
  3. Samer S. El-Kamary, Michelle D. Shardell, Mohamed Abdel-Hamid, Soheir Ismail, Mohamed El-Ateek, Mohamed Metwally, Nabiel Mikhail, Mohamed Hashem, Amr Mousa, Amr Aboul-Fotouh, Mohamed El-Kassas, Gamal Esmat, G. Thomas Strickland, A randomized controlled trial to assess the safety and efficacy of silymarin on symptoms, signs and biomarkers of acute hepatitis, Phytomedicine, Volume 16, Issue 5, May 2009, Pages 391-400, ISSN 0944-7113, 10.1016/j.phymed.2009.02.002.