How to Recognize Hepatitis A Symptoms
Get medical help if you’re jaundiced., See your doctor if you may have been exposed to Hepatitis A and feel like you have the flu., Evaluate your pains., Seek care if your urine and stool look different than usual.
Step-by-Step Guide
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Step 1: Get medical help if you’re jaundiced.
Hep A has a discrete onset of flu-like symptoms such as fever, headache, malaise, anorexia, nausea, vomiting, diarrhea and abdominal pain and sometimes followed by jaundice, dark-colored urine and clay-colored stools.
Jaundice is yellowing of the skin, mucous membranes, or sclera (whites of the eyes) that often appears two to three weeks after onset of flu-like symptoms and post resolution of an active illness.
Jaundice is caused by excess bilirubin in the body.
Bilirubin is a yellow-orange pigment in bile made by the liver when red blood cells are broken down.
High bilirubin in the body indicates a problem with the liver.The easiest place to notice jaundice at home is yellowing of the whites of the eyes. -
Step 2: See your doctor if you may have been exposed to Hepatitis A and feel like you have the flu.
The incubation period for Hepatitis A is 15 to 50 days, with an average of 28 days, so you won’t feel sick until two weeks or longer after exposure to the virus.Some generic symptoms occur with a variety of illnesses, but if you experience these and are at-risk for Hepatitis A exposure, be suspicious of infection and see your doctor:
Rapid onset of fever.
Malaise or fatigue.
Low appetite.
Nausea or vomiting. , Abdominal pain and joint pain can also occur as symptoms of Hepatitis A.
See your provider if you experience these along with other symptoms or risk factors., Dark urine and clay-colored, pale stools are other symptoms of Hepatitis A that are less frequent in more common illnesses. -
Step 3: Evaluate your pains.
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Step 4: Seek care if your urine and stool look different than usual.
Detailed Guide
Hep A has a discrete onset of flu-like symptoms such as fever, headache, malaise, anorexia, nausea, vomiting, diarrhea and abdominal pain and sometimes followed by jaundice, dark-colored urine and clay-colored stools.
Jaundice is yellowing of the skin, mucous membranes, or sclera (whites of the eyes) that often appears two to three weeks after onset of flu-like symptoms and post resolution of an active illness.
Jaundice is caused by excess bilirubin in the body.
Bilirubin is a yellow-orange pigment in bile made by the liver when red blood cells are broken down.
High bilirubin in the body indicates a problem with the liver.The easiest place to notice jaundice at home is yellowing of the whites of the eyes.
The incubation period for Hepatitis A is 15 to 50 days, with an average of 28 days, so you won’t feel sick until two weeks or longer after exposure to the virus.Some generic symptoms occur with a variety of illnesses, but if you experience these and are at-risk for Hepatitis A exposure, be suspicious of infection and see your doctor:
Rapid onset of fever.
Malaise or fatigue.
Low appetite.
Nausea or vomiting. , Abdominal pain and joint pain can also occur as symptoms of Hepatitis A.
See your provider if you experience these along with other symptoms or risk factors., Dark urine and clay-colored, pale stools are other symptoms of Hepatitis A that are less frequent in more common illnesses.
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