Warning Signs of Liver Damage: Stay Informed & Vigilant

Are you concerned about your liver health which most of the time remains unnoticed?

Your concerns are very genuine. The liver is a body part that keeps on deteriorating unnoticed and gets attention at advanced stages.

To identify and take corrective action in an early stage is the smartest move you can take.

With the awareness of early, late, and red flag symptoms which actually are the warning signs of liver damage, you can take the right steps at the right time.

You will definitely be able to avoid a situation where liver damage is going unidentified for years. When liver disease is detected at a later stage, doctors also start becoming helpless.

But, before going into the details of the warning signs of liver damage, let us first know why the liver is important based on its functionality.

Why is the Liver Important?

Table of Contents

The liver has metabolic (related to digestion and energy production) and synthetic functions (cleansing and toxin removal).

The major functions of the liver are as follows.

Production of bile, which helps in breaking down and absorption of fat in the small intestine
The liver regulates blood clotting function by synthesizing proteins such as albumin
Storage of carbohydrates for use as glucose in the blood.
Elimination of bilirubin through metabolism or secretion and thus helps you to avoid jaundice and related complications.
Fighting infections through the development of immune factors and removal of bacteria from the bloodstream
Elimination of biochemical wastes, detoxification of alcohol, environmental toxins, and certain drugs
Conversion of ammonia (A harmful toxin) to urea (less toxic for excretion) in protein metabolism.

Now that you know the functional role played by the liver, let us know the early, late, and red-flag symptoms. Red flag symptoms are also an indication that your liver is dying.

A. Early symptoms of liver disease

Following are the symptoms that indicate early-stage liver disease. These symptoms are typically observed in other diseases as well and hence can easily be ignored by many.

However, if you are observing symptoms in combination, you should take them seriously. The liver disease is simplest to solve when it is in its early stage.

Pain in Abdomen

You may feel pain in the upper right side of the abdomen where your liver is located. This pain can also be accompanied by right shoulder pain. You should not ignore this type of pain if it continues for more than a few days.

Such pains may originate from the enlargement of the liver or compression of the bile duct.

General Fatigue

You may feel fatigued. This type of fatigue is known as central fatigue and can restrict you from performing your daily tasks.

Fever

Fever is also one of the symptoms. But, based on fever, you should not conclude that you are having liver disease. However, if you are observing other symptoms of liver disease as well, then only it can be an indication of liver malfunction.

Lack of Appetite

You may not feel like eating anything and can gradually start losing weight.

The important point to note is that you should not worry from once in a while loss of appetite.

If you lose appetite for a very long time, that chronic loss of appetite can be an indicator of liver disease.

Nausea and Vomiting

Regular feelings of nausea and vomiting for a very long period of time are also an indication that your liver is disturbed.

If you find other symptoms along with nausea and vomiting, you should not ignore them.

Itchy Skin

One of the common signs of liver disease is itchy skin. If you have itchy skin, then it could be a sign of obstructive jaundice.

Itchy skin is also medically known as pruritus and can occur in 17% of patients having obstructive jaundice. Your sole feet and palm have a maximum chance of getting affected by pruritus.

Red Palms

If your palms are getting red and swollen, this may be a warning sign for liver damage.

In the context of liver damage, scarring of liver tissue results in increased redness of the palm.

Sleep Disturbances

Non-alcoholic fatty liver disease and primary bile disorders can cause insomnia, problems in rapid eye movement during sleep, and disturbances in sleep patterns.

Spider Angioma

If you can see small spider-shaped veins, under the skin on your face and legs, you have to check for liver disease.

This condition occurs due to higher levels of estrogen, thereby implying the improper functioning of the liver in the metabolism of your hormones.

B. Late symptoms of liver disease

There may be late symptoms due to fibrosis or cirrhosis, which can warn you of liver disease in your body. You should be careful about late liver disease symptoms, as they may become a potential threat if left untreated. However, with proper and timely measures, there are very good chances of easy recovery.

Yellowing of the eye and the skin

The eye and skin start getting pale or yellowish due to excess bilirubin in the blood. This is also a symptom of jaundice, which is also a liver disease.

You should take it seriously and approach the doctor if you are observing it for a couple of days.

Accumulation of fluid in the abdomen (Ascites)

Accumulation of fluid in the abdominal cavity may happen due to cirrhosis. If you are gaining weight too fast, it can be due to ascites and your doctor will advise you to take a low-salt diet.

Blood Vomiting

In chronic liver disease, the patient may experience blood vomiting which needs emergency care.

Blood vomiting indicates the severity of the liver disease. You should immediately contact your doctor and preferably a hepatologist, who is a liver expert.

Swelling of the legs, ankles and feet

If you are observing swelling (edema in medical terms) in the legs, hands, and feet, it may be due to the presence of liver disease.

