Although you may develop chronic hepatitis B if you were infected with the virus at birth, you can also develop a chronic infection if you were first infected as an adult. Chronic hepatitis B does not cause symptoms in all people, and you may not even know you have the virus; however, up to 25 percent of those with chronic infections will experience serious health effects. According to the Centers for Disease Control and the American Liver Foundation, symptoms of B infections include liver damage and cancer.
Time Frame
Although symptoms of acute infection with hepatitis B usually resolve within six months after infection, symptoms of chronic infections may take 20 to 30 years to develop and can last for your entire lifetime.
Pain
You may experience intermittent or persistent pain in your joints that resembles that of arthritis, although you may not be able to take most types of pain killers due to their negative effects on the health of your liver.
Tiredness
Feelings of extreme tiredness and persistent fatigue are symptoms of chronic hepatitis B infection that may make it difficult for you to go about daily activities such as taking care of your home and working at a full-time job.
Cirrhosis
Cirrhosis is the medical term for scarring of the tissue of your liver and is a slowly progressing condition that can result in the failure of your liver.
Liver Cancer
Chronic infection with the hepatitis B virus can cause persistent and long-term inflammation, which can damage the genetic material of the cells in your liver and result in liver cancer.
Liver Failure
After several decades of B infection, years of scarring and death of your liver cells can result in liver failure, which is a life-threatening condition that may be treated with liver transplantation.
Tags: your liver, chronic hepatitis, chronic hepatitis, chronic hepatitis infection, chronic infections