Simptoms of Hepatitis B

In most cases the infection with Hepatitis B leads to the development of acute Hepatitis B. Less commonly in people with lowered immunity or children infected at birth, the acute Hepatitis is not observed, and the disease assumes the character of a primary chronic indolent disease.

The hidden (incubative) period for Hepatitis B is from 2 to 6 months. The acute Hepatitis B can occur in different forms: subclinical or anicteric, icteritous, cholestatic and protracted.

The disease starts with fever, headache, malaise, aches in the body. The symptoms occur gradually and in the first stage they are similar to the manifestations of URI. After a few days, the appetite decreases, the jaundice appears, pain starts in the right hypochondrium; nausea, vomiting, dark urine and discolored feces appear. As a rule, after the appearance of jaundice the patients feel better. Gradually, during several weeks there is the reversed development of symptoms.

In most cases, with adequate immune response the acute Hepatitis B completes with full recovery (90%). With asymptomatic, busselton state, the disease may become chronic.

Chronic Hepatitis B is characterized by the enlargement of the liver, pain or a feeling of heaviness in the right hypochondrium, different dyspeptic symptoms; jaundice, itching and low-grade fever appear rarely. Patients complain the decreased appetite, belching, nausea, flatulence, unstable stool, weakness, sweating, disability decreasing. Chronic Hepatitis B leads to the gradual death of the liver cells and growth of connective tissue cirrhosis in the place of dead cells. Therefore, the liver gradually ceases to perform its detoxificated, protein-synthesis, biligenic and other functions.