Dark urine and/or pale-coloured stool

If you are seeing dark-coloured urine for a week, even when you are having good water intake, there may be a possibility that you have a high level of bilirubin (pigment present in urine and stool) in urine which is an indication of liver damage.

Along with dark urine colour and pale stool, if you are also observing the change in colour of your eyes, you need to rush to a doctor.

Sexual dysfunctions

Though sexual dysfunction can result from many other causes like stress, performance anxiety, and hormonal imbalance, you can also experience it in serious liver disease along with other symptoms.

As a result of liver disease, there is an alteration in the metabolism of estrogen hormone. This can lead to infertility, menstrual problems in women, enlarged breasts, and shortened testis in males.

Easy bleeding and bruising

Easy bleeding or bruising after injuries is also a sign of an unhealthy liver. Easy bleeding can happen due to bacterial or viral infections in your body.

If you are observing easy bleeding along with yellowing of your eye or passing of dark urine, you should not ignore this and should plan to meet a doctor.

C. Red flag symptoms which are also signs that your liver is dying

If you are a liver patient of cirrhosis stage and you start getting the following symptoms, you should consider them a Red flag and should go to the hospital.

Fever and high temperature

If your temperature rises alarmingly as a result of cirrhosis, it is time to rush to the hospital.

Shortness of breath

This is known as hepatopulmonary syndrome and this happens in liver cirrhosis patients when the level of oxygen in the blood reaches a minimum level. In these cases, a liver transplant may be required as hepatopulmonary syndrome has no long-lasting relief through medicines.

Please note that shortness of breath can also occur due to pulmonary disease or cardiac ailments, but if you have an already existing liver disorder and you have this symptom, it is important that you go to the hospital immediately.

Mental confusion, drowsiness, and forgetfulness

This condition is known as severe hepatic encephalopathy (hepatic brain disorder). It can gradually lead to coma and severe brain dysfunctions.

In the case of serious liver disease or cirrhosis, patients may have cognitive dysfunction such as memory loss, problems in identifying expressions, etc.

This condition also may require a liver transplant and is one of the red flag symptoms.

Mental confusion and forgetfulness can be a very common symptom, but when it occurs in severe liver disorder patients, it can be a warning sign of liver disease that needs immediate attention.

Stages of Liver Disease

Liver disease is categorized into four stages.

Stage 1: Hepatitis

Chronic or acute inflammation of the liver is known as hepatitis. It is essential to stop the progression of the disease at this point.

There are many easy ways including lifestyle modifications, Ayurvedic herbs, etc to control liver damage at this stage.

One of the best ways to detox the liver is with Ayurveda supplements because they are chemical-free, natural, organic, and don’t have any side effects.

Ayurveda is very famous for its results for gut, liver, kidney, and sexual wellness.

You can prevent the progression of the disease by using LivClenz- an Ayurveda medicine that consists of 15 herbs.

Stage 2: Liver Fibrosis

When the patient enters the fibrotic stage from the hepatitis stage, scar tissue (unhealed wounds) is formed in the liver to make it fibrotic.

If the liver cells become fibrous, then there is an immediate need for the regeneration of new hepatic cells and reverse fibrosis.

This stage is also controllable with medications, lifestyle modification, and advanced treatment like stem cell therapy.

Stage 3: Liver Cirrhosis

When there is permanent damage in the liver, due to irreversible scarring of the liver tissues, cirrhosis is caused.

You may think that cirrhosis may only be caused by alcohol consumption but it may also be caused by viral and other autoimmune diseases.

In late-stage cirrhosis, liver failure begins. This condition is difficult to control and requires immediate medical attention.

Stage 4: End Stage Liver Disease or Liver Failure

In end-stage liver disease, your respiratory and nervous systems are affected.

You feel shortness of breath and mental confusion, and treatment options available at this stage are palliative care and liver transplant. Often patients reach this stage as a result of aggressive hepatocellular carcinoma.

Now, that we have read about the different stages of liver disease, let us know how we can prevent it.

Prevention of liver disease

Progression of mild liver disease to serious liver disease can be prevented by using home remedies, Ayurvedic herbs, and eating healthy foods. You can also prevent liver ailments by losing weight, stopping smoking, doing exercise, and avoiding alcoholic beverages.

1. Detox yourself

Your liver plays a crucial role in detoxifying your body. So we must cleanse the body part which is crucial to remove toxins from the body. Detoxing your liver helps to reduce the burden on your liver.

