Cause and effect relationships in academic contexts

¶ … patient who walks into the doctor's office with the symptoms of fever, nausea and weakness in his joints might have hepatitis or liver disease. Hepatitis occurs when there is swelling of the liver. The disease can be caused by:

Infections from viruses such as hepatitis a, B, or C, bacteria, or parasites

Liver damage from the ingestion of alcohol or poisonous mushrooms

Medications, such as an overdose of acetaminophen, which can often be deadly Immune cells in the body attacking the liver and causing autoimmune hepatitis (Hepatitis Health Article, 2010).

Medications that can cause damage to the liver include methyldopa which is uncommonly used for high blood pressure, isoniazid for tuberculosis, seizure medications like valproate and phenytoin, chlorpromazine, amiodarone which is used for irregular heart rhythm, and certain antibiotics including trimethoprim-sulfamethoxazole and erythromycin. If a person needs to take any of these it is important for the doctor to check one's liver function (Hepatitis Health Article, 2010).

Liver disease can also be caused by hereditary disorders such as cystic fibrosis and Wilson's disease. This is a condition that involves having too much copper in the body. Excess copper often deposits in the liver. Other causes include: systemic lupus erythematosus, rheumatoid arthritis, sjogren syndrome, scleroderma, inflammatory bowel disease, Glomerulonephritis and hemolytic anemia (Hepatitis Health Article, 2010).

Hepatitis often starts quickly and is also resolved quickly which is known as acute hepatitis. Sometimes though, it can cause a long-term disease known as chronic hepatitis. Sometimes, progressive liver damage, liver failure, or even liver cancer may be the end result. The harshness of hepatitis depends on many factors, taking into account for the cause of the liver damage and any underlying illnesses that a person may have. Hepatitis a, is usually short-lived, and does not lead to chronic liver problems (Hepatitis Health Article, 2010).

Common risk factors for chronic liver problems include: intravenous drug use, overdosing on acetaminophen, engaging in risky sexual behaviors like having multiple sexual partners and unprotected intercourse, eating contaminated foods, traveling to an area where certain diseases are common, living in a nursing home or rehabilitation center, having a family member who recently had hepatitis a, using or abusing alcohol, being an organ transplant recipient, having HIV or AIDS, having received a blood transfusion before 1990, being a newborn of a mother with hepatitis B or C, being a health care worker, including dentist and dental hygienist, because of blood contact and receiving a tattoo (Hepatitis Health Article, 2010).

Eighty percent of those people who have Hepatitis C go on to develop chronic liver disease, liver failure or liver cancer. Hepatitis C is the number one reason that people received liver transplants in the United States. Permanent liver damage, liver failure, or liver cancer can happen (Hepatitis Health Article, 2010).