The human body is designed so that all processes in it are interconnected. The basis of our life is nutrition. Thanks to the intake of food, the body receives the necessary energy. In other words, nutrition contributes to our existence. In some cases, people consume foods that are not only not healthy, but also harmful to the body. In this case, a protective mechanism is triggered - the neutralization of toxic substances. The largest digestive gland, the liver, acts as a filter. Before entering the blood, all substances pass through this organ.
Location and structure of the liver
To answer questions about what the liver is, where a person is located, how this organ hurts, and for what reasons, it is necessary to know the anatomy. It is worth noting that this is the largest exocrine gland, which has a weight of about 1.5 kg. The liver is located in the right half of the abdominal cavity directly under the ribs. If you experience pain in this area, you should think about the possible pathologies of this organ. However, unpleasant sensations in the right hypochondrium are observed with other ailments. Therefore, it is important to identify the cause of discomfort. In order to prevent repeated attacks, you should find out what the liver hurts in a particular case.
Near this organ are: gall bladder, transverse colon and duodenum, head of the pancreas. The pathology of any of these anatomical formations can cause pain in the right hypochondrium. To understand the cause of the discomfort, you should undergo special examinations. The liver is a parenchymal organ that consists of special cells - hepatocytes. When they are damaged, the iron ceases to develop its functions. As a result, liver failure develops, which can lead to serious complications and death.
Causes of Pain
To clarify the question: "What causes the liver to hurt?" it is worth considering the predisposing factors for the development of pathologies of the digestive gland. Often unpleasant sensations are observed after the use of xenobiotics - substances that are harmful to the body. These include alcoholic beverages, various chemical additives found in drugs and food. Also, one of the reasons for the development of pain is the effect of hepatotropic viruses. They slowly destroy the organ, leading to irreversible consequences.
The following causes of pain in the liver are distinguished:
- Viral hepatitis. The most dangerous of them are those that are transmitted parenterally. These include hepatitis B and C.
- Frequent use of alcohol.
- Reactive inflammation of the liver caused by acute pathologies of other organs.
- Autoimmune hepatitis.
- Long-term use of drugs from the group of antibiotics and cytostatics.
- Exposure to various exogenous toxic substances (poisoning by poisons, salts of heavy metals).
- Primary liver cancer is hepatocellular carcinoma.
- Metastasis of various tumors.
- Parasitic infestations, in particular, opisthorchiasis, giardiasis, ascariasis.
To find out what the liver hurts from, you should consult a doctor. He will prescribe a number of diagnostic procedures that will help establish the exact cause and determine the therapeutic tactics.
The effect of alcohol on the liver and pancreas
The systematic use of alcohol leads to the fact that the liver and pancreas are sore. These organs are the main targets for ethanol. This substance gradually destroys the liver cells. In the body there is an enzyme - alcohol dehydrogenase, which is involved in the oxidation of ethanol. As a result, endogenous alcohol undergoes inactivation and has a toxic effect. This mechanism also works when ethanol arrives from the outside. However, abuse of this substance leads to liver overload. As a result, she does not cope with her task, and alcohol has a toxic effect on organs. If the liver hurts after each drink, you should consult a doctor. This may indicate the development of cirrhosis - a life-threatening chronic pathology.
Periodic pain in the pancreas is observed in almost every person who abuse alcohol. It occurs due to chronic pancreatitis. This disease is characterized by a violation of the exocrine function of the gland, which consists in the production of digestive enzymes. As a result, organ tissue undergoes sclerosis. Also, chronic pancreatitis becomes the cause of diabetes. A dangerous condition is acute inflammation of the pancreas. It leads to "self-digestion" and destruction of the organ (pancreatic necrosis). This pathology is one of the causes of death from alcohol.
Inflammatory liver disease
Inflammatory liver diseases include various types of hepatitis. They relate to infectious viral pathologies. Chronic hepatitis is one of the main causes of liver cirrhosis. Pathology is transmitted from sick persons to healthy people. Depending on the type of virus, several pathways of infection are distinguished. When a patient asks what the liver hurts, the doctor should first rule out hepatitis. For this purpose, special studies are carried out - enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay and PCR.
Group A and E viral hepatitis is transmitted by fecal-oral and water routes. Most often they develop in children's groups. The disease is quickly transmitted to others. Hepatitis A with timely treatment does not have dangerous health consequences. However, specific antibodies in the body indicate that liver damage has occurred.
More serious pathologies include hepatitis B and C. They are transmitted through the blood: with blood transfusions, surgical interventions, and the use of infected syringes. These viruses often lead to chronic inflammation of the liver.
