Common symptoms of hepatitis C that you should know
Swelling or inflammation of your liver is called as Hepatitis. It is caused by viruses, drug abuse, smoking, and high consumption of alcohol. One of the most common ways for any person to get affected by the virus is via sexual intercourse.
Hepatitis is classified into three categories. Hepatitis A, Hepatitis B, and Hepatitis C. Hepatitis A and B have cures, while Hepatitis C is deadly due to non-availability of a vaccine. It did not have a vaccine like the others for a long time. But, the development of science has created various cures for the disease.
Nonetheless, it is a contagious disease. You are affected when the blood of a person with this virus comes in contact with yours. Hepatitis C is further classified into acute and chronic. Chronic is long-term in nature and acute is short-term.
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) estimates 2.7 to 3.9 million people have the chronic virus in the country. Almost 75% to 85% affected with the acute virus develop chronic illness over time. Every year 19,000 people die due to this disease. Do not puzzle when we say that this is an invisible disease. It can take weeks or months for Hepatitis C symptoms to show up. Sometimes the symptoms never surface till it reaches a critical stage. The lethal nature of this virus makes it important to know of any hepatitis C signs and symptoms. Let us look at some of the Hepatitis C symptoms caused by Hepatitis virus.
Acute Hepatitis C Symptoms
People affected with acute Hepatitis C tend to have symptoms which are either mild or severe. Some of these signs are as mentioned below:
- A drop in appetite
You can find a sudden loss of appetite from the affected person. They might have lost interest or unable to consume the necessary amount of food. - Vomiting
Constant vomiting can drain the energy out of the affected person and make it very hard. - Nausea
More irritating than vomiting is nausea. The feeling of a need to vomit but not actually vomiting can be a very frustrating experience. - Fatigue
You feel tired and exhausted. The less consumption of food, nausea, and the vomiting adds to the tiredness. - Fever
One of the common Hepatitis C symptoms is the varying degrees of fever. The affected person will experience irregular fever. - Joint pain
It is obvious that fever is generally followed by joint pain. It is a frequent hepatitis c sign and symptom.
Some of the more serious acute Hepatitis C symptoms are as follows
- Jaundice
Skin and eyes turn yellow in color. It is a clear sign that the liver is not functioning in its regular way. The yellow pigment in your blood called bilirubin. It is produced during red blood cells break down. It is the job of the liver to get it out of your blood. This does not take place in a liver affected with HCV. Jaundice is a very serious symptom of Hepatitis C, - Dark Colored Urine
Jaundice is generally followed by Dark – Colored Urine. It is also yellow in color most of the times. - Colored bowel movements
This is another serious symptom of Hepatitis C. If you see clay-colored bowel movements, then you need to take required precautions before it worsens.
Chronic Hepatitis C symptoms
If you have not had a regular medical check, then it takes a long time for chronic symptoms of Hepatitis C to surface. CDC affirms that the virus reveals itself during blood tests. These blood tests are to check liver function and liver enzyme level.
A person infected with the virus for many years will have liver damage to an extreme degree. Jaundice, colored urine, and bowel movements are also symptoms of chronic. These symptoms occur when the liver has damaged.
Some other signs and symptoms of the chronic Hepatitis C are as follows.
- Cirrhosis
This happens over a period of many years. Healthy cells of the liver are damaged and they are replaced with scar tissue. This makes it hard for the blood to pass to the portal vein. This will retain water in your body. Your body will bloat up due the water accumulated. You can get bruised easily. You can also bleed very easily when you have Cirrhosis. Some symptoms of jaundice such as skin and eyes turning yellow will also join. - Liver Cancer
This is a very common result if a person had HCV for many years. The chronic nature of the virus makes liver cancer common among the affected people. It is a very devastating sickness.
Regular blood tests are a wise option to choose if you do recreational drugs, smoking and high consumption of alcohol. Make sure to use protection during sexual intercourse. Hepatitis C can be prevented if you follow these simple steps.
