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How Do Signs Of Liver Failure Manifest On The Patient’s Body?

The most recognizable sign of liver failure is jaundice. However, not everyone with jaundice is suffering from liver failure. So, besides jaundice, are there any signs of liver failure that are easy to recognize? If you are concerned about liver disease and want to learn about it, this article will provide you with useful health information.

What is Liver Failure?

When the liver is damaged or liver function no longer works due to exposure to harmful substances and virus attacks, over time if the condition does not improve, it will lead to liver failure.

Liver failure includes two forms, acute liver failure, and chronic liver failure. Regardless, liver failure is a very dangerous disease that requires prompt medical intervention and treatment.

• Acute liver failure: This is a rare type of liver failure with a high degree of danger. Acute liver failure occurs very rapidly. In some cases, it only takes about 48 hours without any symptoms. Patients can fall into critical condition and die in a few days to weeks.

• Chronic liver failure: This is the most common type of liver failure that occurs slowly and over a long period of time. Chronic liver failure is often the result of cirrhosis, but not early treatment causes complications. Signs of liver failure are also evident when the disease has deteriorated.

Who Are At Risk for Liver Failure?

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Who is susceptible to liver failure?

Common causes of liver failure can stem from bad habits in everyday life or from a virus attack that damages the liver. Here are the common causes that make you a risk object for liver failure but do not recognize the following:

  • Drinking alcohol: People who have a habit of drinking alcohol regularly will harm the liver. Because 90% of the alcohol is quickly absorbed by the body and goes directly to the liver, causing toxicity. Can cause cirrhosis at first, but over time there is a risk of developing liver failure or liver cancer.
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Regular drinking is harmful to the liver, which can lead to liver failure or liver cancer
  • Hepatitis virus infection: The hepatitis viruses cause common diseases such as hepatitis A, B, and C. Usually transmitted through diet, sexual contact, and blood sugar. When infected with hepatitis virus, it will cause anorexia, fatigue, dizziness … If not treated and controlled, it will lead to liver failure, adversely affecting the health of the patient.
  • Unhealthy diet: Eating too much bad fast food, bad cholesterol, will cause the liver to have too much excess fat. Causes fatty liver condition. Overtime will turn into liver failure, health effects such as heart attack, stroke.
  • Malnutrition: When the body does not eat enough nutrients, it causes nutritional deficiencies to maintain the body's living activities, which is also the cause of liver failure.

In addition, acute liver failure can also arise from causes such as The body's reaction to some ingredients of drugs or herbs, ingestion of poisonous mushrooms, Tylenol overdose.

Signs of Liver Failure

The early signs of liver failure are often not so obvious, sometimes confusing with other common illnesses so we often overlook or mistakenly treat with self-medication at home.

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Signs of liver failure in the early stages are usually not as obvious

Tired person

People who experience fatigue frequently may be a sign of a liver problem. The liver has an important job to remove toxins from the blood. When the liver is damaged or in the early stages of liver failure, the elimination of toxins is delayed, affecting the nervous system. Fatigue causes loss of vitality.

Nausea, loss of appetite

The patient will have anorexia, eat anything, and no appetite. This can be a sign of other diseases that are confusing. But sometimes this is also one of the signs of liver failure. When the secretion of bile in the liver is problematic, it affects the digestive system. One alarming way in the body is anorexia. There are many cases of anorexia also accompanied by symptoms of nausea of ​​unknown cause.

Weight loss

Weight loss is also a manifestation of early-stage liver failure. When nausea and loss of appetite occur frequently, the body will not be loaded with enough nutrients to maintain normal living activities. Forced to take stored energy from fat and muscles causes weight loss. However, weight loss accompanied by fatigue is a very worrying thing, which over time can cause malnutrition affecting various parts of the body.

Get diarrhea

When having liver problems, causing the body to accumulate toxins, also causes long-lasting diarrhea. Sometimes diarrhea isn't just a sign of a digestive problem. If you accompany the symptoms of weight loss, fatigue you should see your doctor to get the most accurate conclusion.

