How do I know if my liver is damaged?

 

Introduction:

The liver is a vital organ, playing an important role in the body's ability to produce and digest nutrients from food. Its primary role is to filter blood and remove toxins from the bloodstream.

However, if your liver is damaged, it can't do all of these things properly. This can have serious implications for your health so knowing whether or not your liver is damaged will help you take better care of yourself and avoid worsening your condition.

Liver damage is a common problem that many people suffer through. While it is not immediately apparent, liver damage can be seen in different ways. It's important to know what this means and how to prevent it.

Most of us don't think about our livers until something goes wrong, but there are many things you can do now to be sure your livers are functioning properly.

Yellowing skin or eyes

Yellowing skin or eyes is a sign that your liver is not functioning properly. Yellowing of the skin may be associated with liver disease.

Yellowing of the eyes may indicate jaundice, a condition in which excess bilirubin (a colorless byproduct of hemoglobin breakdown) causes the whites of the eyes to become yellow. Jaundice may also occur if you have cirrhosis of the liver, which is when liver cells are damaged and fail to function normally.

Your liver is your body's detoxification system. It helps rid the body of toxins and excess fluid. If your liver isn't working properly, you could experience yellowing skin or eyes as well as fatigue, heart palpitations, and elevated blood pressure.

Other symptoms may include:

Loss of appetite

Nausea, vomiting

Blood sugar fluctuations (hypoglycemia)

Weight loss, especially around the middle

Itching, rash, or hives

Brown urine

If you have brown urine, it could be a sign of liver damage. The color of your urine can indicate the presence or absence of blood in your stools or urine.

A yellowish tinge to your urine is normal and indicates a healthy liver. If you see a dark or blackish color, it could be a sign of liver damage.

If you have brown urine, it means the liver is not working properly. When it becomes damaged, it can no longer do this job and toxins start to build up in the body. This can lead to all kinds of health problems like arthritis, cancer, diabetes, and even heart disease.

If you have any of these signs or symptoms, it's important to see a doctor as soon as possible.

Itchy skin

Itchy skin is a sign that you have liver damage. This is because your liver is responsible for producing and removing harmful substances called bile from your body.

If you frequently have itchy skin, it could be a sign of an underlying condition. However, there are also other reasons why this symptom can occur. If you're experiencing itching in one area of your body, but not others, it's likely that the cause is related to your liver function rather than some other condition.

Itchy skin. People who have hepatitis C can have itchy skin, a common sign of liver disease. This symptom may be mild or severe and may go away temporarily without treatment.

Jaundice (yellowing of the whites of your eyes). The yellowing of the whites of your eyes may be accompanied by some jaundice (dark discoloration of the sclera — the white part at the center of your eye). If you notice jaundice, tell your doctor or nurse immediately.

Nausea or vomiting. Many people with hepatitis C don't feel sick from their virus; in fact, they may not even know they have it until they go to the doctor with a skin rash or other signs of viral infection. However, some people experience nausea, abdominal pain, diarrhea, and vomiting due to inflammation of the pancreas called pancreatitis (inflammation of the pancreas). These symptoms are more common in people who also have chronic HBV infections.

Other symptoms such as fever and malaise (general feeling of being unwell) are also common among those with hepatitis C but are less commonly reported than jaundice and pruritus (itchy skin).

Fatigue

Fatigue is one of the most common symptoms of liver damage, but it’s not the only symptom.

When your liver is damaged, it may not be able to perform its normal functions — such as filtering toxins from your blood and making cholesterol. This can cause you to feel tired all the time or feel more tired than usual.

Fatigue can also be caused by a number of other conditions that are unrelated to your liver. For example, you might be tired because you’re sick or because you’re getting older. If you have cirrhosis, fatigue may be caused by:

a low level of energy or feeling tired all the time

having trouble sleeping well at night

feeling sluggish during the day

Fatigue is a common symptom of liver damage, especially when accompanied by other symptoms such as nausea and abdominal pain. If you're feeling more tired than usual, it's worth asking your doctor to check if your liver is damaged.

Nausea or vomiting

A common sign of damage to the liver is nausea or vomiting. When you experience these symptoms, it's important to see a doctor as soon as possible.

If you have persistent nausea or vomiting that won't go away, or if you have other symptoms of liver damage, see a doctor immediately and ask them whether they suspect you have a problem.

Nausea and vomiting are the most common symptoms of liver damage. The liver produces a substance called bilirubin. Bilirubin is a waste product that is normally broken down in your body into water-soluble substances. When there is too much bilirubin in your blood, it can irritate the lining of your stomach and cause nausea and vomiting.

If you have severe or persistent nausea and vomiting, see your doctor. It could be a sign of a more serious illness such as hepatitis or cirrhosis (liver disease).

Pain in the upper right area of the abdomen

The first sign of liver damage is usually a pain in the upper right area of the abdomen. This is called jaundice, and it's caused by a buildup of bilirubin, a yellow pigment that normally flows through your body.

Other signs and symptoms of liver damage include:

Fatigue

General weakness or loss of strength

Nausea or vomiting

Loss of appetite

Pain in the upper right area of the abdomen is typical of a liver disorder. It may be mild, moderate, or severe and it can last from a few minutes to several hours.

Other symptoms of liver damage include:

jaundice (yellowing skin)

tiredness and fatigue

nausea or vomiting

abdominal pain with or without fever that doesn't go away with rest

dark urine, jaundice, and/or itching in the skin (with dark urine, jaundice, and itching in the skin).

Conclusion:

The best way to check out if your liver is damaged or not is to undergo a liver function test. This test checks out the functioning of the liver and tells you what is happening internally with your liver.

Usually, doctors tend to refer this test to patients who are suffering from any related symptoms such as yellowish skin, fatty liver, itching, or right upper abdominal pain.

The effects of liver disease depend upon the type and severity of the liver damage. Common effects of liver damage include fatigue, loss of appetite, nausea and vomiting, abdominal pain, fever, jaundice, and dark urine.

The liver tests will be normal in most cases until something starts hurting the liver. By then it could be too late to reverse the changes that happened before.

There is no sure way to detect this but if you have any risk for liver disease then you might want a doctor to consider the possibility. It's better to catch it early rather than face worse problems in the future.