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Late Symptoms of Hepatitis C

Hepatitis C is a serious condition in which the virus named for the disease attacks the liver. Most people that have hepatitis C show no symptoms and do not even realize they have the disease until later on in their lives when one of the worst symptoms of it does show up: liver damage. Normally transmitted through contaminated blood, hepatitis C can be fatal if it causes liver failure. Here are some details on some of the symptoms that manifest themselves late in a case of hepatitis C.

  1. Time Frame

    • Chronic or long term hepatitis C often comes with few signs. They may not occur until decades after you were first exposed to the disease. However, you can still pass the condition on to others even though you yourself exhibit no symptoms. This makes it imperative that people be tested for hepatitis C if they think they may have been exposed to it.

    Effects

    • The late symptoms of hepatitis C can include feeling fatigued for long stretches of time or almost constantly. A lack of appetite will be present in some and you may experience bouts of vomiting and nausea. Fevers can occur but they will not seem serious. One telltale sign is known as jaundice, a condition which makes your skin attain a yellowish tint as well as your eyes.

    Function

    • Jaundice itself is not actually a disease but more of a symptom of a problem with the liver. A chemical called bilirubin is responsible for the yellowing of the eyes and the skin, with the level of coloring depending on how much of the chemical is present. it is found in red blood cells; bilirubin is a waste product that a healthy liver can remove from a person's system with no problem. But when hepatitis C damages the liver, bilirubin can build up and cause jaundice.

    Considerations

    • Once hepatitis C results in cirrhosis, the liver will be scarred. The scar tissue will begin to replace healthy liver tissue and the blood flow through the organ will be compromised. This will make it difficult for the liver to perform its job, with the ability to purify blood by filtering out waste products one of them. Hepatitis C and alcoholism are the two main ways that cirrhosis develops. It cannot be cured but can be somewhat controlled by medications, with a liver transplant sometimes necessary in the most serious of instances.

    Expert Insight

    • The early stages of hepatitis C also will normally come with no signs. If there are any they will include a slight tired feeling and poor appetite. The region of your liver may feel somewhat tender to the touch and you can have muscle pains. However, these symptoms are similar to a multitude of other illnesses, making it very unlikely anyone will identify that they have a case of hepatitis C.

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