Hepatitis C is a liver-related viral infection that can cause major damage to the liver and its functions in the body. This infection spreads through contact with contaminated blood. While medication has advanced to help cure even chronic Hep C over a period of time, its symptoms do not show until later stages.

Hardly one out of four people are diagnosed with Hep C in the early stages, which is within six months of contracting the virus. If at all the symptoms show, then they usually appear within a few weeks of getting infected and include any or all of the following.

1. Loss of appetite

Given that the body is adapting and fighting the hep C virus, the individual may experience a loss of appetite.

2. Tiredness

The body undergoes radical changes when infected with a virus, resulting in a constant feeling of tiredness or fatigue. There can also be a constant feeling of being sick.

3. Fever

This is one of the primary symptoms associated with an infection, and the temperature can easily be 100.4F or above.

4. Pain

A Hep C patient can experience pain in the abdomen region. One can even experience pain in other muscles and joints.

5. Yellowing of the skin and eyes

One in five Hep C patients exhibits jaundice – which is evident through the yellowing of the skin and/or eyes.

6. Mental health fluctuations

Sudden brain fogs – where the short term memory of the individual is affected and can also disrupt mental tasks such as mental math. There could also be an onset of mood swings or a feeling of depression and anxiety.

7. Other symptoms associated with Hep C

As the infection progresses, its symptoms manifest themselves based on different factors and levels of infection. There are cases when Hep C is diagnosed as a result of unrelated blood tests. In some cases, the infection starts affecting the quality of life of the individual. Moreover, the symptoms can stop occurring for a time and then recur at any point.

8. Absence of symptoms

When a person is infected with Hep C, the immune system usually kicks in pretty effectively and kills the virus before it progresses. In these cases, the individual will not exhibit any symptoms unless they contract the virus again. While this is true of one in four people, the remaining cases have the virus persisting inside the body for more than a few years, and this condition is known as chronic hepatitis.

It is important to get repetitive symptoms checked and rule out Hep C to prevent scarring in the liver. Some of the signs related to scarring, commonly referred to as cirrhosis, is vomiting blood, feces being dark, jaundice, and fluid build-up in the abdomen and lungs.