Hepatitis Symptoms The Big List of Acute Viral Hepatitis Symptoms By Charles Daniel | Reviewed by Susan Olender, MD Updated June 14, 2017 Share Pin Email Print Sam Edwards/OJO Images/Getty Images More in Hepatitis Symptoms Hepatitis A & B Hepatitis C Causes & Diagnosis Treatment Living With Prevention Here is a list of symptoms associated with acute viral hepatitis. Because they are broad and varied, it is helpful to view these symptoms as happening in stages. Many doctors organize them into three groups or stages: beginning, later and recovery. The symptoms of acute viral hepatitis are often the same regardless of the virus that causes it. This means that diagnosis of a particular kind of viral hepatitis can't be made from the symptoms alone. For this, you need a physician and laboratory blood tests.Initial Acute Viral Hepatitis Symptoms General malaise (a vague symptom where you feel uncomfortable and a little tired)Myalgia (muscle pain)Arthralgia (joint pain)Fatigue (extreme tiredness)HeadacheAnorexia (having no appetite)Changes in your normal sense of smell and taste accompany anorexia (For example, smokers sometimes develop a temporary distaste for smoking)Unusual sensitivity to bright light (photophobia)Nausea and vomiting (these are very common symptoms)Diarrhea (less common)Constipation (less common)Fever (usually low-grade and most common in hepatitis A and E)Upper-right abdominal pain (pain in the upper belly on the right side, usually mild and constant)Later Acute Viral Hepatitis Symptoms JaundiceDark-colored urineLight-colored stoolsFulminant Hepatitis SymptomsA small number of people with acute viral hepatitis (caused by any of the hepatotropic viruses) will develop fulminant hepatitis. This is most common for hepatitis B and is possible with hepatitis C, but rarely happens. For fulminant hepatitis, the symptoms are different and life-threatening:EncephalopathyConfusionDisorientationAscitesEdemaBleedingTo learn more about hepatitis and the viruses that can cause it, please follow the links below: Hepatitis A VirusHepatitis B VirusHepatitis C VirusHepatitis D VirusHepatitis E VirusDiagnosing HepatitisSources:Berenguer M, Wright TL. Hepatitis C. In: M Feldman, LS Friedman, LJ Brandt (eds), Gastrointestinal and Liver Disease, 8e. Philadelphia, Elsevier, 2006. 1688-1689.Dienstag JL. Acute Viral Hepatitis. In: AS Fauci, E Braunwald, DL Kasper, SL Hauser, DL Longo, JL Jameson, J Loscaizo (eds), Harrison’s Principles of Internal Medicine, 17e. New York, McGraw-Hill, 2008. 1941-1942.Friedman LS. Liver, Biliary Tract, & Pancreas. In: LM Tierney, SJ McPhee, MA Papadakis (eds), Current Medical Diagnosis & Treatment, 46e. New York, McGraw-Hill, 2007.Perrillo R, Nair, S. Hepatitis B and D. In: M Feldman, LS Friedman, LJ Brandt (eds), Gastrointestinal and Liver Disease, 8e. Philadelphia, Elsevier, 2006. 1654-1655.Sjogren MH. Hepatitis A. In: M Feldman, LS Friedman, LJ Brandt (eds), Gastrointestinal and Liver Disease, 8e. Philadelphia, Elsevier, 2006. 1641-1642. Continue Reading