Hepatitis Slideshow Pictures Digestive Disease Myths Slideshow Pictures Infectious Mononucleosis Slideshow Pictures

Medical Author:

Charles Patrick Davis, MD, PhD

Charles Patrick Davis, MD, PhD

Dr. Charles "Pat" Davis, MD, PhD, is a board certified Emergency Medicine doctor who currently practices as a consultant and staff member for hospitals. He has a PhD in Microbiology (UT at Austin), and the MD (Univ. Texas Medical Branch, Galveston). He is a Clinical Professor (retired) in the Division of Emergency Medicine, UT Health Science Center at San Antonio, and has been the Chief of Emergency Medicine at UT Medical Branch and at UTHSCSA with over 250 publications.

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Medical Editor:

Mary Nettleman, MD, MS, MACP

Mary Nettleman, MD, MS, MACP

Mary D. Nettleman, MD, MS, MACP is the Chair of the Department of Medicine at Michigan State University. She is a graduate of Vanderbilt Medical School, and completed her residency in Internal Medicine and a fellowship in Infectious Diseases at Indiana University.

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When to Seek Medical Care

A health care practitioner should be contacted if any of the following symptoms occur:

• Nausea and vomiting that does not improve within 1-2 days
• Yellow skin or eyes
• Dark colored urine
• Pain in the belly (abdomen)

The following situations also warrant a call to the health care practitioner:

• A person has symptoms and thinks that they might have been exposed to someone with hepatitis.
• A person has other medical problems and thinks that they might have hepatitis.
• A person who has had close contact with someone diagnosed with hepatitis.

If an individual cannot reach their primary health care practitioner and have any of the following symptoms they should go to an Emergency Department.

• Vomiting and inability to keep down any liquids
• Severe pain or high fever
• Confusion, delirium, or difficulty awakening