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All you Need to Know About Liver Disease
A liver is a unique body organ that performs important roles related to energy storage, making toxins less harmful to the body, breaking down substances, and metabolism. The liver helps filter out toxins from the blood to prevent infections. Without having a functional or healthy liver, the chances of surviving are very low.
When you hear of liver disease, it is mainly a general term that describes problems affecting the liver. This disease develops because of different reasons, but they all damage your liver.
What are the Functions of the Liver
The liver has 3 major functions including:
- Extracting energy
- Breaking down substances
- Making the toxins less harmful to the body
- Removing all the toxins from the bloodstream
For the liver to do this, it receives nutrient-rich blood from other digestive organs via the portal vein. The liver has many cells, such as hepatocytes that take in and filter the blood. These cells function as sorting centers, determining:
- What the body should store
- Which nutrients to be processed
- What to eliminate via stool
- What should go back to the bloodstream after filtering
Furthermore, the liver manufacturers over 800mm of bile according to PubMed. The bile is carried to the small intestines via the bile duct, where the bile is used to break down fats. If there is any extra bile, it is stored in the gallbladder.
The liver also stored vitamins and minerals, such as iron and copper, and it releases them when they are needed. Still, it plays a vital role in storing fats or releasing them as energy.
In addition, the liver helps in breaking down proteins. The by-product of protein breakdown is called ammonia, which becomes toxic in large amounts. In toxic levels, the liver turns the ammonia into urea and the liver releases it into the blood, and the liver excretes it via urine.
Some other important roles of the liver include:
- Metabolizing medications into active ingredients
- Manufacture of cholesterol and chemicals needed for fat transportation
- Production of amino acids
- Storage of extra glucose as glycogen
- Breaking down old and weak red blood cells
- It creates immune system factors that fight against diseases and infections.
After going through all the important roles of the Liver, you now know how important it is and the reason you should keep it healthy.
Symptoms of Liver Disease
The signs and symptoms of liver disease vary, depending on the exact cause. However, you can notice some symptoms that indicate you have some kind of liver disease. Check some of the symptoms below.
- Yellow eyes and skin (jaundice)
- Abdominal pain and swelling
- Itchy skin
- Swelling in the legs and ankles
- Chronic fatigue
- Changes in urine color (dark urine)
- Bruising easily
- Vomiting or Nausea
- Black, pale, or black stool
- Decreased appetite.
If you experience any of the symptoms above, you should seek immediate medical attention to prevent serious damage to the liver.
Common Problems that Cause Liver Disease
Multiple conditions affect your liver and some can be controlled. Check some of the main ones below.
1. Fatty Liver Disease
This disease occurs when there is excess fat build up inside your liver. When there is excess fat build-up, the cells in the liver are damaged. This scars the liver and leads to disorders, such as cirrhosis.
The two types of fatty liver are:
- Fatty liver disease (NAFLD) occurs when there is inflammation in the liver
- Alcoholic fatty liver disease brought by excessive drinking.
If the two types of fatty liver disease are poorly managed, it can lead to liver failure and cirrhosis. However, lifestyle and diet changes can help reduce this condition.
2. Hepatitis
Hepatitis is one of the main causes of liver disease. It causes inflammation and complete liver damage, making it hard for the liver to function. There are different types of hepatitis, including hepatitis A, B, C, D, and E.
Hepatitis A:
This type of hepatitis is a viral infection that causes liver inflammation. It is spread through contact with contaminated water or food. Luckily, it goes away by itself within 6 months without causing any long-term harm.
Hepatitis B:
Hepatitis B condition can be either acute or chronic. This one is spread through blood and semen. Hepatitis B is controllable and treatable, but it has no cure. To avoid long-term complications, consider going for regular screening or early treatment.
Hepatitis C:
Hepatitis C comes from infected blood that mixes with your blood or getting into contact with blood from someone with Hepatitis C. This type of hepatitis can be acute or chronic.
Hepatitis C does cause symptoms during the early stages, but it can cause permanent damage to the liver when gets to a serious stage.
Hepatitis D:
This type of hepatitis is serious and requires a lot of medical attention. Hepatitis D develops only in people with Hepatitis B. It is very rare to contract it on it’s own.
Hepatitis E:
Lastly, we have Hepatitis E which is caused by drinking contaminated water. Luckily, hepatitis E clears easily on it’s own and it doesn’t have long-term complications.
3. Genetic Conditions
Liver disease can be caused by genetic conditions which can be inherited from your parents. Some of the genetic conditions include:
Alpha-1 antitrypsin deficiency:
This condition occurs when the liver can’t make sufficient alpha-1 antitrypsin. Alpha-1 antitrypsin is a protein that prevents the enzymes from breaking down.
With this condition, you put yourself at a higher risk of liver and lung disease. However, this condition has no cure but you can prevent it.
Hemochromatosis:
Hemochromatosis is a condition that makes your body store more iron than the required. When there is more iron storage, some of it is stored in your liver, which can be unhealthy. If this condition is poorly managed, it can lead to serious damage to your liver and vital body organs.
Wilson’s disease:
It causes the liver to absorb copper instead of releasing it in your bile ducts. When the body continues to store the copper, more of it travels in your bloodstream and causes damage to other body parts.
Most individuals inherit the above genetic conditions from their parents. Luckily, they can be controlled to prevent damage to vital body organs.
4. Autoimmune Conditions
When you have autoimmune conditions, the immune system attacks healthy cells in the body, leading to poor health. Some of the autoimmune conditions that attack your liver cells include:
Biliary Cirrhosis
This condition occurs when the bile ducts in the liver are damaged. When the bile ducts are damaged, there is excessive bile buildup. You should know that this condition leads to liver failure and cirrhosis.
