WORLD HEPATITIS DAY

July 28th was the special day set aside as Hepatitis Day by World Health Organisation , i don't want to call it a celebration cause its not even though some media call it, but its a day of enlightenment, a day set aside for us to know the effects of such a gory virus, chilling amongst us and its like we don't care much about it.

Anyways people, people are getting infected ignorantly and we need to pass the message. HEPATITIS B KILLS and it spreads faster an much easier than the HIV virus ACT.

WHAT IT DENIES YOU

Before you go on reading please take note that this post contains graphic pictures that maybe too sensitive or gory for some to view. Please you are advised.

AN INFECTED LIVER

Living with an acute hepatitis B infection doesn’t really mean the end of the world, in fact it isn’t as difficult as it may seem at times, aside from being very careful in other not infect loved ones and friends, the hardest thing in my opinion is staying away from proteinous meals. It was rather a very difficult exercise for me but the will to live spurred me on and for a period of almost two years I wasn’t eating beef, beans, eggs, of cause I occasionally snuck eating beef and my lovely beans but I totally cut the consumption of oils, whether palm, groundnut, olive, sun flower or soya oil. It was a trying period, as I became a very anti social person, I avoided going out with friends that wouldn’t understand why I would be at a restaurant or club and just drink water, loads and loads of water. I also had to rest a lot so it wasn’t even permissible for me to dance, sex, wasn’t allowed as well but truth be told that was hard to live by so I occasionally stole one or two shows. But the good news is I kept to my diet and rested a lot and devised a drink that helped a lot. I constantly had a 1.5 litre bottle of glucose mixed in water with me for at least every one hour. That gradually helped clear my eyes and the colour of my urine, I also kept my visit to the doctor regularly and my organs were always checked for abnormalities, a LFT (Liver function test was done anytime I complained of funny feelings. Note that I haven’t mentioned taking any medications, which is because I didn’t take any, all I took was traditionally prepared multi vitamins which I showed my doctor and he approved of them.

A Patient with Chronic HBV

My experience is that of a patient that survived living with HBV, in subsequent posts we will share stories of other survivors and also those that live with Chronic HBV. In the mean time take a look at the pictures below and I am sure it will ginger you into action. The pictures are courtesy of some online medical sites and please some of you may find them too gory to look at. 

Please note that this site is only a tool for awareness. HBV is dangerous act now.

HEPATITIS B WHAT YOU NEED TO KNOW

Hepatitis B is generally the inflammation of the liver due to irritation or infection of the liver by the HBV. Before i proceed i would like to state here that whatever is written on this page is as a result of my experience, i dont have any medical degree or qualification aside from sitting in several hospital wards and staring down the eyes of different phyisicians fearing the worse.

Hepatitis B in layman terms ravages your liver for a while but the Liver is one tough cookie so it fights back and eventually conquers the virus. Usually an infected patient would recover from the virus within six weeks but there are cases that have led to fatalities. Fatalities which is caused by Liver cirrhosis and Cancer of the Liver, this happens when the disease is in its chronic stages, but like already mentioned, the cases resulting to cirrhosis are very few.

HOW DO YOU GET INFECTED

Contracting the virus is actually the scariest part of the infection in my opinion because innocent gestures just like tasting meals using culteries already used by an infected person can get you infected as well. We are usually very open to all sorts of hazards in Nigeria due to our inept government or in most cases our stupidity and refusal to do things right. I remember my wife telling me how her brother was in a local restaurant to eat and saw  another customer dropping a used toothpick back into its container. That single stupid act can spread the virus to about a hundred people in one day, if you consider the fact that another customer will unfortunately use that toothpick. He will use the toilet, deposit the virus, someone else will rush in get infected in the toilet, spread it by using the cutlery or cups in the restaurant. The virus will continue their spread in the office, at home, at church, the mosque etc.

The virus resides in every fluid in the human body and can survive outside of the body as well for at least 7days (WHO), this is what makes it a trickier and more dangerous virus than the HIV. It can be passed on with a light or passionate kiss, two sex partners sweating into each others pores, footballers and other contact sports athletes can pass it by sweat or as they do in football spitting and blowing mucus on the pitch.

In a country like Nigeria as the the restaurant example already states, we are at greater risks of contracting these viruses due to factors as inadequate public hygeine and the wide spread lack of it amongst our several tribes. Especially in commercial cities as Lagos, Kano and Port harcourt where a lot of citizens live their lives on the road. To state clearly, the under listed are the common ways you can contract HBV

Unprotected sex
Sharing needles
Having multiple sex partners
Tattoo parlours
The nail clipping mallam
Using infected toilets
Sharing cutleries
Sweating
Kissing
Using infected toilets
Living with an infected person.

While you ponder on this, don't sit and wonder, go and get tested, it could preserve your live.

ONCE CHANCE

Some years ago, I visited a friend who worked at Roding Hospital (Hope that's how its spelt), it was a few days before i was to take up an appointment in a different country. I had gone to see her before leaving. I got there and waited at the lobby, ten minutes later her slim frame walked up to the lobby, she rubbed her buttocks vehemently as she walked and i had to ask what was happening.'' I just got vaccinated", 'for what?' I asked. ''Hepatitis B vaccine, you should take it too, its just 500 naira''. 'Abeg, i no go get that kind thing abeg leave me'. Five months later i was almost dead from that same virus, went days without eating as i lost appetite even though i was starving. I woke up every morning throwing up fluids, my eyes were the brightest yellow i had ever seen, no one could look me in the eye, i was like a mutant, my skin was pale, my palms were yellow and my urine was of an indescribable colour. It was between brown and yellow (Dun some colour it), my stool too had changed colour and all i could think of was how long i had. Then I started to bleed and was a short time away from iminent death when i was rushed to the hospital.

That was four years ago and I am glad to be alive. Over the period of my convalescence i studied the virus and its spread. It was particularly pathetic to find out that nothing really is done to communicate how easily these virus can be contracted and spread. I decided i was going to do something about that, even though it has taken me four years to get to do this, I hope to help save lives and stop the spread of these deadly viruses.

The blog will feature victims of the virus who will share their experiences, physicians and up to date progress on what science is doing to save lives from these viruses, we will also focus on preventive measures, mode of transmission and how to live a normal live when you have been infected by the virus.

Keep reading and stay safe