Hepatitis B Test London

What is Hepatitis B?

Hepatitis B is a viral infection that can cause liver disease. It can be spread through sex and sharing other personal hygiene belongings like toothbrushes and razors.

How do you get Hepatitis B?

Hepatitis B is super contagious. It’s transmitted through sexual fluids: semen and vaginal fluids. It can also be gotten through contact with infected blood and urine. You can contract it from:

• Vaginal, anal, or oral sex
• Sharing personal items like toothbrushes and razors (blood on them can carry hepatitis b)
• Sharing needles used for shooting drugs, piercings, tattoos, etc
• Getting stuck with a hepatitis-b-infected needle
• During childbirth from an infected mother.

Do well to note that hepatitis b is not spread through saliva, so you can’t get it through casual contacts such as sharing food or drinks or using the same fork or spoon. Neither can you have it through hugging, kissing, holding hands, sneezing, breastfeeding, or coughing.

There are other types of Hepatitis: Hepatitis A and Hepatitis C, but Hepatitis B is the kind that’s mostly transmitted through sex.

Signs and Symptoms of Hepatitis B

A good number of adults with hepatitis b never get any symptoms. So it’s possible to get the infection without knowing it.

When people show signs of hepatitis b, the first signs are obvious between the first six weeks and six months after being infected. The symptoms of hepatitis b typically last for a few weeks, but can sometimes stick around for months.

Some common signs and symptoms of hepatitis b include:

• Headache
• Fever
• Nausea and vomiting
• Loss of appetite
• Hives
• Pain in your joints
• Pain in your belly
• Tiredness
• Dark-coloured urine
• Jaundice (yellow discolouration of the eyes and skin)
• Pale, clay-coloured bowel movements

If you are experiencing any of these symptoms, you should visit your nearest sti clinic in London for testing and possible treatment.

Here, at STI Clinic London is medically equipped to standard. The environment is welcoming, and our medical staff are really friendly. We pride in our good diagnostic standards and treatment. The HBV infection usually will go away by itself, if otherwise, it may become chronic and severely damage your liver which is why a test is very vital.

How to Prevent Hepatitis B

Preventing hepatitis B virus is very important to protect your liver from the infection. Hepatitis B can be serious, and there’s no cure. But it is pretty easy to prevent. You can prevent it by getting the hepatitis b vaccine and having protected sex.

If you have vaginal, anal, or oral sex, we advise the use of dental dams and condoms to help stop the spread of hepatitis b.

Hepatitis B Test

You really should get tested if you’ve had unprotected sex, experiencing symptoms or no symptoms of this STD. We take your blood samples for this test. To get accurate test results, it may take up to 2 months after infection.