HEPATITIS A - MEDICINES TO TREAT HEPATITIS A

Causes

Hepatitis A is a disease caused by a particular type of RNA virus belonging to the Picornavirus family, whose name is, in fact, the apatitis A virus (or HAV).
The transmission of the hepatitis A virus occurs through the fecal-oral route. The main mechanisms by which the infection can occur are the consumption of contaminated drinks or food, close contact with infected people and sexual intercourse of a non-proctogenital or ano-lingual nature. Furthermore, hepatitis A is also widespread among drug addicts who inject drugs by sharing the syringe with other individuals who may already be affected by the virus.
Furthermore, it should be remembered that poor sanitation conditions are one of the main factors able to favor the spread of the virus.

Symptoms

The hepatitis A virus has an incubation period of 1-7 weeks after which the first symptoms may appear. Generally, hepatitis A patients experience tiredness, fatigue, fever, loss of appetite, general malaise, nausea, headache, muscle and / or abdominal pain, and jaundice.
However, symptoms may not appear in some people (this occurs mainly in children).
In patients with other liver diseases and in elderly patients, hepatitis A can cause mild to severe liver failure. In addition, hepatitis A can complicate into fulminant hepatitis, but fortunately this is a rather rare event.

Medicines

In reality, there are no real drugs for the treatment of hepatitis A and, in any case, in many cases they would not even be necessary. In fact, this pathology often manifests itself with mild symptoms and our immune system is able to defeat the virus alone without having to resort to the use of medicines.
Generally, patients who have contracted the hepatitis A virus are advised to stay at rest avoiding physical exertion of any kind, both sports and work. In addition, people with hepatitis A must take plenty of fluids and adopt a balanced diet so as not to further strain the liver already debilitated by the disease.
However, although there are no specific drugs for treating hepatitis A, there are treatments that are used to prevent the contraction of this virus.

The following are the classes of drugs most used in the therapy against Hepatitis A and some examples of pharmacological specialties; it is up to the doctor to choose the most suitable active ingredient and dosage for the patient, based on the severity of the disease, the state of health of the patient and his response to treatment:

Hepatitis A vaccine: the vaccine guarantees long-term immunization from the hepatitis A virus, generally for a period of 10-20 years. The vaccine is usually administered intramuscularly in two divided doses six months apart.
The use of the hepatitis A vaccine is especially recommended for people traveling to areas where HAV is widespread, for people requiring blood transfusions, for drug addicts and for medical and military personnel.
However, to provide adequate protection, the vaccine requires 2-4 weeks of time, so other methods may be preferable if faster immunization is required.

Gammaglobulins: treatment with gammaglobulins (antibodies) allows to obtain a passive immunization against the hepatitis A virus. Treatment with gamma globulins is preferable when rapid immunization against the virus is desired. On the other hand, the protection provided by these antibodies has a limited duration of only 3-6 months.
The administration of gammaglobulins - as well as to prevent the contraction of the virus in subjects who have never come into contact with HAV - can be done in healthy individuals who, on the other hand, have come into contact with the same virus to prevent or mitigate the disease, provided that the treatment is carried out within the first fourteen days from the infection.
For prophylactic purposes, gammaglobulins are also administered to cohabitants of patients with hepatitis A.