Non-Viral Hepatitis:
What is non-viral hepatitis?
Any type of inflammation in the liver is called hepatitis. This inflammation can be caused by many different things: drugs, viruses, bacteria, heredity, fatty tissue, and other causes. Non-viral hepatitis is simply caused by something other than a virus.
What causes non-viral hepatitis?
Some common causes of non-viral hepatitis include:
- Alcohol: Binge drinking of alcohol can inflict an acute hepatitis injury on the liver
- Drugs: Certain drugs can injure the liver in a people who are hypersensitive or allergic to a particular medicine
- Autoimmune disorder: There are certain conditions similar to the disease called lupus erythematosus, which can produce injury to the liver. These conditions are known as autoimmune disorders because a person’s body will actively damage their own liver
- Hereditary Conditions: There are certain hereditary disorders, such as Wilson's disease, in which acute damage to the liver can occur
What are the symptoms of non-viral hepatitis?
Similar to viral hepatitis, symptoms of non-viral hepatitis can be severe, mild, or not present at all, depending on how badly the liver is damaged. With mild hepatitis, slight fatigue may be the only symptom. When hepatitis is severe, the patient loses the taste for food and cigarettes, develops a heaviness in the right-upper abdomen. The liver and even the spleen can enlarge, causing jaundice to develop. Jaundice results when the yellow bile pigment, which normally flows through the bile ducts to the intestine, backs up and spills into the blood. Acute hepatitis can last from two weeks to several months. The patient often needs to be hospitalized in the early, acute phase of the illness.
Additional patient resources:
- Anatomy and Functions of the liver
- The American Liver Foundation
- Mayo Clinic: Alcoholic Hepatitis
- National Institute of Health: Autoimmune Hepatitis
- More patient resources
| University of Missouri Health Care | This information is not intended to replace the advice of a doctor. |
