7 Warning Signs of Liver Damage to Never Ignore

To speak in broad terms, liver disease is characterized as any change in the liver’s normal function that can result in illness. However, some liver conditions are chronic in nature and progress over time, eventually resulting in liver failure. There are two different types of liver damage but they can be segmented into acute liver disease and the other is chronic liver disease.

Acute liver diseases, such as Hepatitis A or E, can make a patient feel ill with fever, malaise, and abdominal pain. Later on, the patient can become jaundiced.

In chronic liver disease, the damage is gradual but persistent, and there may be no symptoms in the beginning. The patient will observe weight loss, edema in the feet, jaundice, etc. in the later stages. Whatever the symptoms, one should not delay reaching out to the best liver hospital in India for further check-ups. 

Before proceeding to the seven warning signs of liver damage, let’s understand in brief why this organ is so vital –

Importance of Liver

• Bile production aids in the digestion and absorption of fat in the small intestine.
• creating blood clotting agents and proteins like albumin
• Storage and metabolism of carbohydrates for blood glucose
• control over blood clotting
• bilirubin removal via metabolism or secretion
• Ammonia to urea conversion in protein metabolism
• preventing infections by enhancing immune responses and removing pathogens from the circulation
• detoxification of alcohol, environmental pollutants, some drugs, and biochemical wastes

Signs of Liver Damage

Jaundice

Jaundice is a common medical condition that causes yellowing of the skin and eyes. It is one of the most obvious symptoms of liver disease. It is the accumulation of bilirubin, a yellow pigment created during the destruction of red blood cells in the body when the liver is unable to properly handle it. It can be fatal to wait and watch when there are any symptoms of yellowing of eyes and skin. 

Itchy Skin

Itchy skin is one of the typical indicators of liver disease. The presence of itching skin may indicate obstructive jaundice. It can be brought on by a number of pathologies, including primary biliary cirrhosis, bile duct cancer, and cancer of the head of the pancreas. The itching brought on by liver disease is typically not accompanied by a rash or skin sores. However, excessive scratching can result in infection, redness, and apparent discomfort.

Spider Angiomas

You should examine for liver disease if you notice tiny, spider-shaped capillaries under the skin on your face and legs. Higher levels of estrogen are the cause of this illness, which suggests that the liver’s role in the metabolism of your hormones is dysfunctional. People who have cirrhosis (liver disease) brought on by alcohol are more likely to develop spider angiomas than those who are not.

Frequent Bruising and Bleeding

An unhealthily functioning liver is seen by the ease with which wounds bleed or bruise. This may happen as a result of a deficiency in particular proteins required for blood clotting, which points to a liver problem. Bruises are the result of blood pooling under the skin. When they first develop, bruises might be black and blue, brownish, or purple. They deteriorate and lose color.

Swelling of feet and abdomen

You might get fluid buildup in your legs if you have chronic liver disease. The legs swell as a result. Ascites, a condition marked by elevated portal vein pressure, can cause fluid to build up in the legs (edema). The liver’s failure to produce adequate blood proteins, such as albumin, can also result in edema and ascites.

Abdominal distension from fluid buildup can occur in chronic liver disease. Ascites, a fluid buildup in the abdominal cavity, is brought on by fluid leaks from the liver and intestine. In addition to other liver disease symptoms including portal hypertension, ascites is commonly linked to liver disease. One of the symptoms of ascites is a bloated abdomen.

Sleep disturbance

Cirrhosis of the liver patients typically experiences sleep problems, including daytime drowsiness and insomnia. Obstructive sleep apnea (OSA) is more common in those with liver cirrhosis. Patients with OSA have a four-fold greater prevalence of liver cirrhosis than the general population. Sleep cycle disruption and coma induction are both possible effects of toxin buildup in the blood.

   Liver Transplant Treatment

Tags: liver disease, Liver Health