Reactive hepatitis in children - what is it? How dangerous is it? Is it worth it to be afraid? In fact, many people ask similar questions. And there is nothing wrong with that, as they say, forewarned means forearmed. Reactive hepatitis is a disease that affects the liver. The causes of infection may lie in intoxication, diseases of the digestive tract, severe infections and other possible disorders. Do not turn a blind eye to the worsening condition, pain in the right side and on the right side of the back, it is better to start treatment on time. But more about this later in the article.
Basic concept of reactive hepatitis
This disease is classified as a secondary type. Nonspecific reactive hepatitis, as a rule, gives way to drug-induced or alcoholic hepatitis, which can be classified as primary.
However, this classification doesn't make him any less dangerous. Hepatic tissue, reacting to various kinds of extrahepatic diseases, can be affected by reactive hepatitis. The latter is developingthrough the action of toxins spread throughout the body during long-term, chronic or severe illness.
More about the reasons
Often, the reasons why reactive hepatitis can develop lie in diseases of the gastrointestinal tract. Liver damage occurs if the patient suffers from pancreatitis, gastritis, duodenal ulcer and gastric ulcer, gastroduodenitis, colitis, or when malignant neoplasms appear in the digestive tract. In this case, hepatitis can develop once. With proper and timely treatment, the disease can be quickly eradicated.
However, there is also a permanent form of the disease. Chronic reactive hepatitis can appear due to diabetes mellitus, systemic lupus erythematosus, hemolytic anemia, polyarthritis nodosa, rheumatoid arthritis, thyrotoxicosis, and even ordinary rheumatism. It is worth noting that the chronic form of the disease is much more difficult and more difficult to treat, so in any case, you should not delay contacting a doctor.
Reactive hepatitis in children
If a child often has allergies or has a chronic disease in the form of bronchial asthma, you should be wary of reactive hepatitis. You should carefully monitor the condition of your child, because everything can start with a simple malaise and fatigue, as well as with a little tearfulness, which later often develops into aggression. Hepatitis in children is often accompanied by constipation or diarrhea -it is worth paying special attention to these signs and not delaying the diagnosis of the disease.
Symptoms
The symptoms of the disease are very specific. There are two subcategories of the disease - portal and lobular. This classification is used for different localization of inflammatory and dystrophic processes. Reactive hepatitis is almost always accompanied by small foci of necrosis located in different parts of the liver lobes. But since these symptoms are internal and indistinguishable, it is worth paying attention to the external condition of the patient. Often the disease begins and proceeds with little or no signs of infection.
The most common symptoms of reactive hepatitis are weakness, fatigue, malaise and headaches. In addition, heaviness and pain in the hypochondrium on the right side, loss of appetite and nausea can cause anxiety. It is possible that reactive hepatitis will be accompanied by yellowness of the skin, but only in rare cases. The easiest way to identify the disease is with the help of tests: an increased content of liver enzymes in the blood, sometimes bilirubin, will help to give an accurate answer. On examination, the specialist can easily determine that the liver is moderately enlarged. This will push him to a more thorough examination of the organ and search for the causes of the ailment.
Diagnosis of disease
An informed doctor knows for sure that one can speak of reactive hepatitis only after other causes of the disease have been excluded. The very first step is a blood test.for viruses and infections. In addition, it is necessary to conduct research by the instrumental method. In some cases, there is a study of the histology of liver tissue taken by biopsy.
Additionally, the patient is asked about the use of drugs, alcohol and various medications. If necessary, you can ask about working conditions in order to clarify the possibility of infection at work. If autoimmune hepatitis is suspected, an additional immunological blood test is performed.
Reactive hepatitis treatment
The most important thing in the eradication of the disease is the elimination of the infection that caused it. The liver is a unique organ that has an excellent regenerative function, so after the cause of the disease has been eliminated, the organ can recover itself. A patient with reactive hepatitis should stop enduring heavy loads, both physical and moral. It is worth paying attention to nutrition, eliminating all harmful foods from the diet. If we talk about the drug side, then detoxification agents, enterosorbents, hepatoprotectors and vitamins are prescribed. In the presence of more severe forms of the disease, intravenous solutions are administered for more effective and faster detoxification.
Note that reactive hepatitis does not always cause significant harm to the he alth of the patient. The success of the treatment lies in the timely contact with the clinic and a clearfulfillment of all doctor's orders. Do not forget about the daily routine and proper nutrition. All these measures together will give a positive result and help to eliminate the disease in the shortest possible time. In the presence of reactive hepatitis against the background of another chronic disease, the latter should be monitored with extreme caution in order to prevent liver damage from developing.
