Chronic Liver Disease: Causes Symptoms and Prevention Tips

The liver is the largest part of the body that lies under the ribs on the right side of your belly. The main reasons for which this disorder can be seen are hepatitis and other viruses and alcohol abuses.

What Is Chronic Liver Disease?

It is one of those stage that led to the destruction of liver tissue, the main category includes Cirrhosis and Fibrosis of the liver.

Chronic Liver Disease Causes

The major Chronic Liver Diseases Causes are

● Hepatitis and other viruses

● Long-term alcohol abuse

● Non-alcoholic fatty liver disease ( obesity, high cholesterol and triglycerides, and high blood pressure are the reasons of this disease)

The minor causes of cirrhosis are as follows:-

● Parasite infections

● Autoimmune disorders( in this case the immune system attacks the healthy tissue)

● Blocked or damaged tubes (for example-bile ducts) that help to carry bile from your liver to the intestine.

● Use of specific medicines

● Exposure to specific toxic chemicals

Chronic Liver Disease Symptoms

Do thou want to know p? If you have any mild chronic liver disease, it may not cause any symptoms. The symptoms are as follows:-

● Fluid buildup in the belly that is known as ascites

● Muscle loss

● Loss of appetite

● Easy bruising

● Gallstones

● Itching

● jaundice

● Kidney failure

● Low energy and weakness (fatigue)

● Weight loss

Cirrhosis - Symptoms and causes

Cirrhosis is the last stage of the scarring of the liver. Hepatitis and chronic alcoholism cause this disorder. Let's have a look at these symptoms.

● Nausea

● Swelling in your legs, feet or ankles that is known as oedema.

● Fatigue

● Loss of appetite

● Weight loss

● Itchy skin

● Easily bleeding or bruising.

● Yellow discolouration in the skin and eyes

Cause:

● Cystic fibrosis

● Chronic alcohol abuse

● Alpha-1 antitrypsin deficiency

● Liver disease because of a weak immune system

● Destruction of the bile ducts

● Chronic viral hepatitis ( type hepatitis B, C and D)

● Fat accumulation in the liver.

● Hardening of the bile ducts ( syphilis or brucellosis Medications, like methotrexate or isoniazid)

Preventive Strategies In Chronic Liver Disease

Blood tests: Through this test, it is checked whether your liver functions are working properly or not. You can also know if there is any chance of getting the blood clotted.

Liver biopsy: Here, we use needles or take help of surgery to take the Small tissue samples from the liver. You can take the help of liver biopsy under a microscope to know which the type of liver disease is.

CT scan: In this process, X-rays and computer are used. Through this process, the detailed images of the body can be seen. With the help of the CT scan, you can also learn about the details of the bones, muscles, fat, and organs like it's structure, position in the body, and so on.

MRI: If you want to get detailed pictures of organs and structures of the inside parts of your body, then you can undergo the MRI treatment. It stands for magnetic field and pulses of radio wave energy. In that case, a dye is injected into a vein.

Ultrasound: It helps to show you the images of the internal organs as they work. With the help of the process, you get to know about the process of flowing blood through different blood vessels. In this case, high-frequency sound waves and a computer are used to take pictures of blood vessels, tissues, and organs.

Upper endoscopy (EGD): Hence, a lighted, flexible camera is placed through your mouth into your upper digestive tract. The primary target of this technology is to enlarge blood vessels that are where is a possible change of bleeding due to the cirrhosis disease.

Conclusion: The recovery of this disorder relies on the type, and infection of the disease. Research shows that 50% of people who are suffering from severe alcoholic cirrhosis can survive two year maximum.

About Dr. Anil Jangir is a Gastroenterologist, Hepatologist and Digestive(Gastro-Intestinal) Endoscopist in Jaipur Rajasthan.