There are a number of factors that are described as triggering hives, and liver disease (specifically hepatitis B) is one of them. Hepatitis B is an infectious viral disease. The virus that is responsible for causing it is named, simply, hepatitis B virus or HBV. Because viral infections are often implicated as hives triggers, the association between hives and liver disease of the viral persuasion is not unusual.
Hepatitis B transmission occurs through body fluids. Thus, infection can spread through transfusions, dialysis, unsterilized equipment used for acupuncture or tattooing, unsterilized needles, sex and childbirth. To reduce the risk of infection, one can take precautions to reduce contact with contaminated body fluids or to strengthen the immune system. For instance, protected sex, which entails the use of condoms, significantly decreases the likelihood that HBV will be transmitted through sex. The sterilization of needles and any equipment that breaks the skin before reuse is also an important way of minimizing the transmission of infection. The third way to maximize protection against hepatitis B is immunization. Administered appropriately, hepatitis B vaccines have the capacity to boost immunity to the virus, even among newborns.
Diagnosing Liver Disease: Hives and Other Symptoms
Certain symptoms are associated with hepatitis B, but it is also true that their presentation varies from person to person. For instance, hives and liver disease might be associated in some cases, but not in others. Thus, diagnosing hepatitis B is not an easy thing to do unless one is doing so from an informed, medical perspective. Acute hepatitis has been known to mimic other medical conditions. So, instead of relying on self-diagnosis, patients should consult their doctors the minute they sense that something might be wrong in the area of the upper right abdomen.
The symptoms alluded to in the previous paragraph include jaundice, vomiting and nausea, appetite loss, tenderness in the area of the right upper abdomen, fever, soreness in the muscles, pain in the joints, itchy skin and hives. Liver disease like hepatitis B can result in cirrhosis of the liver or hepatic cancer if it becomes a chronic condition.
Additional situations in which hives and liver disease coincide involve other forms of hepatitis: namely, hepatitis A and hepatitis C. Note that the association between hepatitis (or liver disease) and hives tends to follow certain patterns. For one, it is not just any form of hives that is triggered by hepatitis. Rather, acute hives are the “culprit”. Additionally, some scientists have noted that, when hives are associated with hepatitis A through C, they tend to appear in the earliest stages of the diseases, before other hepatitis symptoms manifest.
