In the earlier chapters, you have ieamt some basic and general facts about infectiou diseases. In this chapter, you will learn more about some common diseases that are usually seen n our country.
Jaundice:
Jaundice is due to the accumulation of a yellow coloured pigment called bilirubin in blood and tissues. Bilirubin is formed from haemoglobin when the old and worn out red blood cells are destroyed in the liver. Bilirubin is secreted into the bile fluid by the liver cells (hepatocytes). Bile flows from liver into the gall bladder. In the gall bladder, bile is concentrated and stored. During digestion, bile is secreted into the duodenum. Bile is required for the emulsification and digestion of lipids during digestion in the intestine. Along with the digested food, bilirubin is absorbed into the blood from the small intestine. From the blood, bilirubin is extracted by the kidney and is excreted through urine. Yellow colour of the urine is due to the presence of bilirubin and its metabolites.
Jaundice occurs due to :-
(a)
Excessive production of bilirubin - this occurs in some diseases due to destruction of
large amount of red blood cells in the liver.
(b)
Obstruction to the flow of bile - this may occur when bile is flowing from liver to gall bladder or from gall bladder to intestine. This may occur when when stones are formed in the . gallbladder.
(c) Improper functioning or death of liver cells - this occurs when a person is infected with hepatitis virus. There are several types of hepatitis viruses - Hepatitis E ,Hepatitis B, Hepatitis D, , Hepatitis F, Hepatitis A and Hepatitis G. Every year, Hepatitis virus affects about 200 million people all over the world. In infants, this virus is transmitted from mother to child during child birth. It is also transmitted through food, water and milk. The virus is also transmitted during blood transfusion, or when the same syringe and needle are used for giving injections to a large number of patients (this is most common in rural areas). More than 30% of the population in our country are carriers for the hepatitis virus. Hepatitis virus damages the liver cells.
Another reason for improper functioning of liver cells is due to taking of foods contaminated with hepatotoxins (poisons that damage liver cells), drugs that damage the liver cells and contaminated foods, improper nutrition and drinking alcohol.
Symptoms:
Following symptoms are seen in patients with jaundice —
(a)
White of the eye turns yellow.
~(b)
Skin colour may also change to yellow.
(c)
Urine-.also appears yellow.
(d)
Patient suffers from lack of appetite, flatulence (gas formation) and constipation.
(e)
There will be tenderness in the region of the liver.
(f)
Blood levels of bilirubin will increase.
There is no specific treatment for jaundice except general care to be taken by the patient Cite general Care to be taken is given below -
(a)
Patient must be given strict bed rest.
(b)
Patient must be under constant supervision of a doctor.
(c)
Utensils, clothing etc used by the patient should be kept separate and should be washjSri separately.
(d)
Small quantities of food should be given at a time,
(e)
Food should include plenty of fluids, fruit juices, glucose and maltose.
(f)
Foods rich in calories such as bread ,rice etc. should be given.
(g)
Tea., coffee, spices and fried foods should not be given.
(h)
Before giving blood transfusion, the donor's blood must be tested for the presence of hepatitis virus.
(i)
Injection needles and syringes must be changed for every injection,
For a long time, there was no specific method to treat hepatitis. A vaccine prepared against hepatitis B virus was being imported from other countries. As the cost of this vaccine was verj high, it was very rarely used. This year, a team of scientists in Hyderabad has devised a method to prepare this vaccine at a very low cost. Now this vaccine is available for public at a low cost and massive immunisation programmes are being conducted all over the state.
