There are many factors which cause liver damage. Factors might include eating habits, environmental factors, genetic factors, drinking and smoking, weight problems, and many more.
One should be aware of this problem so that remedies are used and the liver is treated as early as possible. As, the liver is an important part of our body which helps metabolism of medications we take, digestion of fatty acids from food and also absorbing nutrients from the food.
Liver also plays an important role in haematology for protein synthesis and clotting factor. It also works by breaking down haem part of expired blood cells into bilirubin and conjugating it.
It helps in storage of sugars, production of bile and cholesterol, removing various toxins and infections as during dengue and malaria by kupffer cells of liver, production of clotting factors, maintaining and regulating hormones required for platelet formation.
It has been reported and researched that the liver is a very important organ and there is no other way to substitute any other organ with liver. Neither any AL generated organ has been made till now like that for SA node function in heart with synthetic pacemaker.
So, one should take care of its own liver and should concentrate if it notices any of the liver damage symptoms. The physician notices these problems and looks for symptoms and may even undergo some blood tests or ultrasound to diagnose exact disease related.
So, here are some of the symptoms mentioned below:
14 Signs Liver Damage
Have a look at smokers lungs.
- Obesity: This is the one case where one can think of but only then, when you feel hard skin around the belly which depicts that the liver is not functioning properly and one might face problems of constipation. It causes deposition of fat inside the liver which might put pressure over its working and thereby can result in its damage.
- Yellow eyes and yellow nails: Not only this, your whole skin can also become yellow if one faces the disease called jaundice. It occurs when bilirubin is not properly pushed out of the liver towards the intestine for elimination. As mentioned, bilirubin is secreted by the liver during breakdown of heme compound of blood and so if it captures inside the liver it causes yellowing of eyes, nails and even skin if it’s concentration gets high. This causes a great level of damage to the liver so one should visit a physician if one notices this symptom.
- Cholestatsis: It is the condition in which due one or the other condition bile flow stops . It might be blocked inside or outside the liver which can be diagnosed through ultrasound and computed tomography scan (CT scan). The symptoms of cholestatsis include jaundice, gallbladder swelling, pale stool, easy bleeding, pain, dark urine, itching, ascites around biliary tract.
- Portal hypertension: It is caused due to high blood pressure in the portal vein, the vein which actually supplies blood to the liver from intestine and spleen. It can cause production of new blood vessels which might end up causing passing of elements to the circulation instead of passing through liver to intestine for removal. It can be detected by painless vomiting, excessive thirst, lightheadedness, pale ess, decreased urine output. If you see any of the symptoms, visit the doctor immediately.
- Feeling tired and weak all the time: It occurs when the liver is not functioning properly due to which no effective absorption of vitamins and minerals takes place and thus no energy booster is circulated to the body through blood and hence the body feels weak all the time as no proper blood is forming because of the weak liver.
- Loss of appetite: When liver is affected, ghrelin levels unable to increase its level pre-prandially which is the actual component to increase hunger levels and meal initiation level. So, as the liver is not working properly, there is no increase in hunger and ultimately, the person does not feel hungry.
- Loss of libido: It was reported in research that 33% of women have loss of sexual desire with liver cirrhosis, 18% with decreased arousal, 21% women have decreased vaginal lubrication. Not only this, 61% of the men had erectile dysfunction and reduced sexual desire.
- Liver enlargement
- Itchy skin
- Swelling in legs and ankles
- Pale stools
- Nausea or vomiting
- Abdominal pain and swelling
- Liver function tests (LFT): If physician diagnose with body symptoms in a doubt you might have liver problem, he may ask you some blood tests related to liver to determine enzymes quantity which will help us to evaluate functioning of liver. These tests include ALT (alanine transaminase), AST (aspartate transaminase), ALP (alkaline phosphatase), GGT (glutamyl transferase), serum bilirubin, prothrombin time, total protein and albumin.
Consider reading –
- How to improve liver health
- Lungs congestion
- Grade 1 fatty liver
- Fatty liver grade 2
- Signs your liver is healing
