Very few diseases come with warning signs and infections like hepatitis C don’t make it easy for one to diagnose it. It takes weeks or months for the symptoms to show and in many cases, the signs may not be noticeable at all. This allows the condition to progress quite a bit, resulting in severe liver damage. While most patients get cured on their own, some cases turn into chronic infections. Here, check out 10 early symptoms of Hepatitis C.

• Loss of Appetite

If you have come down with a viral infection, you may not feel like putting anything in your stomach. The same is applicable for hepatitis C. Loss of appetite is a sign of both acute and chronic hepatitis C.

• Fever

A mild fever may accompany someone who has newly been affected with hepatitis C. But most people do not have a strong immediate reaction to the virus. Low fever can also be a chronic infection symptom.

• Fatigue

Your body will try to fight the virus naturally, which may leave you feeling wiped out initially. Check your diet and rest patterns to note if you feel more tired than usual. Cases of sudden insomnia are also related to liver disease.

• Nausea and Vomiting

When the liver isn’t doing well, you may have an urge to vomit. That queasy feeling in the pit of the stomach, even when you haven’t eaten anything, or have only consumed something light, is one of the signs of hepatitis C.

• Joint Pain

Minor or major joint pain is a common hepatitis C sign. People usually feel sore and an ache in the joints of their hands and wrists.

• Abdominal Pain

When there is sudden liver inflammation, the outer layer of the liver tissue stretches, causing pain in the upper right part of the abdomen. This is an acute sign of hepatitis C.

• Easy Bruising

When the liver backs blood up into the spleen, it tends to hang onto the platelets, as a result of which there are fewer platelets in the bloodstream. This leads to poor clotting function, making easy bruising an easily warning sign of hepatitis C.

• Dark urine

If your pee is as dark to the extent of being blackish, instead of the normal yellow or straw-color, it’s a sign of hepatitis C. This is because the release of high levels of bilirubin in the urine is an indication of liver disease.

• Pale Stool

When bilirubin mixes with bile in the liver it gives your stool its dark brown color. But if you have hepatitis C, the stool will be light or clay-colored.

• Swollen Belly

Medically, this condition is known as ascites — an unusual buildup of excess fluids in your abdomen, arms, and legs. A swollen belly can be a long-term untreated symptom and one of the early warning signs of chronic hepatitis C. It occurs when there is severe liver scarring. In this, pressure in the blood vessels supplying the liver with blood causes fluids to leak and collect in the abdomen.