What is acute hepatitis?

Hepatitis is inflammation (swelling) of your liver. An acute illness is one that comes on quickly and goes away quickly. Acute hepatitis sometimes becomes chronic hepatitis. A chronic illness is one that lasts a long time.

• Acute hepatitis is caused by a viral infection
• Your symptoms can range from mild and flu-like to severe and life-threatening
• Doctors do blood tests to see if you have acute hepatitis
• You can get vaccines (shots) to prevent some types of hepatitis
• Certain activities, like getting tattoos or piercings, sharing needles to inject drugs, or having several sex partners, raise your risk of getting hepatitis

What causes acute hepatitis?

• There are 5 types of hepatitis virus that can cause acute viral hepatitis, and they're known as A, B, C, D, and E
• Hepatitis A virus is the most common cause of hepatitis
• Hepatitis B virus is the second most common cause

The different hepatitis viruses spread in different ways:

• Hepatitis A: through water or food contaminated by stool (poop) from infected people
• Hepatitis B: through contact with blood or body fluids from infected people, for example, by having sex or sharing needles (to use drugs or get tattoos)—also, a pregnant woman can pass hepatitis B to her baby
• Hepatitis C: through contact with blood from infected people, for example, by sharing needles—having sex usually doesn't transmit hepatitis C
• Hepatitis D: Same as hepatitis B
• Hepatitis E: Same as hepatitis A

What are the symptoms of acute hepatitis?

You may have no symptoms at all, or you may have symptoms like:

• Less hungry than usual
• Fever, throwing up, or feeling sick to your stomach
• Pain in the upper right part of your belly, which is where your liver is
• Yellowing of your skin and the white parts of your eyes (jaundice)
• Dark urineA
• distaste for cigarettes, if you smoke

Many symptoms usually go away in 3 to 10 days, and you start to feel better. The yellowing of your skin and eyes can last 2 to 4 weeks.

What are the complications of acute hepatitis?

You may have no complications but sometimes:

• With hepatitis B, your liver stops working (liver failure)
• With hepatitis B, C, or D, the hepatitis becomes chronic
• With hepatitis B, C, or D, you can get liver cancer years later

How can doctors tell if I have acute hepatitis?

Doctors will:

• Do blood tests to see how well your liver is working and check for hepatitis viruses
• Occasionally, do a biopsy of your liver by taking a sample of it with a needle to look at under a microscope

How do doctors treat acute hepatitis?

If you have mild acute viral hepatitis:

• You'll probably recover in 4 to 8 weeks with no special treatment
• Your doctor will ask you not to drink alcohol or take certain drugs until you're healthy

If you have severe acute viral hepatitis, you may need:

• To be cared for in the hospital
• Medicines that help kill the virus
• Rarely, a liver transplant

How can I prevent acute hepatitis?

You can get shots (vaccines) to prevent infections from hepatitis A, B, and E.
If you may have been in contact with someone with hepatitis A or B, you can get a shot that helps fight the infection.
You can also help prevent acute viral hepatitis if you:

• Wash your hands thoroughly before you touch food
• Don't share toothbrushes, razors, or other things that could get blood on them from other people
• Practice safe sex, such as using a condom
• Limit the number of people you have sex with
• Don't share needles to inject drugs