Caring for your body is essential. Looking after your body will help you to remain well. Keeping well enables us to live our lives to the fullest. One of the best ways to stay well is to maintain a healthy and balanced diet. One that is a perfect blend of healthy foods and exercise.
In addition to this, it is also crucial that we pay close attention to our most vital organs as they need the most care. Their functions and capabilities are what enables us to live our lives. As such, we must take care of them to help ensure that they can properly function.
One of the most vital organs is the liver. The liver manages the levels of the majority of the chemical levels in our blood. It removes a product called bile, which helps to remove any waste products from the liver. It helps to clear the blood of drugs and other poisonous substances, in addition to regulating blood clotting.
The liver plays a vital role in our body’s daily function. One thing that can prevent it from working, as usual, is liver disease. Identifying liver disease as early as possible can help reduce its impact. These are some of the symptoms to look for.
Symptoms Of Liver Disease
Liver disease is a general term. It is used to describe any condition that is hurting your liver. Any of the conditions can develop for various reasons. Not everyone with liver disease will have it for the same reason. Despite each one having a different cause, they all can damage your liver and affect its functions.
In some cases, individuals could be suffering from liver disease but do not have any symptoms. Without the symptoms, it is unlikely they will know about their liver condition unless they have been for a health check-up.
For most, there will be noticeable symptoms of liver disease, such as:
- Jaundice – Jaundice is one of the most common symptoms of liver disease. An individual will likely notice that their skin and the whites of the eyes are starting to turn yellow. This changing skin and eye color are because there is too much bilirubin within their blood. Bilirubin is a yellow waste product that our livers try to remove when breaking down the red blood cells. When individuals have high bilirubin levels within their system, it indicates that they are suffering from a potential problem within their liver.
- Loss Of Weight And Muscle Wasting – Losing weight and muscles starting to waste is one of the earlier symptoms of liver disease. There are numerous illnesses and diseases in which weight loss is a common symptom. Those experiencing unexplained weight loss may want to seek professional medical help to find out what is causing them to lose weight. They will be asked questions about how they feel and identify other symptoms before running tests to pinpoint the issue.
- Disturbed Sleeping Pattern – Like losing weight, a poor sleeping pattern could indicate many issues. The average American adult gets less than the recommended seven hours of sleep each night. Additionally, between 50 and 70 million adults across the U.S. are affected by some form of sleeping disorder. Since it is a common issue, many would more than likely view their disturbed sleeping pattern as a sleeping disorder and not an indicator of a more serious health problem.
- Hair Loss – Losing hair can be a traumatic experience for some people. With liver disease, hair loss is a symptom that often occurs later on when the liver struggles to function correctly. Some individuals with liver disease will likely notice that their hair is starting to fall out, whilst others might experience that their hair is thinning. Aside from being a symptom that the liver is not functioning correctly, hair loss is often an indicator that a person could have advanced liver disease.
Diagnosis Of Liver Disease
If you are experiencing symptoms associated with liver disease or are concerned about it, book an appointment with a healthcare professional. They will speak to you about your medical history and your family’s – asking questions about if liver disease is a common illness amongst your relatives.
Included in your appointment, they will likely ask you questions about the symptoms you have experienced and the severity of them. They will want to know how long you have been experiencing these symptoms. Another thing they may ask is if there is anything that makes the symptoms better or worse. This information can help them build a better understanding of what is causing you to experience these issues.
There are some symptoms of liver disease that are a result of drinking and eating habits. For some, they may find that they have alcohol-related liver disease. A medical professional will want to identify if alcohol is one of the reasons behind whether or not a person has liver disease.
To diagnose if you have liver disease or not, these are some of the tests that the medical professional will likely refer you to have done.
- Have A Scan – To detect if you have liver disease, it is likely that your doctor will refer you to have an ultrasound, CT scan or an MRI. The scan will identify if you have liver disease or a tumor. A liver MRI can accurately measure the amount of fat and inflammation present in your liver. In this article by Ezra, it goes into great detail about liver MRIS and what to expect should your doctor refer you to have one.
- Liver Function Test – A liver function test is several blood tests used to help a medical professional diagnose and monitor a person who has liver disease. These tests are designed to measure proteins and certain enzymes within the blood. A few of the tests conducted aim to measure the liver’s performance, noting its normal functions and how well it can clear bilirubin and produce protein. A person’s liver function tests may have abnormal results in some cases. However, these abnormal results are not a clear indicator of liver disease. With whatever the results reveal, your doctor will talk you through them, explaining what they mean and the next steps.
- Perform A Liver Biopsy – If the results from your blood tests or imaging tests indicate that there are problems with your liver, your doctor may request that you have a liver biopsy. It is a medical procedure where a minor amount of liver tissue is surgically removed. The small amount of liver tissue that has been removed will then be sent to a laboratory, where it will be tested. The procedure is performed due to a medical professional wanting to evaluate the disease. It will enable them to make more informed decisions about the best route in helping treat liver disease.
Taking Care Of Your Liver
With many illnesses and diseases, treating them early enough will help to increase the chances of beating the condition and surviving. Going for regular check-ups and knowing your body can help identify any changes. Once spotting the signs of changes, booking an appointment with your doctor can help identify the cause behind these symptoms you have been experiencing.
If it is liver disease, getting support and treatment early will help reduce the damage caused to the liver. It will help to keep your liver as healthy as possible.
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