There are two main kinds of hepatitis, acute hepatitis and chronic hepatitis. When a person has hepatitis, the liver may become inflamed very suddenly. This is called acute hepatitis. If you have acute hepatitis, you might have nausea, vomiting, fever and body aches. Or you may not have any symptoms.
Most people get over the acute inflammation in a few days or a few weeks.
Sometimes, however, the inflammation doesn't go away. When the inflammation doesn't go away, the person has chronic hepatitis. The liver breaks down waste products in your blood. When the liver is inflamed, it doesn't do a good job of getting rid of waste products. The bilirubin makes the skin of a person with hepatitis turn a yellow-orange color.