Hepatitis C Health Center

Table of Contents

  1. Symptoms
  2. Diagnosis
  3. Treatments
  4. Causes
  5. Living With

When a person becomes infected with the hepatitis C virus, he or she may not notice any symptoms at first.

Symptoms of hepatitis C are usually flu-like, including:

  • fever
  • chills
  • stomach pain
  • nausea
  • fatigue

Sometimes hepatitis C symptoms may be severe right away, causing liver dysfunction. If this is the case, bilirubin may not be excreted in the bile, leading to high levels of bilirubin in the blood.

With high levels of bilirubin in the blood, the skin and the whites of the eyes become yellow, causing a condition called jaundice. High bilirubin levels in the blood can also cause severe itching.

High levels of bilirubin in the blood also cause urine to look dark yellow. Stools are chalk white because they are not colored by the bile.

Over 20 years or so, hepatitis C may lead to the destruction of the liver, a condition called cirrhosis. With cirrhosis, the liver cannot clean the blood or meet the body’s nutritional needs. This could lead to coma or death.

Reviewed by: 
Review Date: 
April 19, 2012
Last Updated:
July 1, 2013
Source:
dailyrx.com