What should you know about hepatitis B liver cirrhosis?

Hepatitis B infects liver cells and may continue silently for years. Persistent inflammation can replace healthy tissue with scar tissue. As scarring progresses, the liver may struggle to make proteins, process medicines, and manage fluid. Tests can include liver blood panels, viral activity tests, ultrasound or other imaging, and non-invasive measurements of stiffness. Cirrhosis may be compensated for a time, with few symptoms, or decompensated, when complications become apparent.

See a liver specialist or qualified clinician for a tailored plan. Take prescribed antiviral medicine consistently, avoid alcohol unless your clinician says otherwise, and check before using pain medicines, herbal products, or supplements. Ask about nutrition, vaccination, and monitoring for fluid buildup, bleeding, confusion, and liver tumours. Regular surveillance can support earlier detection of [Liver Cancer](/conditions/liver-cancer/), which may need a different assessment from cirrhosis itself.

Go to urgent care for vomiting blood, black tarry stools, sudden confusion, severe drowsiness, fever with belly swelling, or rapidly worsening yellow skin or eyes. New breathlessness, increasing ankle swelling, or a fast increase in abdominal size should be reported promptly because fluid retention can worsen quickly.

Ask what stage of scarring is present, whether hepatitis B is active, which medicines are safe, how fluid and bleeding risks will be monitored, and which symptoms should trigger same-day help.