This is the largest gland in the human body, which is a vital organ. It is located in the abdominal cavity, immediately below the diaphragm, on the right side. It participates in metabolic processes, cleanses the body of toxins, promotes digestion, synthesizes cholesterol, bile acids. It accumulates fats, proteins, minerals, carbohydrates and vitamins. It is very important to keep your liver he althy, and for this you need to know the symptoms of liver diseases and the causes that cause them.
Classification of diseases
Medicine has not yet come to a unified classification of diseases of this organ and biliary tract due to the fact that the main criteria by which the systematization of diseases occurs: causes, changes in structure, pathogen, clinical manifestations, are mutually intertwined. Morphology (pathological)disease processes) all pathologies of the liver and biliary tract are conventionally divided into three main groups.
- Parenchymal - diseases associated with disruption of the cells that provide the basic functions of the body. These include: cirrhosis, hepatitis, all neoplasms: cyst, various tumors.
- Hepatobiliary - these include various inflammatory processes in the bile ducts, which have a drug, toxic and infectious origin. This group also includes diseases associated with violations of the outflow of bile, resulting from spasm, blockage or neoplasms of the ducts.
- Vascular - any dysfunction of the body associated with the state of the vessels.
In addition to this classification, all diseases can be divided according to the etiology (causes and conditions of occurrence) of the disease and other criteria.
Causes of disease
Liver tissues are very resistant to various negative influences. It is the only human organ that can regenerate itself. Despite this, the constant influence of adverse factors leads to various diseases. The main causes of ailments that are taken into account in the diagnosis of liver diseases are as follows:
- Injuries. They occur during a fall, at work, in an accident. There may be no visible signs, and symptoms will appear much later in the form of cysts, which are found quite by accident during an ultrasound examination.
- Viral infections. Hepatitis A, B and C viruses are a seriousdanger. They cause inflammation of the tissues, which pass in an acute or chronic form, subsequently causing cirrhosis. The safest of these is hepatitis A, called jaundice. It does not become chronic and does not entail serious consequences. The greatest danger is hepatitis B, which does not show a clinical picture for a long time, becomes chronic and has a risk of developing cirrhosis or cancer.
- The presence of parasites. Their various types cause organic and functional disorders. Necrosis appears, combining into an amoebic abscess, liver failure develops.
- Medicines. The indiscriminate use of medications, especially antibacterial, hormonal and antifungal agents, leads to disruption of the vital organ.
- Poisoning. The systematic impact of toxic substances on the human body as a result of work in hazardous industries leads to liver damage. A single exposure to heavy metal vapors or chemical compounds can cause acute necrosis of the gland. Liver failure occurs, as a result of which the remaining he althy cells cannot perform all the functions assigned to them. Over time, dead cells are replaced by connective tissue, leading to cirrhosis.
- Alcohol poisoning. Alcohol abuse also leads to cirrhosis.
- Wrong diet. A high content in the diet of fatty, spicy, fried and smoked foods makes it difficult for the outflow of bile, which leads to congestion, inas a result, stones are formed, both in the gallbladder and in the ducts.
- Genetic predisposition. Violations in the structure of the liver causes narrowing of the ducts and blood vessels, which makes it difficult for the flow of blood and bile, poor development of a vital organ or its parts leads to a decrease in functioning.
- The presence of purulent foci in the peritoneum. This affects the work of the biliary tract, the development of cholangitis or abscess occurs.
- Exposure to radiation. Radiation or ionizing phonation causes the degeneration of liver cells into malignant cells.
There are a lot of factors that affect the state and functioning of an organ, but most of them are related to lifestyle, so a person is able to maintain his he alth.
What are liver diseases?
In medicine, the main diseases are considered to be the following:
- Hepatitis is inflammation of a different nature. They are acute or chronic, have a toxic, medicinal or viral nature. In the absence of timely treatment, the general condition of a person worsens significantly.
- Primary cirrhosis. The disease is more common in women. Symptoms of liver disease are itching, ulcers, yellowing of the mucous membranes and dermis.
- Cholangitis. Inflammatory processes occur in the ducts of the organ.
- Vascular anomalies - congestive liver, vein thrombosis.
- Tuberculosis - bacteria usually enter from the intestines through the hematogenous or lymphogenous pathways, and sometimes spreadalong the bile ducts.
- Fatty degeneration - body cells are replaced by adipose tissue.
- Liver failure - characterized by a violation of one or more functions. Appears in connection with the defeat of the parenchyma.
- Hepatomegaly is a pathological increase in the size of a vital organ. This condition is characteristic of many diseases.
- Volumetric (focal) formations of the liver are single and multiple areas of structural changes, the origin of which can be very different: benign and malignant.