To detoxify the liver you can use the following:

Drink water as much as possible to flush out the toxins from the liver.
Eat a healthy diet to help your liver function properly. It is one of the ways to prevent the occurrence of liver disease. Eat potassium-rich food to cleanse your liver, lower your cholesterol level, and keep your blood pressure under control. Potassium-rich vegetables and fruits like beans, sweet potatoes, and bananas can help detoxify your liver and keep you in good health.
Exercise and do yoga every day to help in the metabolism of toxins in your liver.
Ayurvedic herbs expedite the detox process. Ayurvedic herbs contain ingredients that cleanse the liver and check the progression of liver disease. Moreover, the herbs do not have any side effects. Liv Clenz is an Ayurvedic product that contains a mixture of 15 herbs to detoxify your liver and keep you in good health.

You can buy LivClenz by clicking the button below.

Buy LivClenz Now On Amazon

2. Maintain Healthy Weight

You become overweight when the consumption of food is more than what your body needs in terms of energy.

The liver will start storing the excess energy in the form of fat.

This fat is deposited in different part of bodies and even on your liver as well and that’s how the term fatty lever is coned.

You must need to maintain your BMI Ratio between 20-25.

Regular exercise is the best way to achieve this BMI and maintain this BMI.

If you live a sedentary lifestyle, the chances of having liver disease increase drastically.

3. Eat healthy

By making healthy eating choices you can help your liver heal and stay healthy. The foods that you should add to your diet include:

Probiotics strengthen gut health and proper assimilation of fats.
Citrus fruits help to flush out toxins from the liver
Turmeric helps reduce inflammation of the liver
Nuts to reduce cell damage

In addition, you must limit your intake of carbohydrates. By limiting your carbohydrate intake, you can prevent the storage of unused glucose in the liver.

4. Avoid smoking

We all know that smoking affects our lungs and may cause cancer. But smoking cigarettes negatively affects the liver too.

The nicotine present in the cigarette increases the fat content of the blood, while the liver is working hard to remove the toxins cigarette smoking produces.

5. Avoid alcoholic beverages

Alcohol consumption can adversely affect your liver. Addiction to alcoholic beverages can cause several liver diseases which if left untreated can cause life-threatening complications.

Even if you drink any alcoholic beverage sometimes, make sure to drink adequate water. Water helps to remove the toxins and helps in hydrating your body.

6. Say no to unprotected sex

Hepatitis virus may be transmitted by unprotected sex. Both B and C viruses have a chance of causing progressive hepatitis.

Key takeaway after understanding the crucial warning signs of liver damage

You now know that your liver plays a very critical role in metabolism, detoxification, Blood clot regulation etc and hence you should observe the warning signs of liver damage regularly and take action on a timely basis..

In the early stages, your liver damage can easily be recovered by prevention mechanisms shared in the prevention section and by detoxifying of your liver using natural home remedies. Moreover, you can expedite the process of detoxification by using Ayurvedic herbs like Liv Clenz.

In the fibrosis stage, there are some advanced treatments like Stem cell therapy. It is a cellular therapy that can regenerate your liver and make it healthy. The sudden weight loss also helps you to recover you from the fibrosis stage.

In cirrhosis and the last stage, you should take the help of a renowned hepatologist.

Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)

Q1: How do you know your liver is healthy?

A liver function test is one of the blood tests which indicates the health of your liver and its functionality.

Q2. What lifestyle factors contribute to liver damage?

Consuming processed foods, smoking, and drinking alcohol can be harmful to your liver.

Q3. Can viral hepatitis cause liver damage?

Yes, viral hepatitis such as hepatitis B and C can very well damage your liver.

Q4. What is the best supplement to reverse liver damage?

Liv Clenz is one of the best ayurvedic supplements. It contains 15 Ayurvedic herbs that detoxify your liver.

You can come out with the early signs of liver disease and even avoid these symptoms if you take Liv Clenz regularly.

Q5. What are the first signs of a bad liver?

Abdominal pain below the right side, fatigue, body pain, and skin itching are some signs of bad liver.

A bad liver can be cured at an early stage with Ayurvedic interventions. You can go for Liv Clenz herbal formulation to protect your liver from any kind of damage.

Q6. How can I make my liver healthy again?

In the first stage, you can go with Ayurvedic medicine – Liv Clenz, in the second stage which is the fibrosis stage, can be treated with the help of stem cell therapy In the last stage, you consult a hepatologist.

You can also go for an opinion of medical doctors from the MedicoExperts panel of renowned doctors. Regular monitoring of your liver is important if you have any symptoms. Try to remain careful and know about the warning signs.

References

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC10496264/
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC2582971/
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4952797/
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC9629063/
https://jtd.amegroups.org/article/view/44498/html
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/books/NBK507818/
https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/31334972/
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/books/NBK470482/
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/books/NBK557439/
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC6542230/
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/books/NBK430869/

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Medically Reviewed By MedicoExperts Editorial & Clinical Review Board on 09 May 2024

Warning Signs of Liver Damage: Stay Informed, and take action early to avoid complications