Liver diseases can be of various types. Some liver diseases can be cured with lifestyle changes while others need proper medication to manage them. In this blog we will discuss about various liver diseases, their symptoms, and...
Liver is a crucial organ that performs several tasks such as metabolism, waste filtering, energy storage etc. It also helps in digesting food, converting the food into energy, and also stores energy. It is also capable of filtering toxins out of your bloodstream.
What Are the Types of Liver Diseases?
- Hepatitis
- Fatty liver disease
- Fibrosis of liver
- Autoimmune diseases-
- Autoimmune hepatitis
- Primary biliary cirrhosis
- Primary sclerosing cholangitis
- Genetic disorders
- Drug-related liver disease
- Cancer and other growth
- Liver cancer
- Liver adenoma
- Bile duct cancer
- Cirrhosis
- Liver failure
- Liver infections
What Are the Symptoms of Liver Disease?
First Sign of Liver Diseases
- Upper abdominal pain
- Nausea
- Vomiting
- Loss of appetite
- Fatigue
- Malaise (feeling generally tired and ill)
Late Stage Liver Diseases Signs and Symptoms
- Jaundice (yellowishness of whites of eyes and skin)
- Light colored poop (stool)
- Weight loss
- Muscle loss
- Dark coloured urine
- Digestion-related problems- especially difficulty in fat digestion
- Breath smells musty
- Pruritus (itchy skin especially around the anus with no visible rash)
- Hepatic encephalopathy (Mild Brain Impairment)
Liver Disease Effect on Nails and Skin
- Spoon nails
- Nail clubbing
- Spider angiomas
- Terry’s nails
- Small yellow bumps of fat deposits on your skin or eyelids
- Red palms of your hands
- Tiny red dots on the skin known as petechiae
- Easy bleeding
- Easy bruising
- Confusion
Liver Diseases Effect on Blood Vessels
Liver diseases can affect blood vessels adversely causing them to leak fluids which get accumulated in the body
Liver Diseases Affecting Females at Birth
Liver Diseases Affecting Males at Birth
- Testicles shrunken
- Gynecomastia- Male breast tissue enlargement
What Are the Causes of Liver Diseases?
Liver diseases can be caused due to many factors, some are mentioned below
- Viral Infections- Chronic liver diseases such as hepatitis B or hepatitis C can be caused due to viral hepatitis infections
- Toxic Hepatitis- Chronic exposure to toxic substances such as drugs or industrial chemicals can cause certain acute or chronic hepatitis
- Biliary Stasis- it is a congenital condition that obstructs stall in the flow of bile through the bile ducts which leads to bile buildup and in turn injures your liver. It can cause biliary atresia, cystic fibrosis. Biliary stasis can be caused due to non congenital reasons as well such as biliary stricture and gallstones
- Alcohol-Induced Hepatitis- Excessive alcohol use can cause acute or chronic hepatitis. Long standing Liver hepatitis can lead to liver cirrhosis and liver failure as well
- Non-Alcohol Related Fatty Liver Disease- Certain factors such as obesity, high blood sugar , high lipids level can cause impaired metabolic functions which may cause excessive fat storage in your liver causing inflammation.
- Autoimmune Diseases- Autoimmune diseases such as autoimmune hepatitis, primary biliary cholangitis and primary sclerosing cholangitis can cause chronic inflammation or scarring in your liver or bile ducts
- Cardiovascular Diseases- Conditions such as budd-chiari syndrome, ischemia, arterial diseases or heart failure can cause chronic liver damage by affecting the blood flow to and from your liver
- Inherited Metabolic Disorders- Certain diseases cause toxin build-up in your blood such as glycogen storage diseases (GSD), Wilson disease, gaucher disease, hemochromatosis etc.
- Genetics- Certain liver diseases can be caused due to genetics also. Genetic liver diseases include Wilson's disease, alpha-1 antitrypsin deficiency, or hemochromatosis etc.
