In some countries, the infection with hepatitis B virus is most common during pregnancy. One can also be infected with the hepatitis B virus in his/ her early childhood. To gain some control over this method of transmitting hepatitis means to have a very good idea about the infection with the hepatitis B virus during pregnancy.

This knowledge of the infection with the hepatitis B virus when pregnant gives a good view on some of the following things:
- the mortality rate of the person carrying the hepatitis virus;
- the effect of the hepatitis B virus on the parturition process;
- most important, the capability of the hepatitis virus to be transmitted to the foetus;

There are tests that can show can show the seroprevelance of the hepatitis B virus in a pregnant women. The infection with hepatitis can be either acute or chronic. The acute infection with the hepatitis B virus means that this infection happened only during pregnancy and the person was otherwise healthy, whereas the chronic infection shows that the infection with the hepatitis B virus was previous to the pregnancy.

Studies have shown that the hepatitis B infection is not perdilect to pregnant women and the percentage of non pregnant women suffering from hepatitis B is almost the same of those pregnant. More, the acute form of hepatitis B does not have more severe symptoms in pregnant women than in the non pregnant ones.

The symptoms for viral hepatitis are the same: fatigue, headache, nausea, vomiting. The last two hepatitis symptoms may be also mistaken for pregnancy symptoms in women that do not suffer from hepatitis. If hepatitis resolves before there is a great liver injury, the symptoms of hepatitis may also be passes off as flu symptoms or even as effects of the pregnancy itself. In most of the cases, the acute hepatitis symptoms will pass in about six weeks.

If a pregnant women suffers from acute hepatitis, this may induce a premature labour, especially if she is in the last trimester. However, this has little or no effect on the foetus.

Chronic hepatitis is a very serious condition that has no symptoms. A person may develop hepatitis symptoms when this disease has done many damage to the liver. Most of the women that become pregnant, find out that they suffer from chronic hepatitis after they go to an obstetrician.

For more resources about hepatitis-guide.com/hepatitis-c-symptoms.htm hepatitis c symptoms please review hepatitis-guide.com/hepatitis-c-transmission.htm hepatitis-guide.com/hepatitis-c-transmission.htm or even hepatitis-guide.com/hepatitis-c-treatment.htm hepatitis-guide.com/hepatitis-c-treatment.htm

Dear doc, we went out of town for the 4th of July and I got a raging tooth ache, the tooth had been getting sensitive for a couple of months as I had a filling fall out, but I ignored it and hoped it would go away, it didn’t. Bottom line I had to see an out of town dentist who took and x-ray and informed me I needed a root canal because I had an infection and abscess at the tip of my root, he said if I didn’t I would have to pull my tooth, can’t I just take antibiotics, how did I get this infection?

Dear Don, sounds like you didn’t have much of a holiday. I can only speak in generalities, as I have not examined you. However you mentioned you had pain for several months preceding this episode, and that an existing filling in the tooth had fallen out. In my practice tooth decay is the most common cause of an inflamed pulp, [pulpitis]. When active decay is present in a tooth it continues to infect the tooth deeper and deeper until it hits the nerve; once the bacteria reaches the root it can travel down the root and form and area of infection called an abscess. You never know if your cavity is going to decay quickly down to the nerve or slowly, but once it reaches the nerve the damage is done and a root canal will have to be done or the tooth extracted. The tooth will be extremely painful and sensitive until something is done. The antibiotics you mentioned will help clear up the infection, but because the source of the infection is still present you infection and pain will re-occur. Don the good news is that most teeth today can be saved with root canal therapy, when preformed by an experienced dentist.

The moral of the story is one of vigilance; if you notice something out of the ordinary occurring in your mouth, don’t ignore it. My professional experience has shown, that
Small problems ignored, will only get worse, cause more pain and cost more!

Better smiles for all,
Dr. John Russo
Director of Russo Dental Care
San Bruno, California

Dr. John J. Russo is a graduate of the University of The Pacific School Of Dentistry. A graduate of the Pacific Aesthetic Continuum. He is the director of The Cosmetic dental Center and Russo Dental Care, and author of the weekly column “As the dental doc.”