The hepatitis C virus (HCV) is one of several viral infections that can cause serious damage to your liver. The Mayo Clinic states that this form of the viral infection is classified as the most serious. The disease typically is transmitted from contaminated blood via a shared syringe, which means the people who get the infection most often are illegal intravenous drug users such as heroin addicts. There may be no symptoms of the disease in many people until liver damage and disease are detected many years after the initial infection.
Liver Tenderness
Your liver, which is a gland, is located on the right side of your body at the top area of your abdomen. It is beneath your diaphragm, which is the membrane that delineates your abdomen from your chest area. If you have hepatitis C, you may experience pain in this area of your body, the area surrounding your liver.
Pain
Hepatitis C also may manifest itself with pain elsewhere in your body as a symptom. This pain most often occurs in areas that you may not associate with a liver problem. Pain typically occurs in the joints throughout your body, as well as in your muscles. While this may occur from a variety of other things such as exercise, hard work, other diseases and as side effects from medications, if you have shared needles with anyone, it can be a sign of hepatitis C infection.
Nausea
HCV infection affects your whole body and makes it work differently than it normally does. This is true of any disease. In the case of hepatitis C, the infection can cause problems with your digestion. It can, for example, cause you to become nauseous and vomit. This can lead to or be separate from another common symptom of HCV, which is losing your appetite. You may still be able to eat, but your appetite may be vastly decreased.
Fever and Fatigue
As with many viral infections, even less severe types such as the flu, your body temperature may rise higher than normal, making you sweat and giving you the chills. You also may experience a general weakness of your body and feel fatigued, the same way you might feel if you exercised or worked vigorously.