Diagnosis of Liver Diseases
Diagnosis of liver diseases can b done using one or combination of below mentioned tests and scans
Imaging Tests
- MRI scan (Book Now)
- CT scan (Book Now)
- PET scan (Book Now)
- X-rays (Book Now)
- Ultrasound (Book Now)
- Abdominal ultrasound (Book Now)
- Elastography
- Endoscopic retrograde cholangiopancreatography (ERCP)
- Magnetic resonance cholangiopancreatography (MRCP) (Book Now)
Blood Tests
- Prothrombin time test (Book Now)
- CBC- complete blood count test (Book Now)
- Liver function tests (Book Now)
- Bilirubin levels (Book Now)
- Chloride blood test (Book Now)
- Lactate dehydrogenase isoenzyme test (Book Now)
- Lactate dehydrogenase test
- Gamma-glutamyl transferase test (Book Now)
- Total protein and albumin/globulin ratio (Book Now)
Urine Tests (Book Now)
Biopsy (Book Now)
How to Prevent Liver Diseases
Prevention of liver diseases are as follows-
- Do not drink too much alcohol
- Avoid getting piercings from unclean or non sterilised shops
- Use condoms during sex
- Get vaccinations for hepatitis timely
- Take prescribed medications, do not mix them with alcohol
- Avoid using needle injections which have high risk of contamination
- Eat safe healthy food after washing hands properly
- Adopt personal hygiene
- Stay away from aerosols such as insecticide, pesticides or other hazardous chemicals
- Maintain healthy weight
Conclusion
Liver diseases can be prevented and managed if you follow healthy conduct and lifestyle. Complications can be caused due to negligence and ignoring certain signs of early liver diseases. You should try focusing on a healthy diet, exercising routine and other healthy choices so as to prevent liver diseases. If you feel your health is progressively deteriorating, you should go and consult a doctor to get diagnosed from renowned diagnostic centre.
Frequently Asked Questions Related Liver Disease
What is Stage 4 Liver Disease?
Stage 4 liver disease is called decompensated cirrhosis where your body is not capable of restoring or compensating the damages. As the liver damage progresses, you feel signs and symptoms. Liver diseases are progressive and gradual process. In end stages liver transplant tremains the last resort.
What is Stage 1 Liver Disease?
Stage 1 liver disease is the inflammation of your liver that might be caused due to an immune system reaction against a foreign substance like toxins. Chronic inflammation can lead to liver enlargement. Inflammation can be caused due to
How Do I Know if My Liver is Ok?
Liver function tests or blood tests can reveal a lot about your liver condition. Other tests such as Ct, MRI, Biopsy or others can also help determine and diagnose certain liver diseases.
What Are the First Signs of a Bad Liver?
Some early symptoms of bad liver are
- General feeling of unwell
- Tired feeling all the time
- Blotchy red palms
- Disturbed sleep patterns
- Weight loss
- Musing wasting
- Pain or tenderness in the liver area
- (spider angiomas) Spider like small blood capillaries on the skin above waist level
- Nausea
- vomiting
How Can I Test My Liver at Home?
You can get your home sample collection tests from ganesh diagnostics such as Home blood sample collection for proteins and enzymes screening such as albumin, ALP, ALT, SGOT, SGT, GGT etc
How Can I Make My Liver Strong?
5 ways to make your liver strong
- Take medications and herbs carefully, only after doctors prescription
- Exercise daily and maintain healthy weight
- Quit alcohol consumption
- Prevent liver infections such as hepatitis , get Vaccinations for the same
- Wash hands before and after eating and follow personal hygiene measures
What Are the 7 Liver Functions?
Primary liver functions are
- Bile excretion and production
- Metabolism of proteins, carbohydrates, fats etc
- Enzyme activation
- Storage of vitamins, minerals, glycogen etc
- Synthesis of plasma proteins such as clotting factors, albumin etc.
- Excretion of bilirubin, hormones and drugs
Where is Liver Pain Felt?
Liver pain is typically felt in the upper right abdomen below the rib cage the pain can also be radiating in nature, which may radiate to back, shoulder etc.
