Although every situation is somewhat different, you can probably expect at least three things to happen when you first visit your doctor to be evaluated for hepatitis.
1. History
First, your doctor will ask you a series of questions about your medical history, family history, work history, and lifestyle. Your answers to these questions will provide clues about your possible risk factors for hepatitis.
2. Physical
A physical examination of your body will probably include looking into your eyes, ears, mouth, taking your blood pressure, and checking your weight. As part of the physical exam, your doctor will also examine your liver from the outside.
To evaluate the liver, your doctor will lightly tap your abdomen above the liver (the rib cage on your right side). The sound he or she hears may indicate whether there is an abnormality in the size and/or position of the liver. Next, your doctor will press gently over the area above your liver. If you liver is normal, it will be of normal size, neither shrunken nor enlarged, nor tender to the touch.
3. Tests
Often, even in more advanced disease, hepatitis has no symptoms. Because of this, and because there are chemical and biological markers to indicate how the liver is functioning, a diagnosis of hepatitis is made on the basis of several laboratory tests. Initial testing will involve taking a sample of your blood, which is likely to happen at your first doctor's visit. Follow-up testing may be done after these results are received.
To learn more about testing, see Diagnosing Hepatitis.
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