Yellow eyes, yellow urine & nausea? It's hepatitis.

Yellow eyes, yellow urine & nausea? It's hepatitis.

After eating out or drinking water from an unclean sourse, many of my patients come to me complaininng of nausea, vomiting, wekness and feverishness. Then they notice the yellow eyes, and yellow skin: what is called "jaundice" in medical language. It tells me, they have viral hepatitis.

Two viruses that spread through unclean food & water, can cause hepatitis: Hepatitis A & Hepatitis E. Both of these are very small delicate viruses that can be killed by just boiling the water and cooking the food properly.

Symptoms of hepatitis include nausea, vomiting, feverishness and weakness. One may feel like sleeping all day and a lack of hunger. Smallest of food items will cause bloating, burping or vomiting. Nausea will be troublesome. Do not worry. These symptoms are reversible.

Most patients are worried about the yellow eyes and the yellow skin: it also goes away, but it takes the longest. It is perfectly reversible, and no food restrictions or home remedies will correct it. The liver will take time to recover, and it may vary from a few days to a couple of months.

In not more than 1% of cases, the liver damage is dangerous: the same virus may lead to liver failure. This most commonly happens in pregnant females. Patients have deep yellow eyes, they develop leg swelling, and sometimes bleeding from the stools. Some may have blood in vomit. These are alarm signs of liver failure. It requires admission to ICU. A very few may also require liver transplantation.

But the good news is that, in 99% of the adults, the hepatitis is curable with simple meds. See your gastroenterologist. Eat simple, fresh, home-cooked foods. Avoid raw, uncooked or contaminated foods. Take a few pills, and do thes tests advised by your consultant. Don't worry, hepatitis A or E is a once-in-a-lifetime disease, and it does not come back.