How do you know if you have liver damage?

Liver damage. Just the sound of it is enough to make you want to clutch your side and wince in pain. But how can you tell if that’s really what’s going on with your body? Here are some key signs and symptoms, along with other useful information about liver health.

What is the Liver?

Before we dive into how to know if something’s up with your liver, let’s take a moment to explore this incredible organ. The liver is one of our body’s largest organs and is located just under the rib cage on the right-hand side of the abdomen, partly protected by ribs. Some people believe it looks like an oversized slug or oyster – as delightful as those comparisons may be.

The liver performs hundreds of essential tasks every day; most notably, filtering toxins from our bloodstream, metabolizing drugs (like caffeine), producing bile for digestion purposes among others.

Signs and Symptoms

Wondering if something might be off inside your “slug?” Here are some possible signs that could indicate issues:

Yellow Eyes or Skin

If you’ve noticed any yellow tinge around your eyes or skin then chances are there could be problems with a chemical called bilirubin which should normally have been removed by healthy cells in our liver through bile secretion but build-up in their absence.

Abdominal Pain & Swelling

Severe abdominal discomfort lasting longer than 48 hours without suspecting food poisoning needs medical examination including swelling around belly-button region caused due accumulation fluids escaping from blood vessels blocked due damaged lobules present in typical hepatic condition known as cirrhosis.

Elevated Blood Levels

When doing routine blood work results show elevated levels specifically AST(.)and ALT(,), both indicative markers related chronic inflammation resulting toxicant overload particularly ethanol-based diets/drink consumption history which accelerates hardening process commonly associated alcoholics disease scientifically denoted as alcoholic liver disease.

Fatigue

Feel tired throughout the day for no apparent reason? This could be attributed to decreased ability of your liver to metabolize lactic and convert carbs into glycogen responsible storing energy. This leads undernourished hepatocytes giving a sluggish feeling all day long.

Increased Risk Factors

A wide range of factors can increase someone’s risk of developing liver damage, including:

Drinking Alcohol

Overconsumption of intoxicating substances such as alcohol is one major cause that causes substantial damage because our body converts it in reaction with enzymes found predominantly in the liver like ADH(Alcohol dehydrogenase), catalase, aldehyde dehydrogenase which has been shown by research evidence that prolonged excessive consumption particularly higher than biological clearance rate leads to swelling Of hepatic cells thus exceeding what shall be considered “healthy/excessive” limits would begin destroying healthy tissue replacing it with inflammation or fibrotic scarring.

Hepatitis B & C Viruses

If you have every symptoms, yellow skin/eyes; stomach bloating coupled miss or lost appetite accompanied joint aches or flu-like symptom is experiencing any one among these which gets harder over time get checked for hepatitis from healthcare professionals immediately! this virus can inflame more than half hepatocytes after rendering its host ineffective against foreign pathogens but eventually overwhelm leaving post-infection scarred organs called cirrhosis disturbing regular function impeding normal life activities.

Diagnosing Liver Damage

Doctors will use various diagnostic tools when evaluating patients suspected (or confirmed) with possible liver problems:

Blood Tests

Blood tests are often the first line approach towards detecting anomalies signs within specific enzymes produced constrained contextually indicative increasing levels high toxicity present within bloodstream cells induced primarily due unhealthy lifestyle choices/diseases affecting our blood vessels systems especially towards filtering capabilities originating solely thanks delicate balance homeostasis pivotal maintenance thereof while still protecting innocence cells around liver.

Imaging Scans

Ultrasound and CT are common imaging technologies used to track any significant changes within the abdomen region, especially involving anatomical aspect liver health since starting stages remain relatively undetectable hence inside damage measurements over time may help determine probability onset future hepatic failure prognosis

Treatment Options

Treatment options for liver damage vary depending on severity of underlying condition. Here are some potential interventions:

Medications

For viral infections caused mainly due unconstrained pathogen (hepatitis), patients undergo antiviral medication therapy which have exhibited conclusive research evidence in lowering inflammation levels related untoward organ effects and expected side-effects not towards immunity or digestive systems thus prolonging disease-free states recovery clinical perspective.

Surgery

If it turns out that a patient’s issues go beyond what medications can treat surgery might be essential.
Depending stage independent individual medical histories one way doctors analyze conditions if invasive measures warranted suits best cosmetic sample driven biopsies possible laparoscopic surgeries needed diagnose emergent scenarios like massive internal bleeding ruptured blood vessels associated with advanced cirrhosis progression phase II-IV stages requiring swift transplants immediate effect diagnosis extension lifelong monitoring by professional healthcare organizations.

In Conclusion…

Liver damage doesn’t necessarily mean very bad news; most cases caught early enough treatment from licensed professionals should take care of them make sure consult someone who specializes specifically dealing various chronic disease management including hepatitis outbreaks minimizing future occurrences mortality rates while still balancing cost-effective regimes

Just remember to stay educated and informed about your own body – you only have one liver after all!

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