Should You Go For Hepatitis B Testing?


Posted September 21, 2012 by lolababe

While testing for STDs, people generally opt for Hepatitis B testing and Hepatitis C testing because these are relatively common diseases.

 
While testing for STDs, people generally opt for Hepatitis B testing and Hepatitis C testing because these are relatively common diseases. Both Hepatitis B and C are infections that can spread sexually or by means of sharing supplies like toothbrushes, razors and needles. Hepatitis causes the liver to become inflamed. A lot of people acquire this disease without knowing the source of infection. It can also happen that a baby gets infected with Hepatitis at birth because it was passed on to him/her through his/her mother and owing to lack of symptoms people can have it for years without realizing.

The only way to accurately determine the presence of the virus causing Hepatitis in one’s body is to go for Hepatitis B testing and also Hepatitis C testing. Both Hepatitis B and C can give rise to serious liver problem like liver failure, liver cancer and cirrhosis to name a few. Out of the two, Hepatitis B is more like a short term infection because it can improve on its own thus causing the patient to recuperate. This is true only in case of new infection and not acute Hepatitis B infection. On the other hand, Hepatitis C is a long term infection which may be incurable, even with treatment.

Procedure for Hepatitis B testing is the same as the procedure for Hepatitis C testing. First of all, a tiny amount of blood is drawn from the arm of the test subject. The blood sample is then sent to the laboratory for detecting presence of Hepatitis antibodies. The presence of such antibodies only mean that one has been exposed to the infection and it may not imply that one has an active infection of Hepatitis B or C. In case there is presence of Hepatitis antibodies then one would be encouraged to go for a second round of blood test which would prove to be more conclusive,

During the second round of Hepatitis B testing or Hepatitis C testing, the doctor aims at detecting the type of virus and also at finding the genetic make-up of the virus. Also, the primary aim is to determine whether the individual in question has an active infection of Hepatitis or not. There are many advantages associated with going for Hepatitis B or C testing. The first and foremost advantage here is that getting tested leads to timely treatment which can prevent long term infection from taking place. In case the test result is positive then one can take necessary steps.

These steps could be something like trying to identify the source of the Hepatitis infection and ensuring that he/she gets tested as well. Also, one can advise people whom one might have infected to go for Hepatitis B testing or Hepatitis C testing. Taking these steps would ensure that you not only aim at becoming healthy again but also keep the infection from spreading to others in the process. In case your test results come out as negative then you could go for a vaccine in order to ensure that one doesn’t get infected with Hepatitis B. Unfortunately, there isn’t any vaccine for preventing Hepatitis C.

There is a risk of getting tested for Hepatitis as well. In case the results of Hepatitis B testing shows that one has chronic or long-term Hepatitis B then one has to go through treatment. There are lots of serious side effects like depression, thyroid problem, constant tiredness, nausea and fever associated with this kind of treatment. In case one’s Hepatitis C testing result comes out as positive then one has to face the tough decision of going for treatment which brings the same side effects. At times the treatment for Hepatitis C may not be effective but this should not act as a deterrent.
One of the surest ways of checking for the presence of hepatitis in the body would be to opt for Hepatitis B testing http://www.newerastdtesting.com/hepatitis-b-test.html in any of the testing centers. Amongst the two most well known forms it is the results of Hepatitis C testing http://www.newerastdtesting.com/hepatitis-c-test.html which are more dreaded owing to the incurable nature of the disease.
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Issued By gail
Country United Kingdom
Categories Health
Last Updated September 21, 2012