The liver which is located in the right upper quadrant of your abdomen is the largest solid organ in your body. It is protected by the ribs and responsible for many function in your body system. Simply put, you cannot live without your liver.
With that being said, it is important for you to take care of your liver the best way you can. Another thing you also need to know is the early symptoms of liver damage so you can prevent a more advance health issue.
12 Early Symptoms of Liver Damage
When it comes the liver, there are many different kinds of disease that can affect the health of your liver. Each of it has its out signs. Some of those disease are hepatitis, alcoholic liver disease, fatty liver disease, and cirrhosis of the liver. Unfortunately, the early symptoms of liver disease are non-specific and tend to be easily overlooked. If you experience any of the symptoms below, the best option for you is to visit your medical expertise and ask for further examination.
So here are some common early symptoms of liver damage:
1. Disruption in the Stomach
Nausea and nausea can be a symptoms of various disease including food poisoning, migraines, motion sickness, vertigo, early pregnancy and depression. It can also be a sign of kidney problems and also liver damage. People who suffer from early liver damage may feel nauseous continuously. It can happen due to the decrement in liver’s ability to cleanse the body from toxins.
Another two factor that can also cause this condition are ongoing metabolism and changes in digestion. If this condition still remain after a few days and you cannot figure out the reason, then you better go visit your doctor.
2.Feeling Fatigue and Weak Most of the Time
While feeling tired and weak may be caused by lack of sleep and rest, it can also be a sign of liver damage. The damage in your liver will require the body to work harder which also mean you will need to have more rest.
When the function of your liver got disrupted, its ability to remove toxins from your body will decrease and cause the increment of toxins in your bloodstream. So if your fatigue doesn’t go away after you have enough rest, you definitely need to seek medical advice as soon as you can.
3.Loss of Appetite
Damage in the liver will cause a reduction in the bile production. Bile responsible to help fat digestion and when your food isn’t digested properly, it may resulted in loss of appetite and a drop in body weight. If this condition happened for a long time, consult to your doctor to get further examination.
4.Problems with Digestion
Liver plays an important role in digestion process because it produce bile. The bile helps the small intestine to process and absorb nutrients better. Damage in the live can lead to dyspepsia and diarrhea.
Some other digestion problem that may occur when the bile is not produced properly are fatty food intolerance, irritable bowel syndrome, abdominal bloating, alcohol intolerance, constipation and gallstones.
5.Changes in Color of Your Urine
Normally, when you drink enough water the color of your urine should be bright and more transparent. However, if your urine is still dark in color after your drink enough water, then it may be the early sign of liver damage.
The elevated level of bilirubin in the bloodstream can cause the urine to look brown, amber or orange in color. The amount of bilirubin in the bloodstream may raise because liver is unable to get rid of the bilirubin so it is excreted through the kidneys.
So, though dark color in your urine may also be a result of dehydration, taking B vitamin supplements, side effects of antibiotics, enzyme deficiencies, urinary tract infection, or kidney abnormalities, you better consult to your doctor if the problem remain after some period of time.
6.Alteration in Stool Coloration
Malfunction in the liver will make the amount of bile becomes insufficient and cause alteration in stool coloration. If the color of your stool usually brown, it may turn into clay colored, pale yellow, or gray. If this only happens occasionally, there is nothing you should be worry about. However, if you experience it more than a few times, then you need to consult to your doctor.
7.Jaundice
Jaundice is a yellow coloration to the skin, tongue, fingertips, and eyes as the result of increasing bilirubin in the bloodstream and bodily tissue which normally will be excreted in the bile. This condition cause the skin becomes yellow. Jaundice can also be a sing of problem in the pancreas or gallbladder. If you experience it, you need to consult to your doctor immediately.
8.Changes in the Abdomen
The feeling of pain, cramping, or bloating in the lower part of the abdomen can mean that you have ascites and malfunction in your liver. Ascites is the condition where fluid has built up inside the abdominal cavity. This may happen when there is damage to the liver of liver cirrhosis.
Liver disease may cause high blood pressure in the arteries and veins of the abdomen. Visit your doctor immediately once you notice this symptom.
9.Retention of Fluid
Damage in the liver can lead to retention of fluid, especially in the ankles and feet. This condition is similar to ascites, the difference is the fluid buildup in the outer tissues in the lower extremities. Fluid retention can also be a sign of hormonal imbalance, kidney problems, heart failure, and lymphatic disease.
10.Problems with The Skin
Liver deficiency can cause the skin to be more sensitive, itches, flakes and becomes hypersensitive to touch. You may see some bruises on your skin and notice that your veins become more visible. If the problems with your skin happens because of the liver damage, then you need to identify the problem get proper treatment. Because moisturizing your skin will not help unless the actual issue has treated.
11.Pain in the Abdomen
You may feel pain in the right upper quadrant of the rib cage where the liver is located. When the liver is malfunctioning, the affected area may fell painful and tender.
12.Diarrhea, Constipation, or Intestinal Bleeding
The liver plays an important role in the production of the clotting factors. So when the liver damaged, you may suffer from bleeding of intestines which is associated with diarrhea or constipation.
If you experience any of the above symptoms, you need to seek for medical advice immediately. However, please remember that this is not a full list of liver damage symptoms. Some other signs like imbalance sex hormone where men can develop breast, and both men and women suffer from loss of libido may also occur.
Don’t forget to adopt health eating habit since what you eat can greatly affect the health of your liver.
