Liver Failure. Symptoms, Causes And Prevention.
LIVER FAILURE.
Liver failure is also called hepatic failure.
Loss of liver function.
However, Liver failure happens when most parts of the liver become damaged beyond repair and the liver can’t work again.
However, There are two types of live failure:
- Acute: This is when your liver stops working within a matter of days or weeks.
- Chronic: Damage to your liver builds up over time and causes it to stop working.
Symptoms of Liver Disease and Liver Failure.
However, The early symptoms of liver failure are often similar to those of liver diseases and other conditions. Because of this, liver failure may be tough to diagnose at first. Early symptoms include:
- Vomiting
- Loss of appetite
- Fatigue
- Diarrhea
These symptoms include:
- Jaundice
- Bleeding easily
- Swollen belly
- Mental issues.
- Sleepiness
Causes of Chronic Liver Failure
However, The most common causes of chronic liver failure include:
- Hepatitis B: It makes your liver swell and stops it from working the way it should.
- Hepatitis C: If you have it long-term, it can lead to cirrhosis.
- Long-term alcohol consumption: It also leads to cirrhosis.
- Hemochromatosis: This inherited disorder causes your body to absorb and store too much iron. It can build up in your liver and cause cirrhosis.
Other conditions that can lead to liver failure include:
- Hepatitis A: However, Contact with food or water contaminated with the hepatitis A virus, or with a person who’s infected with virus, can cause liver inflammation. This type usually goes away on its own.
- Autoimmune hepatitis: In this type, your body’s immune system, not a virus, attacks your liver and causes inflammation.
- Cirrhosis: Things like drinking alcohol for many years or having hepatitis scar your liver can make it hard or impossible for your liver to work.
- Primary sclerosing cholangitis: This disease slowly damages your bile ducts. It mostly affects young men.
- Oxalosis: This is when your kidneys can’t get rid of calcium oxalate crystals through the urine.
- Wilson’s disease: People with this rare inherited disease store too much copper in their brain and liver.
- Liver cancer: People with long-term hepatitis B or hepatitis C often get this.
- Liver adenoma: This is when benign liver tumors are on an otherwise healthy liver. This often affects women between ages 20 and 44.
-
Fatty liver disease: Extra fat cells can build up on your liver. Nonalcoholic fatty liver disease often affects people who are overweight, obese or have high cholesterol. Alcohol-related fatty liver disease affects heavy drinkers.
OTHER CONDITIONS INCLUDE:
- Alcoholic hepatitis : Liver failure that results from heavy or long-term drinking.
- Alagille syndrome: A genetic disorder that results in fewer bile ducts than normal in the liver.
- Primary biliary cholangitis (PBC): Over time, this disease destroys your small bile ducts. You might still hear it called by its former name, primary biliary cirrhosis.
- Galactosemia: People with this condition can’t process galactose, a sugar found in many foods. It can cause liver damage.
- Lysosomal acid lipase deficiency (LAL-D): With this genetic condition, you can’t produce an enzyme called lysosomal acid lipase (LAL), which helps your body break down fats and cholesterol in your cells. As a result, fats stay in your liver and cause damage.
How is liver failure diagnosed?
However, To accurately diagnose and find the cause of liver disease, your provider will also recommend one or more tests. These may include:
- Blood tests: Liver enzymes measure levels of liver enzymes in your blood. Other tests of liver function include a blood-clotting test called the international normalized ratio (INR). Abnormal levels may indicate problems with your liver function.
- Imaging tests: Your provider can use ultrasound, MRI or CT scan to look for signs of damage, scarring or tumors in your liver. Another specialized type of ultrasound called fibroscan can be used to determine the degree of scarring and fat deposition in the liver.
- Liver biopsy: During a liver biopsy, your provider uses a thin needle to remove a small sample of liver tissue. They analyze the tissue to look for signs of liver disease.
Can liver disease be prevented?
Hence, You can take steps to prevent some types of liver disease — especially those affected by your diet and lifestyle. However, If you are at risk for liver disease, your provider may recommend lifestyle changes including:
- Avoiding or limiting alcohol.
- Avoiding foods and drinks that contain trans fats or high-fructose corn syrup.
- However, Carefully managing your intake of prescription and over-the-counter medications to avoid liver damage, as medications like acetaminophen (Tylenol®) are a common cause of liver injury.
- Getting regular exercise.
- Limiting consumption of red meat.
However one should avoid the rise of liver failure as much as possible.
