The symptoms of hepatitis B - also known as hepatitis B - largely depend on the immune status of the infected person. If her immune system is working efficiently, the infection may be asymptomatic. Otherwise, it may be acute or chronic, often with non-specific symptoms. Find out how to recognize the symptoms of hepatitis B.

The symptoms of hepatitis B , orhepatitis Bor, depend on the number of viruses in the body and the state of the immune system of the infected person. About two-thirds of the patients who develop acute hepatitis B have little or no symptoms. Others develop symptoms of hepatitis B within six weeks to four months after infection.

hepatitis B (hepatitis B) - heraldic symptoms

The signs of acute hepatitis B are not specific and resemble flu symptoms. There is fever, pain in joints and muscles, a feeling of general weakness and increased fatigue. The patient also complains of ailments from the digestive system: lack of appetite, nausea, vomiting and abdominal pain, which are the result of an enlarging liver.

hepatitis B (hepatitis B) - symptoms of the advanced form of the disease

  • jaundice - yellowing of the whites of the eyes and skin (this condition is the result of elevated levels of bilirubin in the blood);
  • light, discolored stool;
  • beer-colored urine;
  • pain in the right hypochondrium;
  • enlargement of the liver and spleen;

Sometimes viral hepatitis is accompanied by symptoms from other organs. Changes in the ECG are then observed, occasionally exudative pleurisy, pancreatitis or anemia.

About 1 percent of cases develop hyperacute disease, with massive hepatocyte (liver cell) necrosis, resulting in liver failure. Then a liver transplant is necessary. It is a life-saving procedure.

hepatitis B - symptoms of the chronic form

Severe hepatitis Bbecomes chronic in about 5-10 percent of cases (when infection lasts longer than 6 months). Then the clinical symptoms usually disappear completely, despite the fact that the processthe disease continues, leading to serious consequences after many years - cirrhosis of the liver (it develops in 8-20 percent of people after 5 years of chronic HBV infection).

This is because HBV continuously infects new liver cells (infected liver cells die and are replaced by new ones). The dead liver cells can later be replaced by connective (scar tissue) tissue. If there are connective tissue changes in the liver, it is called fibrosis in the early stage of the disease and cirrhosis in the advanced stage, which may lead to the development of liver cancer due to cirrhosis.

At this time, some patients may experience:

  • so-called spider veins (dilated blood vessels);
  • nose and gum bleeding;
  • persistent itchy skin;

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