It is one of the most important organs in your body, aiding digestion, converting food into energy, and storing that energy until you need it. The liver performs hundreds of functions related to metabolism, energy storage, and waste removal. The liver has many functions, including converting nutrients to chemicals your body needs, removing toxins from your bloodstream, and converting food into energy. The liver can be ill for a variety of reasons. Among the liver’s many functions are a multitude of extremely complex ones. When the liver isn’t functioning well, it can affect the entire body. However, it can also be the target of many liver diseases.
The liver can be impacted by numerous diseases, including acute and chronic liver diseases, which can cause symptoms. However, the liver has a healthy reserve capacity, and the disease must damage the liver significantly before it can cause symptoms and interfere with daily life. There are many symptoms associated with liver disease, but among the most common ones are swelling of the abdomen and legs, easy bruising, changes in the colour of your stool and urine, and jaundice. Liver disease can go undetected unless imaging tests and liver function tests are performed. These tests can detect defects in the liver and diagnose liver diseases.
Symptoms of Liver Disease
- Skin and eyes that appear yellowish (jaundice)
- Abdominal pain and swelling
- Swelling in the legs and ankles
- Itchy skin
- Dark urine colour
- Pale stool colour
- Chronic fatigue
- Nausea or vomiting
- Loss of appetite
- Tendency to bruise easily
Some common Liver Diseases
Autoimmune conditions
Your immune system attacks healthy tissues in your body mistakenly in many different autoimmune diseases. Some of these conditions affect the liver, including:
Autoimmune hepatitis.
If untreated, primary biliary cholangitis can cause inflammation in your liver, which can lead to cirrhosis and liver failure. Bile ducts in your liver are attacked in this condition. Women and girls are more likely to be infected with hepatitis because bile is transported through these ducts for digestion. Hepatitis also causes other complications, such as liver failure. Bile builds up in these ducts, scarring your liver. Women tend to have this problem more often than men.
Primary biliary cirrhosis (PBC).
PBC results from liver damage, which leads to the accumulation of bile. It can ultimately lead to cirrhosis and liver failure.
Primary sclerosing cholangitis.
Whenever your bile ducts are inflamed, they slowly deteriorate and eventually block, leading to bile accumulation in the liver. This can result in cirrhosis or liver failure.
Cancer
Cancers that start in your liver but spread to other parts of your body are called secondary liver cancers since they originate somewhere else but spread to the liver. Cancer of the liver most commonly occurs as hepatocellular carcinoma. It is likely to develop as multiple small spots of cancer in your liver, but it may also begin as a single tumour. Liver cancer is often linked to other liver conditions that are not treated.
Acute liver failure.
Overdosing on acetaminophen, contracting an infection, or taking a prescription drug would result in severe pain; however, it causes your liver to cease functioning suddenly. In this case, you do not have long-term liver disease.
Immune System Problems
The immune system is designed to fight off invaders, including bacteria, viruses, and fungi. However, there may be times when it fails and attacks an organ, such as the liver.
Cirrhosis
There is also liver scarring caused by cystic fibrosis and syphilis, though these are less common liver diseases. Cirrhosis – the scarring of the liver tissue caused by liver diseases like cirrhosis and liver disease due to disorders like alcohol abuse disorder – can also occur as a result of liver damage. In injured livers, regeneration can take place, but the process typically leads to scarring. The more scarring develops, the more difficult it will be for your liver to perform its functions.
Hepatitis
Hepatitis is a virus-induced condition where your liver becomes swollen and inflamed. Hepatitis can harm your liver and cause it to stop working properly. If left untreated, hepatitis can lead to liver failure.
It’s important to get vaccinated against hepatitis A and B and take other precautions, such as not sharing needles and using a condom whenever you have sex, to reduce your risk of infection.
Five types of hepatitis include:
Hepatitis A.
Hepatitis A is spread through contact with contaminated water or food. Symptoms typically go away without treatment, but recovery can take several weeks.
Hepatitis B.
Blood and semen are the main body fluids in which hepatitis B is spread. Hepatitis B can be acute (short-term) or chronic (long-term). There is no cure for hepatitis B. Regular screening is necessary if you are at risk since early detection prevents complications.
Hepatitis C.
In general, there are two types of hepatitis C: acute and chronic. Both types can be spread by blood contact with a person with the disease. While acute hepatitis C usually does not cause symptoms at first, chronic hepatitis C can result in permanent liver damage later in life.
Hepatitis D.
Chronic or acute, this hepatitis can only occur in people with hepatitis B. It can only be caused by people with hepatitis B.
Hepatitis E.
When someone consumes contaminated water, their chances of being infected with hepatitis E increase, the virus usually clears up after several weeks without causing any lasting complications.
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