Hepatitis A: spread, symptoms, care, and prevention

It may cause tiredness, poor appetite, nausea, abdominal discomfort, dark urine, pale stools, or yellowing of the skin and eyes. Care is usually supportive, and the infection does not become a long-term hepatitis A infection.

The virus is passed in stool and can reach another person's mouth through unwashed hands, contaminated food or drink, or close contact. Someone can transmit it even before recognising symptoms, which makes careful handwashing especially useful after using the toilet and before preparing food.

Inflammation temporarily affects how the liver processes substances and releases bile. Symptoms alone cannot distinguish hepatitis A from other causes of liver inflammation. A clinician uses exposure history and blood tests to confirm the diagnosis and may request liver function tests to assess inflammation and liver performance.

Arrange medical advice if hepatitis A is possible. Rest according to your energy, drink enough to avoid dehydration, and try small balanced meals if nausea or loss of appetite makes eating difficult. Avoid alcohol and check medicines, supplements, and herbal products with a clinician or pharmacist because the liver processes many of them.

Wash hands thoroughly with soap and water, do not prepare food for others while advised to avoid it, and follow local public-health instructions about work or school. Household and close contacts should promptly ask whether vaccination or another preventive measure is suitable after exposure.

Seek urgent care for confusion, extreme drowsiness, fainting, unusual bleeding, severe or worsening abdominal pain, repeated vomiting, inability to keep fluids down, or very little urine. These features can signal serious liver dysfunction or dehydration.

Contact a clinician promptly for yellow skin or eyes, dark urine with pale stools, or symptoms after a known exposure. People with existing liver disease, older adults, and pregnant people should mention their circumstances early so care can be tailored.

Ask which blood tests are needed, what changes would indicate liver recovery, and which medicines or supplements to pause. Clarify how long to avoid preparing food for others, who among your close contacts needs advice, and whether your hepatitis A vaccinations are up to date.