Pronounced: "Hep-a-ti-tus Bee"

Symptoms:

Often none, but may include: 

• a short flu-like illness
• tiredness
• feeling sick
• being sick
• loss of appetite
• weight loss
• jaundice (yellow skin) 
• itchy skin

In rare cases it causes severe liver inflammation, liver failure and sometimes death.

How is it passed on?

Unprotected sex or oral sex with an infected person; sharing infected needles or other drug-injecting equipment; infected tattooing, acupuncture or body-piercing equipment; receiving infected blood.


Long Term Effects

People who become chronic (long-term) Hepatitis B carriers can get permanent liver damage, cirrhosis of the liver, lymphoma and cancer.

For more STI info: www.ruthinking.co.uk, www.fpa.org.uk, STD Factfile