Autoimmune Hepatitis:
Autoimmune hepatitis is another autoimmune condition that affects the liver cells. It causes the immune system to attack the liver, causing inflammation. If you leave it untreated or poorly managed, it leads to cirrhosis and liver failure.
Primary Sclerosing Cholangitis:
The condition causes slow damage to the bile ducts. When your bile ducts are damaged, they become blocked, causing more bile to build up in the liver. Excess bile build-up in the liver causes liver failure. Men are likely to get this condition than women.
5. Cirrhosis
Cirrhosis refers to the damage resulting from liver diseases. The more scars you have in your liver, the harder the liver finds it to function perfectly. When there is damage, the liver responds to the damage, leading to the growth of scar tissue.
The more damage is caused to your liver, the harder it becomes for the liver to function.
During it’s early stages, cirrhosis can be treated by addressing the underlying cause. However, when it is left unmanaged, it leads to other serious complications that are life-threatening.
6. Cancer & Tumors
When cancer shows up in the liver, it has spread from another body part, like breasts, colon, and lungs (secondary liver cancer). For instance, we have liver cancer that develops in the liver.
The main type of liver cancer is hepatocellular carcinoma. This cancer starts as a single tumor or several small sports of cancer in the liver. Moreover, when other liver disease complications are left untreated, they lead to gradual growth of liver cancer.
Liver Disease Diagnosis
If you notice any liver disease symptoms, you should make an appointment with your doctor to figure out what is causing the symptoms. Most doctors begin by looking over your medical history and ask about your family history of liver disease problems.
Furthermore, if the doctor knows your symptoms and risk factors for liver disease, it will be easy to know the best tests to take.
The other thing is asking about the symptoms, including when they started and how often they come. Depending on the symptoms, the doctor will ask you about what you eat and drink. If you are taking any prescriptions or over-the-counter medications, don’t forget to mention it.
After all the data is collected, your doctor will recommend:
- Complete blood count test (CBC)
- Liver function tests
- Liver biopsy: liver biopsy test involves removing a small sample of the liver and checking it for any present liver disease.
- CT scans, ultrasounds, or MRIs to check for tumors and liver damage.
Treatment of Liver Disease
Many liver diseases are long-term, but they can be managed. For most people, diet and lifestyle changes are more than enough to control the symptoms. Some of the lifestyle changes that can help treat liver diseases include:
- Maintaining a healthy weight
- Staying hydrated
- Taking alcohol in moderation or quit it
- Ensuring you take a liver-friendly diet with enough fiber, less sugar, fat, and salt.
Depending on your liver disease, some other dietary changes can be recommended. You can be advised to stay away from certain foods, medications, and many more. Depending on the main conditions affecting your liver, some medical treatments will be like:
- Blood pressure medication
- Steroids that reduce liver inflammation
- Antiviral drugs for treating hepatitis
- Antibiotics
- Supplements and vitamins to boost good liver health
- Some medications that target certain symptoms, such as itchy skin.
If your kidney disease has been seriously damaged, you will need surgery to remove your liver or part of it. In case all the other options fail, you will require a liver transplant immediately.
Prevention of Liver Disease
Liver disease is easy to prevent, mostly when you know the main cause of your disease. Check some of the methods that can help prevent liver disease.
1. Take Alcohol in Moderation
Excessive alcohol intake is one of the bad lifestyles that accelerate life-threatening health complications. If it is a must you drink alcohol, take it in moderation. To ensure alcohol does not affect your liver, women should take 1 drink a day and two drinks for men.
However, after taking the alcohol, you should take water to reduce flush out toxins. Heavy drinking means a woman takes 8 drinks a day and more than 15 drinks for men.
2. Get Hepatitis Vaccination
If you are at a higher risk of contracting hepatitis or you have been infected with the hepatitis virus, you should talk to your doctor about getting hepatitis vaccines.
3. Avoid Unprotected Sex
Unprotected sex is dangerous for your health. When you are not sure about your partner’s health status, you should have protected sex.
Besides, if you want to have a tattoo or body piercings, cleanliness and safety are very important considerations. Avoid sharing needles when injecting drugs.
4. Preview Medications Every Time
Some prescriptions cause kidney and liver disease. You should take prescription and non-prescription drugs only when required or when recommended by doctors. Avoid mixing them with alcohol to prevent alcohol poisoning.
If you have a kidney disease or liver problems, talk to your doctor before taking some medications.
5. Ensure Your Food is Safe
Before you eat your meal, fruits, or any snack, wash your hands thoroughly. Before preparing meals, you should wash all ingredients to avoid eating contaminated food.
Other prevention measures include:
- Maintaining a healthy weight
- Be careful when using aerosol sprays
- Protect your skin when using insecticides and toxic chemicals
- Avoid contact with people’s blood and body fluids
Risk Factors of Liver Disease
Many factors increase your risk of liver diseases. Check some of the main risk factors below.
- Excessive alcohol drinking
- Type 2 diabetes
- Obesity
- Exposure to other people’s blood and fluids
- Tattoos or body piercings
- Too much exposure to toxins and toxic chemicals
- Family history of liver disease
- Having unprotected sex
- Taking herbs and supplements in large amounts
- Mixing medications with alcohol or drugs overdose.
Wrapping Up
To wrap up, liver diseases are manageable if they are diagnosed earlier. If they are left untreated, they can cause permanent damage to the lungs. So, if you notice any of the symptoms or you are at a high risk of liver disease, go for regular checkups and testing to keep you on the safer side.