Symptoms of liver failure will begin to get worse when the liver failure progresses with symptoms such as:

Jaundice, yellow eyes

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Jaundice is a warning sign that you are at risk for liver disease

A warning sign that the liver has been severely damaged in the liver failure stage is that the skin and irises of the patient turn yellow. At this time, the liver functions are impaired, even unable to function, leading to the amount of bilirubin not being eliminated from the normal way, but accumulating in the blood causing jaundice, eyes.

Bleeding and bruising

The liver function is no longer able to function normally, causing the number of toxins not to be metabolized or eliminated, leading to blood clots below the surface of the skin. This phenomenon results in the appearance of bruises on the skin even though the patient has not suffered a shock or fall.

The urine is darker

Sometimes due to the use of soft drinks or medicine to treat illnesses also cause the excretion to occur in dark yellow urine. This is not a concern until you see persistent dark yellow urine with white stools most likely you have liver disease. Not only that, this happens when severely impaired liver function requires prompt treatment.

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Darker urine is also a symptom of liver disease

Edema caused by cirrhosis

When cirrhosis from drinking alcohol for a long time or patients infected with hepatitis C virus will develop this condition. Edema due to cirrhosis shows that liver function has been severely impaired. The liver becomes fibrosis and hardens.

Cirrhosis of the liver can only be accurately diagnosed through specialist laboratory results. But you can also be aware of abnormalities such as fluid buildup and edema in the legs. Along with that is an itchy sensation in the soles of the feet, hands, and an accumulation of blood bruises.

What To Do When There Are Signs of Liver Failure?

The liver failure signs listed above are serious warnings that your health is in trouble. However, it is not excluded that it is a sign of other diseases. There are cases where the signs of liver failure do not manifest clearly but quietly develop in the patient's body. By the time the symptoms clear, the progress has gone bad.

So, the thing to do is when there are abnormal signs of the body, it is necessary to promptly check the hospital to detect the cause of the disease and have appropriate treatment. Along with that, it is necessary to periodically check-up every year even though the body does not appear any symptoms, because the diseases often have an incubation period that is difficult to detect.

How to Prevent Liver Failure

Cirrhosis of the liver and hepatitis are common causes, and when the disease is prolonged and left untreated it can lead to liver failure. Therefore, the most effective way to prevent liver failure is to limit the risk of developing cirrhosis and advanced hepatitis by:

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Add plenty of green vegetables to your daily meals to prevent liver failure

• Get enough shots to avoid hepatitis A virus infection, hepatitis B, or immunoglobulin.

• The hepatitis viruses are usually spread through the gastrointestinal tract when you put dirty hands in your mouth. Therefore, it is necessary to keep clean. Wash your hands with antibacterial soap before eating and after using the toilet.

• Full range of different foods. Prioritize green foods that are clean and healthy. Limit greasy fast foods.

• Do not use stimulants. If so, you should only drink alcohol in a certain amount to avoid damaging liver function.

• Hepatitis can be spread in a variety of ways. Therefore, you should not share personal items with other people, especially toothbrushes and razors.

• Do not touch or touch the blood of strangers without your knowledge that they are sick. If there is a need to wash and clean the body clean to avoid the risk of infection.

• Do not share needles.

• Need to take safety measures when having sex such as using a condom.

• When doing manicures, nails (nail) piercings or tattoos need to ensure that the equipment is safe from germs (shared with many other guests).

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Do not drink alcohol to actively prevent liver failure

Hopefully, the above information will help you better understand the common signs of liver failure and each stage. Then you can see and compare your body condition.

However, it is necessary to have preventive measures and periodic health checks from creating a healthy lifestyle for yourself to proactively protecting your own health. Because when signs of liver failure appear, it means that the health and function of the liver have been severely affected.

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The site cannot and does not contain medical advice. The medical information is provided for general informational and educational purposes only and is not a substitute for professional advice. Accordingly, before taking any actions based upon such information, we encourage you to consult with the appropriate professionals.