Hepatitis is the inflammation of the liver, which is triggered by different causes. One of the most common causes of hepatitis is one of five different viruses, known as Hepatitis A, B, C, D, or E. They are viruses with varying disease mechanisms, but they all cause a liver disease known as viral hepatitis.
Other types of hepatitis can be triggered by alcohol, toxic substances, and autoimmune disease. Most of them have similar symptoms, but the disease’s development is very different from one another, and sometimes the infection is asymptomatic until it causes liver cancer or cirrhosis.
In this article, we’re covering the signs and symptoms commonly shared by most viral hepatitis, and then we’re going through specific symptoms triggered by individual hepatitis viruses.
First of all, it is vital to recognize those symptoms shared by most types of hepatitis:
Asymptomatic disease
Most hepatitis types have the potential to remain asymptomatic. So, the absence of symptoms does not necessarily mean you do not have hepatitis. That’s why doctors sometimes diagnose hepatitis from lab exams, and patients feel perfectly well. If that’s your case, remember that this disease won’t probably heal by itself (most hepatitis viruses that cause an asymptomatic disease only heal after treatment).
As you remain asymptomatic, hepatitis viruses are probably causing ongoing inflammation in the liver. The virus keeps replicating, and the disease worsens over time. This persistent and gradually worsening inflammatory condition causes alterations in the structure of the liver. It favors liver cancer development and triggers liver fibrosis that turns into cirrhosis after a while. Do not neglect your condition or think you will heal by yourself if you have an asymptomatic hepatitis case.
