Recovering from hepatitis E
Once you have got rid of the hepatitis E virus you should be able to recover and get back to normal over time.
The information on this page is for:
- Adults with Hepatitis E or suspected Hepatitis E
- Family, friends, carers, and healthcare professionals.
If your immune system is working normally then you will have long lasting antibodies in your blood. These should stop you getting hepatitis E again. But it is still possible for you to get other types of viral hepatitis. So you should still take action to reduce your risk.
If you are immunosuppressed then you might not have made antibodies. So there is a small risk of picking up the virus again. Find out more about how to prevent this here.
Hepatitis E causes inflammation of your liver. Once the virus is gone this inflammation will stop. But if you had a severe case, it could have caused some damage to your liver.
Your liver has an amazing ability to repair itself. So as long as the damage was not too severe, it will be able to repair it. This can take several months. And you might feel very tired while your liver works hard to recover.
You can find out more about other ways to help your liver recover on this page. And also how you can find support through Liver UK.
On this page:
Helping your liver to recover
Diet
There are no specific foods that will help your liver to recover. It is best to eat a healthy balanced diet.
Alcohol
If you usually drink alcohol, then cutting down could help your liver to recover. You can find out more about the guidelines on alcohol here.
Supplements and complementary treatments
There are no supplements that have been proved to help recovery from hepatitis E.
You need to be very careful about taking any supplements or alternative or complementary medicines if you have had hepatitis E. One of your liver’s jobs is to break down medicines. It might not be able to do this as well while it is recovering from hepatitis E. The medicine or supplement can put extra strain on your liver. And you could be at greater risk of side effects from the medicine.
Always talk to your doctor before trying a supplement or alternative or complementary medicine. Make sure the doctor knows that you have recently had hepatitis E and that they know about any other medicines you are taking.
Support
How Liver UK can help
A diagnosis of liver disease can be worrying, and you may have a lot of questions.
We're here for you and for your family and friends. Whether you have questions or just need someone to listen, we can help.
Your feedback
This content was last reviewed: November 2023
Our expert reviewers:
We would like to thank everyone who helped with creating and reviewing this page. Including Professor Stephen Ryder, consultant hepatologist at Nottingham University Hospitals NHS trust and Dr Ahmed Elsharkawy, consultant hepatologist. And all our patient reviewers.
Find out how we make our patient information.
Everyone’s experience of liver disease will be different. Always talk to your specialist medical team for personal advice.
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