4 Key Facts about Liver Disease

  • 4 Stages of Chronic Liver Disease|
  • Symptoms|
  • Reasons|
  • Liver Disease Prevention|

4 Key Facts about Liver Disease

The liver is a dark reddish-brown organ that weighs about 3-4 pounds. It is located in the upper right-hand portion of the abdomen. As one of the most important organs in the human body, the liver helps digest food, rid the body of waste products and make various substances, including glycogen, bile and clotting factors. Things may get terrible when your liver is working improperly. Because of the liver\'s role of filtering wastes from your blood, too many toxins can overwhelm your liver\'s ability to function and cause liver disease. This passage aims to cover several significant facts about liver disease for better understanding.

4 Stages of Chronic Liver Disease

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  • Hepatitis: Hepatitis means inflammation in the liver tissues. Inflammation is the body's natural response to injury and an important part of healing or immune response. While controlled inflammation is essential to maintain proper function and balance in the liver, it drives the progression of liver disease if it becomes dysregulated. Virus infection is the most common reason for hepatitis, but alcohol, obesity and exposure to toxins can also cause inflammation. Chronic hepatitis will result in scarring.
  • Fibrosis: Fibrosis refers to scar tissue gradually building up in the liver. Chronic inflammation sends signals to the repair cells to continue releasing collagen. When repetitive damage or long-lasting inflammation occurs, collagen and other proteins build up between liver cells, forming scar tissue. It replaces healthy tissue and restricts blood flow, generating more scar tissue. Some amount of scar tissue is reversible. But if left untreated, the scars lead to severe scarring known as cirrhosis and liver cancer.
  • Cirrhosis: Cirrhosis is where your liver is permanently damaged and the scars are irreversible. There is no treatment for cirrhosis so far. However, the damage at this stage can still be slowed down or stopped. People with cirrhosis are at a very high risk of developing liver cancer and liver failure, so effective treatment is essential at this stage. Successful treatment may slowly improve the liver's condition. It is important to avoid things that could damage the liver further like alcohol, fat and certain medications.
  • Liver failure: Liver failure, also called decompensated cirrhosis, happens when the liver's function starts to fail after irreversible chronic damage. Chronic liver failure happens gradually, over months or years. It's the final stage of many liver diseases. This is a life-threatening condition that demands urgent medical care. Only a liver transplant can cure this condition.

Symptoms

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  • Early-stage liver disease: Acute hepatitis happens with obvious symptoms like fever, stomachache or nausea. However, chronic liver disease often causes no clear symptoms in the early stages. Because of this, it's difficult to discover and diagnose liver damage in time. Early symptoms include nausea, loss of appetite, fatigue, malaise, diarrhea, upper abdominal pain and vomiting.
  • Later-stage liver disease: The liver's function begins to decline in this stage. The first signs is bile and other toxins building up in your blood. These may include jaundice, pruritus, dark-colored urine/light-colored stool. The scar tissue blocks the blood flowing through the portal vein. This will cause an increased pressure known as portal hypertension, which leads to varicosity, hepatic encephalopathy and ascites.

Reasons

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  • Infection: Infection, mainly virus and parasite infection, is the most common cause of liver diseases. There are five main types of hepatitis virus: types A, B, C, D and E. Especially hepatitis B and C lead to chronic disease in hundreds of millions of people. Parasites affecting the liver constitute a large family: roundworms, tapeworms and liver flukes. They are mostly spread through ingestion of contaminated food or water.
  • Alcohol: The liver breaks down most of the alcohol one consumes. During this process, a toxic compound called acetaldehyde is generated. It is a poisonous by-product that can damage liver cells and lead to inflammation, liver disease, and cancer. Alcohol abuse will increase the liver's burden and lead to serious liver disease, including alcoholic fatty liver and chronic hepatitis.
  • Obesity: Obesity, diabetes or high cholesterol levels can induce nonalcoholic fatty liver disease. This is because fat can deal as severe damage to the liver as alcohol does. Extra fat cells build up in your liver, leading to more inflammation. Nonalcoholic fatty liver disease improves the risk of developing liver cirrhosis, which can lead to liver failure and cancer.
  • Toxins: Liver failure, also called decompensated cirrhosis, happens when the liver's function starts to fail after irreversible chronic damage. Chronic liver failure happens gradually, over months or years. It's the final stage of many liver diseases. This is a life-threatening condition that demands urgent medical care. Only a liver transplant can cure this condition.
  • Family History: If you or your family member has had liver disease, you may be at a higher risk of developing liver conditions. For instance, hepatitis B or C and hemochromatosis increase the risk of liver cancer. You should also keep an eye out for symptoms if your close relative has had a genetic liver disease, including hemochromatosis, Wilson's disease, or alpha-1-antitrypsin deficiency.

Liver Disease Prevention

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  • Have a healthy lifestyle: Keeping a healthy weight and doing exercise regularly can reduce your risk of developing fatty liver disease significantly. Alcohol and tobacco are both toxic to your liver. If you have liver disease, quit them. Get your regular wellness checkups to monitor any potential risks. Use medications as directed and don't take more than the recommended dose.
  • Avoid toxic exposure: You should turn away from external toxins. Use a condom during sex. If you get tattoos or body piercings, pick a shop that's clean and safe. Don't share needles or personal items that might be exposed to blood, like razors or toothbrushes. Wear gloves or a mask when interacting with toxic chemicals. Wash fruits and vegetables completely before eating them.
  • Get vaccinated for viral hepatitis: Vaccines can prevent hepatitis A and hepatitis B. If you've recently been exposed, you can still prevent the infection by getting the vaccine within 24 hours. If you're at increased risk of getting hepatitis, talk with your doctor about getting the hepatitis A and B vaccines. This is also true if you've been infected with any form of the hepatitis virus.

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