Important for eliminating toxins and helping in the process of digestion, liver is an essential organ that helps to filter blood and break down the toxins, produces bile juice for better digestion, produces certain proteins for blood plasma, converts glucose into glycogen, regulates the levels of amino acids in blood and much more. Liver diseases can be genetic or can be caused due to a variety of damaging factors. These damaging conditions can lead to liver failure and scarring over time. An early treatment is said to be helpful in reducing the potential risk of these conditions. In order to understand the symptoms of liver damage, let us take a look into this article to know about the signs that might indicate serious liver damage from Dr. Dharmesh Kapoor, Senior Consultant Hepatology, Yashoda Hospitals, Hyderabad.
Signs that your Liver is in Trouble
With our liver being an organ that carries out various important functions in our body, let us take a look at 4 of the most common signs of liver failure and treatment options from Dr. Dharmesh Kapoor
#1. Fluid Retention
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Fluid retention is said to be one of the most common signs of any liver disease. The accumulation of fluid in the body is caused due to cirrhosis leads to distention. This distention then results in leg or abdomen swelling. The main cause behind this condition is the high blood pressure that gets developed in the liver veins. Due to the spike in blood pressure the liver is unable to produce albumin which results in the leak from the bloodstream to the tissues.
#2. Confusion
As odd as this symptom of liver damage might sound, it can be pretty serious and result in conditions like hepatic encephalopathy. This happens due to the inability of the liver to filter toxins which might end up traveling to your brain. This can lead to severe conditions such as commas, memory issues, lethargy and confusion.
#3. Bleeding
A severe symptom that can never go unnoticed, bleeding is an indication that can not be ignored. Our liver is responsible for cycling about 25% of blood from the portal veins. Due to the condition of cirrhosis in which the healthy liver tissue gets replaced by the healthy liver tissue, creates an opportunity for blood. A person can observe blood traces in vomit and stool which is known as rectal bleeding.
#4. Jaundice
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Also Read: 6 Type Of Conditions Affecting Jaundice, Know Complications From Expert
A severe illness due to which a person’s skin, mucous membrane and white part of the eyes tend to turn yellow in colour. The reason behind this yellow colour is the high levels of a yellow bile pigment called bilirubin. This pigment is formed due to the breakdown of red blood cells ending up in the bloodstream. A healthy liver absorbs this bilirubin compound and converts it into bile, it gets extracted along with your stool.
#5. Itchy Skin
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Also Read: Itching And Scratching Yourself? Here Are Some Tips To Soothe The Irritated Skin
Our skin is something that only gets our attention when it suffers some kind of rach, allergy or itchiness. Where many of us tend to solve our skin issues with the help of home remedies, sometimes these conditions can be an indication of some underlying issues. Itchy skin is a condition that can be a result of a chronic disease that is biliary cholangitis. This condition tends to destroy the bile ducts in your liver.
Tips to keep your liver healthy
As by now we are aware that our liver is an important organ which has multiple functions and roles to play. A damaged and unhealthy liver can lead to many complications and affect your entire body functioning. Here are some tips as suggested by Dr. Dharmesh Kapoor, that you can follow to keep your liver happy and healthy.
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- Drink in moderation- Be mindful while drinking and do not exceed your limits. It is advised to consume 2 drinks for men and 1 drink for women in a day. Going beyond this can cause some severe damage to your liver.
- Exercise Regularly- Leading an active lifestyle can help you to keep your various health problems and conditions at bay. One must exercise 5 times a day for about half an hour to stay fit and active
- Healthy Diet- A good and healthy diet is the key to a good life. As what goes inside your body has a great impact on your overall health and wellbeing, it affects your liver as well. Consumption of highly processed food items that are sugary foods can lead to liver damage. One should consume food items such as high fiber vegetables and fresh fruits to keep their iver fit.
- Healthy Weight- Maintaining a healthy weight does not mean that one needs to be very lean or is supposed to have a size 0. One must neither be overweight nor undewwight and be balanced with a BMI between 25 to 30.