elevated AST/ALT, children

[mom35557]

my children both have elevated AST and ALT

boy 13 years old, AST-98, ALT-133 and increase in bilirubin
girl 8 years old,  AST-42, ALT-46

they are both overweight, boy-54 kg and girl-32 kg

we are still waiting some blood test results, but i'm scary
is it possible they have fatty liver ?
or Hep C ?
A and B results came faster and was negative

boy was taking iron supplements for 3 months (hemoglobin was 98 now is 118) and he often complain from headache and I sometimes give him paracetamol
also sometimes he complain from stomach pain

my cousin have Hep C with very high load and cirrhosis, she lately stay alot in to our house and many times overnight but my knowledge is HCV is blood to blood transmitting  
does it means I exposed them to HCV ?
they are close with her and have a hugs and kiss

Thanks,
worried mom

[mikesimon]

Thanks for updating.
I wish you and your children the very best.

Be well,
Mike

[mom35557]

Hi mikesimon,
thank you for your post,
all results back negative and my kids have fatty liver
we visit GI and nutritionist for healthy diet

Vi  

[mikesimon]

I want to start by making it clear that I am not a doctor or involved in the medical field in any capacity. I am only a patient.

You're right about Hep C - it's blood to blood transmission and hard to infect in the situation you describe. I don't think they got infected by their cousin.

Fatty liver can exist in obese children. If that is the case diet would be probably be the primary approach.

I probably would stop giving your children paracetamol. At the recommended doses it's pretty safe but if given in large doses it can cause liver damage and some people are sensitive to it and can suffer liver damage from normal doses. I would just play it safe.

You should have your children seen by a gastroenterologist or a hepatologist if one is available. Make sure that iron supplement is appropriate for your son. I would schedule an appointment with a specialist soon and get this situation figured out.

Good luck,
Mike