Sunday 28 July is World Hepatitis Day. Hepatitis affects around 400 million people globally. Although hepatitis can be seen as an issue that is more prevalent in the developing world, hundreds of thousands of people are also affected by it in the UK. When older or vulnerable people living in residential care are diagnosed with hepatitis, extra care must be taken to help them treat it if possible, slow down its development and manage its symptoms.
What is hepatitis?
Hepatitis is a viral infection that affects the liver, causing inflammation and compromising how toxins are filtered out of the body. Hepatitis can be caused by infections and/or over consumption of alcohol. There are three main types – Hepatitis A, B and C, with D, E and F occurring only very rarely in the UK. Hepatitis can be acute (short-term) or chronic (longer lasting and causing serious liver damage over time).
Hepatitis A is an infection that can be passed on through contaminated food and drink, poor personal hygiene, close person-to-person contact and sexual contact with someone who is already infected. Unlike hepatitis B and C, A does not usually lead to chronic liver disease and can be treated with medication if caught in time.
Hepatitis B can have more serious long-term effects than hepatitis A if it is not treated quickly. It is a common carcinogen and leading cause of liver cancer in the UK. Hepatitis B is 100 times more infectious than HIV and is transmitted via the blood. Hepatitis C is also blood-borne and affects the liver, causing inflammation and scarring. There are six different types of hepatitis C, which all respond differently to treatment. Again, hepatitis C can cause lifelong debilitation and death if allowed to progress from acute to chronic.
What are some of the symptoms of hepatitis?
Symptoms can vary from person to person. However, some of the more common signs include pain and/or bloating in the belly area, dark urine and clay-coloured stools and nausea or vomiting. Sufferers can also feel higher levels of fatigue, itchiness, low-grade fever and weight loss. Another key symptom is the onset of jaundice, or yellowing in the eyes and skin. This is caused by the liver becoming compromised in its ability to remove toxins by the presence of a hepatitis infection.
Why can hepatitis cause problems in care homes?
Hepatitis A is contagious, meaning that it can be transmitted between people. Care homes normally have many residents living in close proximity to one another, which exacerbates the likelihood of infection being passed on. Sometimes, people do not realise they have been infected by hepatitis A until they have become contagious themselves and passed it on. This makes it far riskier in busy places such as a care home. The nature of personal or intimate care that some residents require can also make it harder to contain an outbreak.
While Hepatitis B and C are not passed on in quite the same way as A, they can still be transmitted via the blood, e.g. by sharing personal items like razors, coming into contact with infected needles or spilled blood and via sexual contact. Both can cause serious long-term symptoms for sufferers if they are allowed to progress from acute to chronic. This can cause problems for people in residential care who have co-existing medical conditions, or who already need to take several medications.
It is therefore vital to keep all care home residents’ medical records up to date and log what medications they are taking for hepatitis, as well as any other conditions or side effects. This is far easier to do via a digital care management system and eMAR function. The electronic nature does away with the need for manual paperwork and ensures a quicker, more accurate recording system. As hepatitis can develop quickly in some cases, being able to react to symptoms, treat those affected by it and update all records rapidly is key. Likewise, hygiene and caution when taking blood or dealing with injuries is of the utmost importance, with great care needed to avoid the risk of infection.
Care Vision can help care home managers keep on top of their inventories regarding PPE and other safety resources, know when to order more supplies and ensure that all staff are up to date with their relevant training.