What Are the First Symptoms of Hepatitis C in Adults?
Hepatitis C, which is transferred mostly through blood, causes liver inflammation, and is more persistent than hepatitis A or B. High-risk groups include those who share needles while either doing drugs or receiving tattoos, acupuncture or body piercing. Also at high risk are people who receive unscreened blood transfusions, hemophiliacs, dialysis patients and those who practice unprotected sex with multiple partners.
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No Symptoms
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Many people do not show any symptoms when they first become infected with the virus. Symptoms can take 15 to 150 days emerge.
Unknown Carrier
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A person who does not develop early warning signs will not know that he has contracted the virus; the immune system can fight it and clear it from the body. An infected person without symptoms can be an unknown carrier, however, and can pass the virus to others.
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Flu Symptoms
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An early sign of the virus can be a short, mild illness that has symptoms similar to the flu. These include headaches, nausea, vomiting and diarrhea.
Changing Urine and Stool Color
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Urine becomes dark yellow, gradually becoming coffee-colored. Stools have a pale color, abdominal pain increases and the skin becomes itchy.
Jaundice
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This condition is recognized when the skin and whites of the eyes take on a yellowish color.
Other Diseases
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If hepatitis C infection lasts in the body for several years, other diseases can develop, including chronic hepatitis, cirrhosis of the liver and liver cancer.
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