Overview
Hepatitis B is a viral infection of the liver that is common in Nigeria and often silent for decades while it slowly damages the liver, sometimes leading to cirrhosis or liver cancer. It spreads through blood, unprotected sex and from mother to baby at birth. A safe vaccine and a simple blood test make it preventable and detectable.
Symptoms
- Often no symptoms for years
- Tiredness
- Yellow eyes or skin (jaundice)
- Dark urine
- Nausea and poor appetite
- Pain over the liver (right upper abdomen)
- Swollen abdomen or legs in advanced disease
Causes & risk factors
- Mother-to-child transmission at birth
- Unprotected sex with an infected person
- Sharing needles, blades, clippers or other sharp objects
- Unscreened blood transfusion
Treatment & self-care
Everyone should know their status — screening is a quick blood test. Chronic carriers need periodic liver checks, and those with active disease take long-term antiviral tablets prescribed by a specialist to protect the liver. Vaccination (including the birth dose for newborns) protects the uninfected; avoid alcohol and unsupervised herbal mixtures that strain the liver.
See a doctor urgently if
- A positive hepatitis B test, even if you feel well
- Yellow eyes, dark urine or right upper abdominal pain
- Swelling of the abdomen or legs
- Vomiting blood or passing black stools
- You are pregnant and have never been screened