Oncological pathologies of the hepato-duodenal zone
Sometimes, to clarify the diagnosis, a morphological examination of the organ tissue is required. Mostly they resort to it if a viral and alcoholic lesion is excluded, and the liver hurts. Symptoms, treatment and diagnosis of cancer processes are known to every doctor. Long-term pain in the liver in the absence of inflammatory and toxic lesions is the main indication for biopsy. Cancer of the hepato-duodenal zone is one of the most serious oncological pathologies. More often it is observed in old age and is diagnosed in the later stages.
Pain in the liver appears when stretching its capsule. The cause can be both primary cancer and metastases arising from neoplasms of other organs. In addition, stretching of the liver capsule is observed with extensive benign tumors, cysts, and hematomas. Echinococcosis, opisthorchiasis, giardiasis and other parasitic pathologies also lead to the development of a pain syndrome. To diagnose these ailments, laboratory research methods and ultrasound are used.
How the liver hurts: symptoms in women and men
When contacting a doctor, it is important to clarify how the liver hurts. Unpleasant sensations can be periodic or permanent, intense and weak, etc. To conduct a differential diagnosis between different pathological processes, information about how the liver hurts is important. Symptoms in women are more often more pronounced than in men. Signs of organ damage include:
- Persistent or intermittent pain.
- Yellowness of the skin and icteric sclera.
- Fever.
- Nausea.
- The appearance on the body of small rashes - spider veins.
- An increase or decrease in body size.
- Gum problems.
- Anemia.
- Disturbance of the digestive process.
- An increase in the abdomen due to accumulation of fluid in the abdominal cavity is ascites.
- Itchy skin.
- Tendency to bleeding.
If any of these symptoms develop, an examination is required. Laboratory changes such as an increase in the levels of ALT, AST, and GGTP enzymes indicate liver diseases. With hepatitis in the general analysis of blood, leukocytosis, lymphocytosis, and acceleration of ESR are observed. In advanced cases, anemic syndrome, thrombocytopenia develops.
Methods of treating liver diseases
If pathology is detected, immediate treatment is required. It should be aimed at removing the inflammatory process and stopping further liver damage. With hepatitis, it is important to conduct detoxification therapy. This is necessary to remove harmful substances from the body and prevent complications. The main areas of treatment are:
- Antiviral therapy.
- Rehydration.
- Detoxification.
- Anti-inflammatory therapy.
- Hepatoprotective treatment.
- Vitamin Therapy.
Acute pain in the liver can be an indication for surgical treatment. Surgery is performed for oncological pathologies, echinococcosis, organ injuries, complications of cirrhosis (bleeding from the veins of the esophagus, ascites).
Home treatment
In chronic pathologies, the liver often hurts. What to do at home with discomfort in the right hypochondrium? First of all, you must follow a diet and stop drinking alcohol. How to help a person whose liver hurts? What to do at home to prevent exacerbations:
- Drink 1 glass of lemon juice daily. It helps to cleanse the body of toxic substances and strengthen the immune defense.
- Use natural honey to accelerate liver regeneration with alcohol intoxication and chemical poisoning.
- Brew oatmeal. Porridge should be eaten for breakfast.
Alternative treatment is desirable to combine with drug therapy. Especially, drugs are needed for viral inflammation and cirrhosis.
Hepatitis drug therapy
Treatment depends on which liver disease is observed in a particular case. However, some drugs are necessary for organ damage of any etiology. Such drugs include hepatoprotectors. They help restore the functions of the organ, contribute to the regeneration process and prevent the further destruction of cells. What medications are needed if the liver hurts? Medicines from the group of hepatoprotectors are Essentiale forte, Galstena, Karsil, etc. drugs. You should consult a doctor to choose a medication.
Liver pain: symptoms, treatment of pathology
Symptomatic treatment of liver pathologies is necessary to alleviate the patient's condition and combat intoxication. To get rid of harmful substances prescribed laxatives, activated carbon. For detoxification, drugs “Dulcolax”, “Dufalac”, “Lactulose” are used. With severe pain, choleretic drugs, antispasmodics and analgesics are prescribed.
Prevention of liver pathologies
To prevent the development of infectious lesions, they process medical instruments, use disposable syringes and needles. In the presence of hepatitis in the sexual partner, it is necessary to observe the barrier method of contraception. To prevent chronic inflammation, it is recommended to abandon alcohol, use toxic drugs in combination with hepatoprotectors.