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Many infected people don’t notice any symptoms. If they do, symptoms can appear anytime from 6 weeks to 6 months (on average 3 months) after the virus infects them but they’re often put down to flu, etc. A blood test can show if you’ve had the infection.
Symptoms you might get:
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Jaundice (skin and whites of the eyes go yellow) |
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Piss turns dark and shit goes pale |
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Flu-like illness, including aching joints and muscles |
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Extreme tiredness |
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Diarrhoea |
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Fever |
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Weight loss |
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Lack of appetite |
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Vomiting and nausea (especially with alcohol, fatty food or tobacco smoke) |
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Pain in the upper right side of the stomach |
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Itchy skin |
Most people recover quickly with no long term effects but you may need weeks or months off work, study, etc. Your doctor may tell you to avoid smoking, party drugs or alcohol for up to a year (you may not feel like doing these anyway).
Once you’ve had hepatitis B you’re immune and can’t get it again.
Up to 1 in 10 people infected fail to get rid of the virus and become ‘carriers’. This means they have chronic (long term) hepatitis and carry on being infectious to others. It also means there’s a risk they’ll go on to get some sort of liver disease. A blood test 6 months after being infected can tell if you’re a carrier.
With some carriers their bodies go on to get rid of the virus without help. If that doesn’t happen, drugs might cure the infection. If drugs can’t cure you they can make you less infectious and reduce the risk of liver damage such as liver cancer or cirrhosis (scarring of the liver).
Around 1% of people who get hepatitis B die from it.
Do you have a question about Hepatitis B that is not
answered on this website? Try www.britishlivertrust.org.uk,
www.hepb.org.uk
or www.hepbsafe.com.
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