Mom to Mom – Facts on Hepatitis A

Sarah Pannell:                   Today on Mom to Mom we’re gonna give you all the facts on Hepatitis A.

Joining us today is Michelle Boothe, a PA here at London Women’s Care. Thank you so much for joining us.

Michelle Boothe:             Thank you for having me.

Sarah Pannell:                   So everyone’s talking about Hepatitis A. I feel like it’s everywhere and no one knows what it is.

Michelle Boothe:             Correct.

Sarah Pannell:                   So please fill us in, what is Hepatitis A?

Michelle Boothe:             A lot of my patients are asking me what is Hepatitis A. It’s a viral infection. It affects the liver. It’s transmitted person to person via the fecal oral route. Usually eating contaminated food, drinking contaminated water. They’re gonna present with symptoms of abdominal pain, cramps, diarrhea, nausea, vomiting, fever, chills. Most of the time this is gonna be a self-limiting illness. You’re gonna get better in a few days, a few weeks. It may be more sick and it may take up to two months to get completely better.

Sarah Pannell:                   So I know it was a big deal for the start of the school year, all the kids had to get vaccinated.

Michelle Boothe:             Yes.

Sarah Pannell:                   So at what age can you start these vaccinations?

Michelle Boothe:             You can start getting vaccinated at age one. So most of the time at your one year will a child check your pediatrician will recommend starting to get the Hepatitis A vaccine. However if you’ve got older children and you’re not sure if they’ve had the vaccination, you can always check with the pediatrician. They can tell you and if they’ve not been vaccinated, you can go ahead and start the vaccine.

Sarah Pannell:                   Gotcha. So moms out there, if you’ve got more questions about Hepatitis A, connect with me on my Facebook page to get a hold of Michelle Boothe. Thanks for joining us and I’ll see y’all next week.

Speaker 3:                           Mom to mom is brought to you by White Greer Maggard Orthodontics. And London Women’s Care, providing care through all phases of life.