Hepatitis symptoms are often considered common cold symptoms, what's the difference?

Hepatitis is a serious inflammatory liver infection caused by the hepatitis virus. Most people who are infected with hepatitis are not sure how they got the disease. Plus, not everyone who is infected will show symptoms of hepatitis.

Usually they realize their condition at a later date when the disease has progressed to a chronic one. However, in some cases, some patients will develop certain symptoms of hepatitis shortly after being infected with the virus.

The following is a complete explanation of the symptoms of hepatitis that you must know.

Symptoms of hepatitis in general

Hepatitis is an inflammatory liver disease that can be caused by viruses, excessive alcohol consumption, and immune system disorders (autoimmune).

Hepatitis caused by viruses is the most common disease, especially for hepatitis A, B, and C. These three diseases can cause various symptoms or health problems for the sufferer.

Some of the symptoms of hepatitis can be mild but also severe for some people. The severity of symptoms depends on how severe the infection is caused by the hepatitis virus.

Symptoms of acute hepatitis

The time the symptoms appear is related to how long the virus incubation period is when the virus is not actively replicating in the body. Each virus that causes hepatitis has a different incubation period.

In some patients infected with the hepatitis A, B, and C viruses (HAV, HBV, HCV) may not show hepatitis symptoms at all. This generally occurs when the infection is still ongoing in the short term or in the acute stage (less than 6 months).

If there are symptoms, the health problems that appear are also not specific and specific symptoms so that it is still difficult to distinguish from symptoms of other diseases.

Not infrequently, the symptoms of hepatitis that appear are generally similar to those of the flu, which include:

Fatigue
Fever
Nausea and Vomiting
Feel tired
Loss of appetite

Symptoms of chronic hepatitis

However, at least 20-30% of people diagnosed with acute hepatitis can also experience more serious health problems. Including the most obvious symptoms such as jaundice or jaundice can also appear.

Viral infections that do not cause symptoms are not bothersome, but can be dangerous if the infection eventually progresses to a chronic stage. The health problems that arise can be more severe, which include:

Fatigue
Nausea or vomiting
Gastric pain
Joint or muscle pain
Dark urine like tea
White stool like putty
Yellowing of the skin and whites of the eyes (jaundice)
Itching feeling
Mental changes, such as being unconscious or in a coma
Bleeding in the body

For more details, you should know the characteristics of the symptoms of each of the hepatitis diseases that most commonly affect many people. The following is the explanation:

Symptoms of hepatitis A

Hepatitis A is generally transmitted when a person consumes, water or food that has been contaminated with HAV. You can also get it from direct contact or sexual contact with an infected person.

Hepatitis A virus that infects liver cells then causes inflammation and swelling. This condition makes the liver not work optimally, so that an infected person feels a number of symptoms of hepatitis A which include:

A mild fever usually reaches 39.5 degrees Celsius
Dry throat
Loss of appetite
Weight loss
Feel tired all the time
Pain in muscles and joints
Stomach hurts
Experiencing jaundice, namely the skin and eye membranes that turn yellow
The color of the urine turns dark and dark
Itching skin
The liver swells so that the stomach feels sore

Symptoms of hepatitis B

Unlike hepatitis A, hepatitis B is transmitted from one person to another through contact with blood and other body fluids contaminated with HBV. In Indonesia, hepatitis B transmission occurs most often from mother to baby through childbirth.

HBV infection in the liver can be acute (less than 6 months). Symptoms of hepatitis B will more often appear when the infection has lasted for a long time or is chronic, including:

Fatigue
Stomach ache
Muscle and joint pain
Loss of appetite
Dark urine like tea
Pale stool
Nausea and vomiting
Swelling of the upper abdomen
Jaundice or yellowing of the skin and eyes (jaundice)

Symptoms of hepatitis C

Hepatitis C is caused by infection with the hepatitis C virus (HCV) which is transmitted through constant contact with infected blood.

Based on the length of time the virus has infected, hepatitis C is classified into two types, namely acute and chronic hepatitis. Most of the symptoms will appear when the infection has reached a chronic stage.

Health problems that appear do not merely indicate symptoms of hepatitis C, these symptoms can be related to the emergence of a complicating disease that results from the development of this disease.

According to the NHS, the appearance of the following symptoms can indicate serious damage to liver cells.

The following are some of the advanced symptoms commonly experienced by people with chronic hepatitis C:

Fatigue all the time
Experiencing decreased cognitive abilities such as frequent forgetfulness and difficulty concentrating
Pain in the upper abdomen
Pain in muscles and joints
Pain when passing urine
The color of the stool turns pale
The urine is dark and concentrated
Itching of the skin
Bleeds easily
Bruising easily
Swollen foot
Depression
Lose weight
Jaundice (jaundice), which is the skin and eyes that turn yellow

How are the symptoms of hepatitis diagnosed?

The initial symptoms of hepatitis most often occur about six or seven weeks after exposure to the virus. Others, however, can take six months to 10 years or more before noticing symptoms.

The development of the virus can take a long time to cause liver damage. Therefore, it will be difficult to know the presence of the hepatitis virus in the body if only based on symptoms.

You can do a simple blood test at the doctor's clinic or hospital laboratory to determine if you have been infected with hepatitis.

After the doctor gets the blood test results, the doctor may recommend that you undergo a liver biopsy to determine if you have chronic hepatitis.