Cirrhosis of the Liver

Cirrhosis of the liver is a very serious medical problem where instead of having tissue that is healthy, scar tissue takes place. The blood flow then becomes blocked, and therefore the liver cannot do what it needs to in order for you to achieve optimal health.

The liver is a big organ, perhaps more then you realize it. It is in fact, the largest organ you have. It regulates blood clotting, breaks down toxins from your bloodstream, and also controls infections by immune agent production. Other germs and bacterias are also taken away from the blood. Your protein sources are controlled by the liver as well, as the liver processes fats and other vitamins. Living without a properly functioning liver is next to impossible. This is why cirrhosis is quite serious.

Liver disease has a variety of causes. One of the most common is alcoholic liver disease. A heavy consumption of alcoholic beverages is destructive to liver function, and over time will seriously damage the liver.

Chronic Hepatitis C is another cause of liver disease. Damage to the liver function is created by infection from this virus since there is an inflammation involved.

Hepatitis B and D This hepatitis type is of the most frequent. Again, inflammation comes into play with this type of infection, which leads to destroying the liver.

Autoimmune Hepatitis is a hepatitis that is caused from the immune system which will attack the liver and since it also produces inflammation, damages and scars the liver.

Hemochromatosis is another cause for cirrhosis of the liver. This is a disorder associated with too much iron secretion. Please see the link to my other site.

There is also nonalcoholic steatohepatitis This disorder causes fat build up leading to scarring of the liver. NASH often runs in conjunction with other disorders and problems such as malnourishment, diabetes, overweight, and disease of the arteries.

Biliary Atresia where the ducts are blocked is a disease that appears in infancy when it happens. This and liver disease go right together.

Symptoms of Liver Disease

There may be no symptomatology to begin with, but as the disease progresses you'll likely have the following:

Feeling exhausted

No appetite

Upset stomach all the time

Feeling too weak

Losing weight for no reason

Pain in the stomach area

Blood vessels that are spider-like which will show on your skin in places

Common complications of this nedical condition

Edema and something called ascites is common. This means that there is a lot of fluid accumulation all over in the stomach, and also legs. This is showing that the liver no longer has an ability to work with protein as it is supposed to.

You'll probably bruise easily and bleed. This is because the liver is failing to produce proteins which is a big part of the body staying well process.

Jaundice will no doubt appear. This means a yellow-ish tint to the skin.

Itchiness Since the liver is not processing bile correctly, this will make the skin itchy.

Gallstones Since bile is unable to be processed by the gallbladder, gallstones can easily occur.

The blood or your brain may have toxic substances. When the liver is barely productive, it can't process the substances which it needs to remove. Since this upsets the brain functioning, mental dysfunction will occur.

Trouble processing medicnes can happen since the liver is responsible a lot for properly passing on drugs in your blood as it should.

Type 2 diabetes and insulin handling problems The liver does many things in processing your insulin from the pancreas. Cirrhosis of the Liver causing diabetes is likely since insulin is no longer managed properly.

Liver Cancer is another unfortunate complication that can easily happen. See articles on this later in this site.

Diagnosis of Cirrhosis of the Liver

A liver biopsy is the most definitive way to find out whether or not there is a problem.

Other tests might include blood checks for liver enyzymes, a CT scan or MRI, and also physical examinations where a doctor can detect abnormal feelings in the abdominal area just by touching the patient.

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