Gold, Nigeria: #ICantWait To Tell My Friends To Get Tested and Vaccinated

Gold: #ICantWait to tell my friends to get tested and vaccinated.

Almost 300 million people worldwide, including 20 million Nigerians, have chronic hepatitis B. Gold is from Nigeria and she is sharing her story as part of the Hepatitis B Foundation’s #BtheVoice campaign to bring awareness.

Gold found out she had hepatitis B at the height of the pandemic. With her symptoms she believed she had appendicitis, but it turned out to be hepatitis B. She was really scared about her diagnosis and started doing research. The person she first confided in just made her more frightened of her diagnosis, so she believes it’s very important to be careful who you talk to and make sure they are knowledgeable about hepatitis B.

She did tests to see if she had any liver damage and to determine her viral load to determine what medication she needed. Her medication is hard to get and she has to place an order for it and it is expensive.

She says, “I wish I knew then what I know now about hepatitis B because I would have made sure that every child born in my family would get vaccinated at birth.”

It’s very important to know your hepatitis B status, because when you know, you know how to manage it. You can still live a very normal happy life.

Facts:

Many people don’t know they are infected with hepatitis B. 297 million people live with hepatitis B including 20 million Nigerians.

People living with hepatitis B can live a normal life. Seeing the doctor regularly, avoiding alcohol and tobacco and maintaining a well-balanced diet can help.