Hepatitis B, most people’s heart will “thump” when they hear this name. Yes, although through the media and medical experts, people’s awareness of hepatitis B has been improved to some extent, but as a carrier of hepatitis B (or patient) in addition to physical discomfort, more or less still receive from the community’s different eyes. Therefore, some people avoid medical treatment and hide their condition without treatment; some people are desperate to seek medical advice and believe in the various publicity advertisements of “turning negative”. The consequence is that the condition is getting worse and worse, and even bring the fear of life. As a doctor of hepatology, I would like to do my best to tell you: what should you do if you have hepatitis B? First of all, we should know that hepatitis B treatment is a worldwide problem. The statistics of World Health Organization suggests that about one in every 12 people in the world is a patient of viral hepatitis (including hepatitis B and hepatitis C). And about 2/3 of them are hepatitis B patients. So we can be exposed to the Hepatitis B virus at any time, and in order to avoid being infected, the primary means of protection is to get the Hepatitis B vaccine in a timely manner. To prevent us from becoming one of the twelve. If you are unfortunate enough to have become one of the twelve, what should you do? 1. Early detection It is important to know that the liver lacks pain nerves and is a “silent” organ. In the early stage, there may be no obvious symptoms to let people know that it is “sick”. In addition, some patients are only hepatitis B carriers, and do not cause damage to the liver, generally do not appear symptoms. Therefore, regular medical checkups are an effective way to detect hepatitis B infection. Of course, hepatitis B is not completely asymptomatic, if you have unexplained weakness, anorexia, nausea, pain in the upper right abdomen, dark urine, jaundice and other symptoms, it is necessary to go to the hospital to check whether hepatitis B has found you. 2 Clear diagnosis If you suspect that you may be infected with hepatitis B, what do you need to do? The first and most important thing is to go to the regular hospital to find a specialist doctor, the doctor will give you the appropriate examination according to your situation. The common tests are Hepatitis B 5 (also known as Hepatitis B 2.5), HBV DNA, liver function tests, AFP and abdominal ultrasound. These tests can basically clarify whether you have hepatitis B and the severity of hepatitis B disease. 3. Standardized treatment Regarding the treatment, first of all, you should be clear that the treatment of hepatitis B is a long-term process, and the hepatitis B virus is difficult to be completely eliminated. Remember to avoid medical treatment, of course, do not believe in some advertisements claiming that “the package turns negative”. There are two types of antiviral drugs commonly used in outpatient treatment. One is nucleoside drugs. Such as adefovir, entecavir, lamivudine, tibivudine and so on. The other category is interferon drugs. There are also some other liver-protecting, immunity-boosting, and herbal medicines. The specific application of which drugs and how to apply need your attending doctor to comprehensively assess your condition, and then choose the right drug for you. Remember to follow the doctor’s instructions, do not increase or decrease the dose, take less or miss the dose at will. Don’t stop taking the medication just because you are in good health or the virus has turned negative. 4. Regular checkups Regular checkups are an effective means of monitoring changes in your condition and the efficacy of your medication. Regular review is an effective means to monitor the changes of the disease and the efficacy of the drugs. Regular review should not be neglected just because you feel good about yourself. Generally speaking, hepatitis B carriers need to be examined about half a year, and if there is any discomfort, they should be examined at any time. Chronic hepatitis B patients generally need to be reviewed in 3~4 months, and should be checked at any time if there is any change in their condition. The items that need general examination are liver and kidney function examination, Hepatitis B five items, HBV DNA quantification, alpha-fetoprotein (AFP) and abdominal ultrasound. If necessary, abdominal CT or MRI can also be done. Nowadays, with the rapid development of the Internet, we can know everything about the world without going out. Publicity about hepatitis B on the Internet lets us know about hepatitis B, understand hepatitis B, and raise people’s awareness of hepatitis B prevention. However, there are also some dazzling publicity to mislead the patients, not only make the patients lose money, but also make the patients miss the disease and cause irreversible consequences. I hope that this article can let more people know that hepatitis B is not scary, regular treatment is the king.