- Steatosis is the fatty infiltration of an organ. Cells accumulate fat.
- Cyst is a benign cavity formation filled with fluid inside. Located in various segments of the liver.
- Hepatic coma - caused by deep depression of the organ. A person loses consciousness, his blood circulation and breathing are disturbed.
Most often, when examining patients, hepatitis, cirrhosis and steatosis of the liver are found.
First signs of disease
To recognize the symptoms of the disease, you need to know where the liver is located. Its shape is similar to an obtuse triangle, which consists of two lobes and has rounded edges. The liver is located in the peritoneum on the right side. Its upper part is located from the left nipple to the right, and the lower part is located at the right ribs. In the early stages of the disease, there may be no symptoms. This organ does not contain nerve fibers, so pain may not appear for a long time.
In diseases of the liver, the very first sign isweakness and fatigue. But it should be remembered that a number of other diseases also have such symptoms, or they can simply appear with excessive stress. With the constant presence of malaise for no apparent reason, it is advisable to consult a doctor. In diseases, these symptoms are associated with intoxication of the body, as the liver ceases to cope with its cleansing. In addition, there may be a violation of metabolic processes: vitamin, carbohydrate and protein. Only a doctor can understand all the subtleties. The most important thing is to contact him in time at the first signs of liver disease.
Main symptoms of pathology
Diseases of this organ pass without any signs for a long time, pain appears already with severe liver damage, when it increases in size and begins to compress the fibrous membrane, where pain receptors are located. With various liver diseases, the following symptoms may appear:
- weakness and general malaise;
- heaviness under the ribs on the right side;
- yellowness of mucous membranes and skin;
- dark color of urine;
- feces liquid consistency and grayish-white color;
- appearance of puffiness;
- hematoma formation as a result of vascular fragility;
- excessive sweating;
- frequent bleeding;
- bitter taste in the mouth in the morning, yellow coating on the tongue and bad smell;
- papules on the skin, burning and itching;
- drastic weight loss;
- the appearance of a venous pattern on the abdomen and an increase in its volume;
- frequent headaches,memory and mental loss;
- hormonal failure and dysfunction of the nervous system;
- significant increase in volume.
Symptoms of liver disease are muscle numbness, cold fingers and toes, brittle, brittle nails with white streaks or spots. Hepatitis and cirrhosis are accompanied by a slight increase in temperature. With its values more than 39 degrees, it should be expected that a purulent process develops. The nervous system reacts with sleep disturbances, apathy, fatigue due to incomplete elimination of toxins due to poor organ function.
Diagnosis
To establish a diagnosis, the doctor conducts the following tests:
- Conversation with the patient - listens to the complaints of the patient.
- Examination - visual examination: the volume of the abdomen, the color of the skin and tongue, the presence of rashes.
- Palpation - it turns out the size of a vital organ, density, shape.
- A biochemical blood test for liver disease helps diagnose hepatitis, metabolic disorders and cirrhosis.
- General analysis of urine - color, transparency, smell, foam character are examined.
- Fecal analysis - determine physical and chemical parameters.
- Testing for viral hepatitis and HIV infection.
- Ultrasound - to identify the focus of the disease.
- CT and MRI - the lesion is determined, the size and condition of the tissues are specified.
- Puncture - for taking material for histology.
- Duodenal sounding - the function of the gallbladder is assessed, bile sampling for analysis.
Diagnosing liver diseases allows you to accurately establish the diagnosis and prescribe the appropriate treatment.
Skin changes due to diseases
In diseases associated with this internal organ, there are specific modifications on the skin. They may be the following manifestations:
Icteric color of the dermis. First of all, the mucous membranes, the sclera of the eyes, the lower surface of the tongue, palms, feet, face, and then the whole body takes on a yellowish tint, which is especially noticeable in natural light
This process is associated with increased levels of bilirubin in the blood.
- Skin rash. Rashes in liver diseases are manifested in the form of: pustular foci, boils, dermatitis, eczema, hemorrhagic rash. All this is due to functional disorders in the work of the internal organ - the inability to synthesize immunoglobulin, neutralize toxic substances, and produce prothrombin.
- Appearance of stretch marks. Often they appear on the abdomen in the form of thin strips of a bluish color. Hormonal failure occurs in the body, as the liver cannot cope with excess steroid hormones.
- Itching of the body with liver disease is due to the increased concentration of toxic substances in the epidermis as a result of poor functioning of the organ. Irritated skin on the abdomen, thighs and forearms is scratchy and very difficult to treat.
- Spider veins are small blood vessels. They appear on the face, neck, and then spread throughout the body and are consideredsigns of cirrhosis.
- Severe pallor of the skin. Impaired absorption of nutrients and a reduced amount of protein for the formation of hemoglobin leads to anemia.
