The Signs & Symptoms of Hepatitis B

Hepatitis B is an infectious disease that is caused by the Hepatitis B virus. It is a very common infection, it is estimated that more than 33 percent of the world's population has been infected. Hepatitis B is transmitted sexually, through contact with infected blood and vertically(from mother to fetus). Hepatitis B is not usually dangerous, but can cause fatal complications (such as liver failure). Hepatitis B has an array of specific and non-specific symptoms. Some cases may not manifest symptomatically at all, and the infection must be found through laboratory analysis, but in most cases, hepatitis B shows an array of distinct symptoms.

First Signs of Hepatitis B

• The first signs of hepatitis B are not specific to the disease.

  Hepatitis usually manifests itself in general symptoms. The first signs of Hepatitis B are usually loss of appetite, low or mild fever and general fatigue.

Later Signs

• You will begin to notice different signs as the hepatitis B infection progresses. The most common of these signs are nausea, body aches and vomiting. The symptoms become more severe as the disease progresses.

Final Stage

• To diagnose Hepatitis B clinically (by using symptoms), the symptoms of the final stage must appear. The symptoms of the final stage are specific to hepatitis. These symptoms are jaundice (the yellow coloration of the skin and visible mucous membrane), dark urine and itchy skin. These symptoms are usually the last ones to manifest.

Differentiating From Other Diseases

• Hepatitis B is not easily distinguished from other forms of hepatitis because of their clinical similarities. It is differentiated by the unique virus that causes it (HBV) and the fact that it is comparably mild to other forms of hepatitis, rarely requiring medical intervention for a patient to recover.