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Some people get infected with the hepatitis B virus and don't know it. But most adults who have been infected with hepatitis B get some symptoms. Common symptoms are feeling tired and losing your appetite.

About 7 in 10 of people who are infected with hepatitis B get symptoms. Adults are more likely to get symptoms than children.¹ If you do get symptoms, you get them between 6 weeks and 21 weeks after you were infected with the hepatitis B virus.

These are the most common symptoms:²

• Feeling tired
• Losing your appetite
• Getting aches and pains
• Feeling sick to your stomach
• Vomiting
• Having urine that is darker than usual
• Having a yellowish tint to your skin and the whites of your eyes (doctors call this jaundice).

Other, less common symptoms include:

• Losing weight
• Feeling depressed and anxious
• Having a fever
• Getting headaches
• Having problems sleeping
• Feeling itchy
• Getting discomfort in the right side of your abdomen.

But your doctor can't tell if you have hepatitis B just from your symptoms. You will need to have blood tests to see if you definitely have hepatitis B. Your doctor will be able to tell from the tests if you got the infection recently or if you have been carrying the virus in your blood for some time. Your doctor will also be able to tell from blood tests if you had hepatitis B in the past but your body got rid of it.

Your doctor might also want to do another blood test to see how well your liver is working. This is because the hepatitis B virus can damage your liver. Also, if you have hepatitis B, you may have other blood tests to see if you have any other infections.

Six months after you are diagnosed, your doctor may also ask you to have a blood test to see if you still have the hepatitis B virus.³

This information is for educational use only, and is not a substitute for prompt professional medical advice. Readers should always consult a physician or other professional for advice and treatment. ©BMJ Publishing Group Limited 2008. All rights reserved.