Understanding Liver Disease Symptoms - What You Need to Know

What are the Common Symptoms of Liver Disease?

Liver disease often develops silently, making early detection crucial. Understanding the liver disease symptoms, such as fatigue, jaundice, and abdominal pain, can lead to timely diagnosis and treatment. Stay informed to protect your liver health and prevent complications before they become serious.

Introduction

According to medical science, there are different types of liver diseases. The most common types are treatable with lifestyle and diet modifications, while others may require treatment and medication. If you experience any kind of liver disease symptoms, like upper abdominal pain or frequent fatigue, then you must consult with your healthcare provider to seek medical treatment.

What is Liver Disease?    

Our liver is one of the most vital organs in the human physiological system, as it performs many essential functions. The liver helps filter toxins from your blood, which is why it is vulnerable to the different toxins it processes. Accumulation of too many toxins can beset its resources and function, over a long period.

Apart from this, toxic poisoning, viral infections and various metabolic conditions can do progressive damage to your liver. Though it has regenerative power, frequent overuse stops its regenerative power, leading to permanent damage.

What are the Common Liver Disease Symptoms?

Chronic liver disease generally does not show any symptoms in the early stages of the infection. Liver diseases are broadly categorised into two main categories, which we will discuss in the following section.

Early Liver Disease Symptoms

Sometimes, early liver diseases may begin with acute or occasional episodes of acute symptoms. These include:

• Fatigue and uneasiness: A persistent fatigue or uneasiness is seen in certain cases.
• Loss of appetite and Nausea: Many patients experience uneasiness to eat anything due to the disbalanced functioning of the liver.
• Upper abdominal pain: Conditions like viral hepatitis or cirrhosis may cause inflammation and damage to the liver, resulting in chronic abdominal pain on the upper side.  

Later-stage Liver Disease Symptoms

Patients may begin to observe chronic symptoms when there is a decline in their liver's functioning ability. This usually happens in the later-stage liver diseases in older adults.

Stalling of bile flow in the biliary duct is one of the primary side effects of a decline in the liver's capacity. The liver fails to produce and deliver bile effectively to the small intestine. Instead, it flows into your bloodstream. This results in symptoms like:

• Dark-coloured urine
• Jaundice
• Light-coloured stool 
• Hepatic encephalopathy (Brain impairment)
• Pruritus (itchy skin, liver disease with no visible rashes)
• Muscle and weight loss
• Difficulties in digestion processes, face difficulties in digesting fats
• Musty-smelling breath
• Spider angioma (blood vessels swell under the skin and resemble a spider)

Apart from all these symptoms, liver damage can show signs of fluid leakages from the body and accumulation in the body. Abdominal swelling and liver disease, also known as ascites, are signs of fluid leakage and accumulation.  

Other than these, it shows symptoms in toes and nails, which include:

• Nail clubbing (enlargement of the finger beds due to swelling of the soft tissues of the finger beds).
• Terry's Nails (opaque or white appearance of nails with a tinge of brown or pinkish band at the tip).
• Red Palms of the hands
• Bleeding and Bruising
• Petechiae (appearance of tiny red dots on the skin)
• Spoon Nails (spoon-like appearance of the fingernails and toenails). 

In addition, it shows different symptoms in males and females at a later stage. These include:

• In females, it shows symptoms like infertility and irregular periods.
• In males, it shows symptoms like shrunken testicles and enlarged male breast tissue.  

What are the Complications of Later-stage Liver Disease?

End-stage liver disease refers to chronic liver cirrhosis and failure, as in this stage, it permanently loses the ability to regenerate and starts declining slowly.

Let us discuss the complications of end-stage liver disease:

Portal Hypertension

Scarring of the liver compresses the portal vein, which gives rise to portal hypertension. High blood pressure forces our body to divert blood flow to other connected veins in the vicinity, leading to enlarged and thinly stretched veins. These enlarged veins can lead to leakage and cause internal bleeding, which can be life-threatening in certain cases.

Liver Cancer

In specific cases, chronic liver disease symptoms can develop into hepatocellular carcinoma. Constant repeated repair, inflammation and scarring of the liver cells make them susceptible to developing cancer. According to some medical experts, hepatitis viruses sometimes interfere with the DNA of the liver cells, leading to permanent DNA damage.   

What can cause Liver Disease?

The major causes of liver disease include:

• Viral Infections: If infections become frequent and chronic, they can lead to diseases like Hepatitis C and Hepatitis B.
• Autoimmune Disease: Autoimmune conditions can sometimes result in chronic liver scarring, leading to conditions like primary sclerosing cholangitis, autoimmune hepatitis, and primary biliary cholangitis.
• Alcohol-Induced Hepatitis: Excessive alcohol consumption may cause acute or chronic hepatitis. Overconsumption of alcohol can cause liver failure and cirrhosis.
• Biliary Stasis: Congenital conditions sometimes obstruct the flow of bile through the bile ducts, leading to the accumulation of bile and injuries to the liver. It arises in conditions like cystic fibrosis, gallstones or biliary atresia.

The Bottom Line

Liver disease, if left untreated, may lead to serious complications like cirrhosis and liver cancer. Medications like corticosteroids and immunosuppressants are used to treat autoimmune liver disease symptoms.

Reducing or cutting off excessive alcohol consumption and managing metabolic factors can help in recovering from the symptoms as early as possible. Seeking consultation from healthcare providers can reduce the risk of additional complications.