UNDERSTANDING CIRRHOSIS OF THE LIVER

What is the liver?

The Liver is a vital organ in our human body. Its functions are very important to carry on with routine and daily activities. It synthesizes the food we eat, detoxifies harmful substances like chemicals, and metabolizes the drugs. It stores fat to give us energy; it secretes bile to aid digestion. It also produces proteins which aid in clotting of blood. It almost weighs 3 lbs in size and is towards our right side.

What is liver cirrhosis?

Some people experience scarring of the liver. This mainly occurs due to excess alcohol intake or non-alcoholic reasons as well. The liver starts losing its healthy cells and gets damaged. There might be scarring in the liver which cannot be reversed and the only option would be to transplant the liver.

Symptoms:

The person may experience symptoms such as nausea, vomiting, and severe indigestion, fatigue, yellowing of the skin, bruising, itching or any other skin problems like rashes on the skin.

What causes liver cirrhosis?

The major underlying cause of liver cirrhosis is identified as:

• Hepatitis B and C.
• Hepatitis A which is severe and does not heal
• NASH or Non- alcoholic steatohepatitis
• Autoimmune hepatitis
• Alcohol abuse
• Drug reactions

Hepatitis is a viral infection if untreated, causes irreversible damage to the liver especially in the forms of B and C. Diet partaken while having hepatitis must be in accordance with the physician’s suggestions and recommendation. One must consume alcohol sensibly as it alters the entire metabolic activity of the liver. We must not take any medications without the advice of the doctor as sometimes they may not get metabolized by the liver and cause reactions in the body.

Some genetic conditions also cause cirrhosis of the liver like:

• Hemochromatosis
• Budd-Chiari Syndrome
• Wilson’s disease
• Blockage of bile ducts, Primary biliary cirrhosis

Other major non –genitical conditions may include:

• Cystic Fibrosis
• Primary sclerosing cholangitis
• Glycogen storage disease
• Billary Artesia
• Galactosemia
• Gall stones
• Malignancy or cancer in the liver cells or adjoining tissues.

It may not be easy to detect liver cirrhosis in the initial stages; liver function test periodically may help out. Please do visit the doctors when you tend to experience nausea, vomiting, severe fatigue, yellowish skin or itching very frequently. Your doctor may suggest a simple liver function test to see if your liver is functioning properly or not. Your blood sample detects it all; any variation the doctor may suggest further tests like ultrasound or a nuclear scan.

Preventive steps:

One can always be careful and avoid liver cirrhosis.

• Identify the symptoms and visit the family doctor for help. Do not take any medications for simple problems such as common cold or headaches.
• Drink alcohol in its permissible limits
• Eat healthy food , avoid junk food completely
• Eat fiber rich diet full of fruits and vegetables
• If you are genetically susceptible to liver ailments, get your liver checked periodically.
• Get vaccination shots for Hepatitis after consulting your family doctor

At KIMS, we help you understand your condition and overcome it. KIMS has the distinction of treating critical liver ailments and successful transplantations in most advanced and critical cases. KIMS has the best liver specialists in Hyderabad with good patient outcomes. KIMS, not only treat liver ailments, we also counsel the patients to manage their lifestyle to get optimum results.