Showing signs and symptoms is the way the body communicates a problem. Small problems usually lead to mild symptoms and large problems lead to strong symptoms. We all know the symptoms of common problems like sunburned skin and overworked muscles, but what about symptoms of the liver? How does the liver say that something is wrong? The liver has a big job in keeping the body healthy and if it has a problem, sometimes it can make a lot of noise, or better yet, color.
Jaundice
The most infamous sign of hepatitis is jaundice, which is an accumulation of a chemical called bilirubin in the body's tissues. The liver usually processes this chemical as a waste product, but when the liver is damaged it's unable to do its normal job and the chemical accumulates in the blood and starts to leak out into nearby tissue. When enough of this chemical accumulates it's possible to see a yellow color in the skin, urine and especially around the whites of the eyes. Though this is a very obvious sign, there are other more common signs and symptoms of hepatitis in the liver.
Other More Common Symptoms
- Symptoms similar to gastrointestinal illness: loss of appetite, nausea, vomiting and weight loss.
- Symptoms similar to mild flu: fatigue, fever, headache, aches and pains.
- Right-sided abdominal pain (due to an enlarged liver).
- Signs of jaundice, dark-colored urine and light-colored stool.
Each type of hepatitis has its own set of symptoms. For example, if someone had jaundice, nausea, vomiting, diarrhea and other mild flu-like symptoms, a doctor might suspect
hepatitis A. However, if someone had jaundice with dark urine, muscle aches and pains, fatigue and loss of appetite, a doctor might suspect
hepatitis C. Having any of these symptoms might be a reason to see a physician. Since common symptoms overlap with many diseases, sometimes
blood tests are necessary to diagnose hepatitis.
