Hepatitis

Symptoms

Men and Women – Short term Hepatitis often has no noticeable symptoms

If you do develop symptoms, these can include;

• A high temperature,
• Feeling and being sick,
• Muscle and joint pain,
• Tiredness,
• Loss of appetite
• Stomach ache,
• Dark urine,
• pale or grey coloured poo,
• Itchy skin or,
• Jaundice.

What does a check-up/test involve?

Physical examinaton of your symptoms, blood tests and sometimes an ultrasound

Treatment

Hepatitis A – Usually caused by an infected person not washing their hands properly.

There is no specific treatment for the virus – only treatment for the symptoms, such as itching, pain or nausea which will pass within a couple of months. It is recommended that you get vaccinated if you are travelling to countries where the infection is common.

Hepatitis B – spread through the blood of an infected person. In rare cases, it can be spread through unprotected sex or via shared needles.

Most adults are able to fight off the virus and recover within a couple of months. However, it is recommended to get vaccinated if you inject drugs or have multiple sexual partners. In 2017 the vaccine was added to the immunisation program for children.

Hepatitis C – the most common virus found within the UK and is mainly spread through blood to blood contact with an infected person, most notably through the sharing of needles used to inject drugs.

There is no current vaccine for Hepatitis C, but it can be treated very effectively with antiviral medications