Symptoms of Acute hepatitis

• malaise
• muscle and joint aches
• fever
• nausea or vomiting
• diarrhea, and headache

More specific symptoms in acute hepatitis:

• profound loss of appetite
• aversion to smoking among smokers
• dark urine
• yellowing of the eyes and skin
• abdominal discomfort.

Physical symptoms of acute hepatitis are usually minimal, apart from jaundice (33%) and tender hepatomegaly (10%). There can be occasional lymphadenopathy (5%) or splenomegaly (5%).

Clinically, the course of acute hepatitis varies widely from mild symptoms requiring no treatment to fulminant hepatic failure needing liver transplantation. Acute viral hepatitis is more likely to be asymptomatic in younger people. Symptomatic individuals may present after convalescent stage of 7 to 10 days, with the total illness lasting 2 to 6 weeks.

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