When a person is sexually active, it gives more reason for the person to be cautious, especially when it comes to being infected with sexually transmitted diseases (STDs). As you may already know, several STDs in the US are taking a toll on human lives. Although there are common STDs like gonorrhea, chlamydia, and syphilis, let’s talk about hepatitis A here and how to get tested for hepatitis A test.
According to the CDC (Centers for Disease Control and Prevention), there were as many as 12,474 hepatitis A cases in 2018 alone. The previous year, it was reported that were 91 deaths due to this infection. So, even though this infection is curable, you never know how it’ll affect your body if you leave it untreated. On that note, let’s get more into details about this infection.
What Is Hepatitis A?
Just like all other STDs, hepatitis A can be transmitted from one person to another, especially during anal sex. This type of infection is highly contagious that it can even spread with close contact with the infected person. This means that if you touch a contaminated object, water, or food, you’re most likely to get hepatitis A.
The hepatitis A virus enters the body and causes liver infection. So, if a person were to contract this virus, it would cause inflammation of the liver, thereby affecting its ability to function properly.
Even though there is no particular treatment for hepatitis A, this infection can be treated. However, this shouldn’t be a window of opportunity to take this infection lightly. The reason is that the longer it’s left untreated, the more damage it’ll do to your liver. When the infection is mild, a person might be lucky enough to recover completely without having any sort of permanent damage to the liver. As said, it’ll ultimately depend on how mild or severe the infection is.
Hepatitis A Symptoms
It might not be until a few weeks that you notice symptoms of hepatitis A. in some cases, there might not be noticeable symptoms at all. However, when you do, some of the most common symptoms associated with hepatitis A would be intense itching, dark urine, jaundice, loss of appetite, vomiting and nausea, fatigue, and joint pain.
As mentioned earlier, these symptoms may not always appear when you are infected with the virus. Even if you have one or more of these symptoms, they may be mild and subside within a few weeks. However, there are instances where these symptoms could last for several months at a stretch. Therefore, it’s very important to know how to get tested for hepatitis A test before you run out of time.
How To Get Tested For Hepatitis A
The CDC recommends that people should get tested for STD at least once or twice a year, depending on the sexual activity. Therefore, it’s essential that you get tested for hepatitis A, too, instead of waiting for the symptoms to show up. That being said, the answer to how to get tested for hepatitis A test is very simple. All you need to do is locate the nearest STD clinic in your neighborhood.
For the hepatitis A test, all that’s required of you is a blood sample. Only after the blood test can the technicians assess whether you’re infected with hepatitis A or were infected before.
The way this blood test works is that it starts looking for antibodies that fight the virus. So, this means that if the antibodies are present in your body, the hepatitis A virus is also present.
You might be wondering whether there’s the option for an at-home hepatitis A or not. Well, the bad news is that there is currently no such kit for this test in the US. The main reason is that in order to draw blood for the sample, it can be done only by a medical professional. Therefore, the availability of an at-home test, for now, is nil.
In some cases, instead of an antibody testing, the doctor might go for liver panel testing. This means that the test will involve measuring the functionality of the liver. Through this test, the necessary information of the liver will be made available, including whether it’s a cause of inflammation or not. That being said, it should also be known here that this test will only identify the viral hepatitis, and not necessarily the specific virus.
You might already know of a clinic near you where you can get tested for STD or hepatitis A. Having said that, it doesn’t necessarily mean that you should get tested only when you have some of the virus’ symptoms. However, if you do happen to show any of the related symptoms, make sure to get yourself tested as quickly as you can. Not only that, but if you happen to be at a place where there was this virus outbreak, you need to consider getting tested immediately.
The reason why it’s very important to get tested for hepatitis A is that it’s very contagious. So, without knowing, you might be causing harm to yourself and your loved ones. Wouldn’t it be terrible if you were to infect your loved one and cause a life-threatening situation? This would be the last thing you want. Therefore, you need to take the utmost care of yourself and the others around you by getting tested for hepatitis A regularly instead of always wondering how to get tested for hepatitis A test.
If you don’t take precautions now, you might have to face a certain situation that you never even thought of. And, of course, living with regret is one of the most dreaded things a person can go through. So, don’t waste any more time in getting tested for STD or even hepatitis A, whether you’re showing symptoms or not. The responsibility you undertake today will bear the fruits of your health and wellness tomorrow! Know how to get tested for hepatitis A test today.