1. Know What to Expect
Your liver is at risk of suffering major damage from toxic hepatitis. During toxic hepatitis, the liver becomes inflamed as a result of ingesting a toxic substance. Look for the symptoms of this serious health condition prior to contacting your doctor. Since toxic hepatitis damages the liver, many patients will get a yellowish tinge to their skin, known as jaundice. Urine may also appear discolored or very dark. Additional symptoms include a loss of appetite, sudden weight loss, fatigue, nausea and vomiting. However, patients with a mild case may not display any major symptoms for some time.
2. Keep a Complete Record
When you see a doctor due to suspected toxic hepatitis, you'll need to give him a complete list of all medications and substance you have come in contact with. Toxic hepatitis occurs when you are exposed to certain chemicals, drugs or poisonous mushrooms. The substance may have entered your body through eating, drinking, skin exposure or inhalation. It could have occurred after a one-time use or through long-term exposure to the substance. You should record every substance, both legal and illegal, you have taken over the last few months. If you work with industrial chemicals or pesticides, you need to relay this fact as well. Gather information on any environmental toxins you could have been exposed to. Your doctor needs this data to determine whether you have toxic hepatitis.
3. Screen Your Blood
Once your doctor reviews the substances you've come in contact with and finds out your symptoms, he'll want to run a series of blood tests. Since there isn't a single test for toxic hepatitis, he'll use a combination of results to determine whether you have toxic hepatitis or not. At the lab, a technician will take a sample of your blood. Within a few days, your doctor will receive a copy of the results and look for levels that indicate toxic hepatitis. If a person has this condition, he'll have elevated levels of certain liver enzymes. Based on these levels, he may decide to order further tests to give a definitive toxic hepatitis diagnosis.
4. Get a Liver Biopsy
If your doctor orders a liver biopsy, then he strongly suspects you're suffering from toxic hepatitis. Most doctors order a liver biopsy based on your chemical exposure and blood work results. During a liver biopsy, your doctor will use a thin, long needle to get a tissue sample from your liver. A lab technician will study the sample under a microscope and look for signs of liver inflammation. After your doctor diagnoses toxic hepatitis, he'll attempt to alleviate the damage caused to your liver.