- Spots on the skin in diseases of the liver. They appear in the inguinal and axillary region. The pigmentation is bronze or smoky and is a symptom of hemochromatosis.
Liver pain
According to the intensity and nature of the pain, one can assume the type of gland disease:
- Acute - occurs with pathological phenomena in the gallbladder. There is a spasm of the bile ducts, which leads to a violation of the outflow of bile, hepatic colic begins.
- Burning - appears in acute cholecystitis. At the same time, bitterness appears in the mouth, the temperature rises, nausea and vomiting begin. Pain in liver disease can radiate to the right arm and collarbone.
- Dull - inherent in chronic inflammatory diseases: cholecystitis, hepatitis. Additional signs will be: poor digestibility of food, flatulence, nausea.
- Aching - characteristic of cirrhosis or malignancy.
In some cases, pain in the right hypochondrium can cause diseases that are completely unrelated to the internal organ in question.
Men's clinic
Various ailments of a key human organ affect all people, regardless of age. There is no difference between the signs of liver disease in men and women. According to medical statistics, it is believed that women are less susceptible to these diseases than men. This is more likelyeverything is connected with the way of life, and not with the constitutional characteristics of a person. Some diseases are more common in women. For example, long-term use of hormonal contraceptives provokes disruption of the hepatobiliary system (removal of metabolic and digestive products from the body). Others suffer more often than men. For example, cirrhosis, which occurs from excessive alcohol consumption or working conditions with toxic substances. Certain types of pathology affect sexual activity in men. Signs of liver disease that appear during the mass death of hepatocytes lead to a decrease in potency.
Blood test
In the study of the analysis of blood biochemistry, its composition is revealed, the results of which are entered in a certain form, which lists the main components and their content in the blood. The values of the indicators may be different depending on the age and gender of the patient. Their deviations from the norm are a symptom of a malfunction of the organ. Only the attending physician can correctly evaluate all the results of the analysis, compare them with other signs and causes of the disease. The main indicators of liver diseases in blood biochemistry are:
- proteins – total, creatine, albumin, uric acid, urea;
- lipids and lipoproteins – cholesterol, apolipoprotein, triglycerides;
- carbohydrates – fructosamine, glucose;
- specific proteins – transferrin, C-reactive protein, ferritin, myoglobin, troponin;
- electrolytes;
- pigments - bile acids, bilirubin;
- vitamins.
Only blood biochemistry reflects the functional state of the internal organ and will greatly help the doctor make a diagnosis.
Tongue plaque
The tongue is not only a participant in the digestive process, but also an indicator of human he alth. When visiting a doctor, you can often hear the phrase: "Show your tongue." Such interest of physicians is not accidental, the tongue is one of the first to feel the anomalies that have begun in the body. An experienced physician, by the appearance of this vital internal organ, can establish the symptoms of some ailments. The color of the tongue in liver disease usually turns yellow.
This color is caused by disorders that are associated with the outflow of bile from the gallbladder. The most common cause of this phenomenon is the occurrence of cholecystitis due to bile stasis or infection with hepatitis. In addition, there is a bitter taste in the mouth and pain in the right hypochondrium. Sometimes the appearance of a yellow coating indicates diseases of the stomach or prolonged smoking. Of course, it is impossible to make a diagnosis by the color of the tongue. To do this, it is necessary to take into account other symptoms and causes that caused a change in the color of the tongue and the results of laboratory tests. In case of liver disease in complex cases, instrumental studies are also carried out.
How to eat
With the help of dietary nutrition restore liver function, bile formation and bile secretion, as well as metabolism. Due to disturbances in the functioning of the body, food should cause appetiteand quickly absorbed. It should contain protein that is easily digestible, fiber, minerals and vitamins. Fats of animal origin and foods that increase the secretion of gastric juice should be excluded. It is recommended to eat frequently.
What to eat with liver disease:
- all dairy products;
- low-fat fresh boiled fish;
- vegetables and fruits;
- some flour products;
- lean boiled meat;
- jam, honey, marshmallow, marmalade.
Should limit:
- butter;
- eggs;
- sturgeon and salmon caviar;
- cheese;
- boiled sausage;
- tomatoes.
If symptoms of liver disease are prohibited:
- alcoholic beverages;
- spicy seasonings;
- goose, duck, pork and lamb meat;
- cakes, pastries;
- chocolate;
- fried, smoked and pickled foods;
- nuts;
- tomato juice.
The doctor, due to the characteristics of the disease, may prescribe some dietary restrictions and recommend dietary nutrition for a certain time. With the ability to cook and select recipes, food is made varied and tasty. It is recommended to plan the menu for a week, taking into account the calorie content of the products used.
