Hepatitis C is a viral infection transmitted through the blood that often damages the liver over time, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). People with chronic hepatitis C may have no outward signs of the disease for many years, although liver damage and the risk for serious complications may increase. The CDC says that 60 percent to 75 percent of people initially affected by acute hepatitis C develop chronic hepatitis C. Chronic hepatitis C may cause no symptoms for many years, even though the liver is damaged during that time.
Nausea, Fever, Fatigue
The initial infection with hepatitis C causes yellowing of the skin and whites of the eyes known as jaundice, along with nausea, fatigue, dark colored urine, fever and elevated liver enzymes. According to the CDC, about 15 percent to 25 percent of acute hepatitis C cases spontaneously clear and cause no further symptoms.
Cirrhosis
According to the CDC, 5 percent to 20 percent of people infected with the hepatitis C virus develop cirrhosis of the liver, a condition in which normal liver tissue is replaced by fibrous non-functioning tissue. It takes 10 to 30 years for the liver to become cirrhotic after infection with hepatitis C on average, according to the Mayo Clinic, and half of these go on to liver failure or liver cancer. Cirrhosis can lead to life-threatening bleeding from dilated blood vessels known as varices, or to brain damage from accumulation of toxins not cleared by the damaged liver, according to the Mayo Clinic.
Liver Cancer
People with cirrhosis are at a higher than normal risk for developing liver cancer, according to the Mayo Clinic--which says that half of all patients who develop hepatitis C-related cirrhosis develop either liver cancer of liver failure. According to Drs. Paul Hansen and Ken Flora of the Providence Health Services, about 4 percent of all patients with hepatitis C develop liver cancer.
Other Health Risks
Cryoglobulinemia, a disease that affects skin, muscles, joints and kidneys, is the most common disease outside of liver disease known to affect those with hepatitis C, according to the National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases (NIDDK). People with hepatitis C are three times more likely to develop Type 2 (adult onset) diabetes than the normal population, according to the CDC. They're also prone to developing glomerulitis, a type of inflammatory kidney disease, and somewhat more likely to develop non-Hodgkins lymphoma, a cancer that effects the lymph glands.
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