Any disease can lie in wait for us at a certain stage of life. Sometimes many of us just live, go to work, do everyday business and do not even know that we have this or that disease.
Cirrhosis
Today, the topic of liver cirrhosis will be revealed in the article. This disease is very dangerous and needs early treatment. Inattentive attitude to your health and ignoring such diseases can lead to death.
To begin with, let's see what kind of ailment it is, what symptoms it has, and what to do if you find similar symptoms in yourself.
So, cirrhosis of the liver involves damage to the structure and functions of this organ. If this is not prevented in a timely manner, the liver may die completely. Accordingly, human life will be in jeopardy. As we know, the liver plays the role of a kind of filter. In addition, it synthesizes the substances necessary for the life of the body. Therefore, it is necessary to carefully listen to health, especially when the body signals about some kind of malfunction in its work.
Hepatitis
First you need to figure out what cirrhosis of the liver is. Firstly, one of the most common causes is viral hepatitis. It is he who can lead to illness, and subsequently even become the culprit of death. Therefore, it is important for people suffering from a disease such as chronic hepatitis to visit a doctor regularly to examine the condition of the liver. Constant monitoring will help to identify pathological conditions in time, and will also make it possible to conduct timely and effective treatment.
Alcohol consumption
What causes cirrhosis of the liver? Of course, this can be the result of a long intake of alcohol. It is not the fact itself that matters, whether a person has a dependence on alcohol, but the duration of his use is significant. As we all know, alcohol in principle destroys both brain activity and the nervous system of the body.
But the most dangerous disease that lies in wait for a person who regularly consumes alcohol is precisely cirrhosis of the liver. Alcohol contains extremely toxic ethyl alcohol. And the higher its concentration in the body, the greater the likelihood that a person will have serious liver problems.
Immune System Disorders
What causes cirrhosis of the liver yet? Often the cause of cirrhosis is a weak immune system. Violation of her work can also lead to this unpleasant disease. People, especially those at risk (elderly, often sick, people weakened by a low standard of living), need to carefully monitor their health and try to avoid problems with the immune system. If you suspect a malfunction, you should immediately go to the doctor. Sometimes even the flu or any acute respiratory illness can lead to dire consequences. And with health, as you know, jokes are bad.
Exposure to harmful substances
Cirrhosis of the liver can also be caused by chemical poisoning. Particular attention should be paid to those whose work involves constant interaction with toxic substances. People engaged in construction, employed in woodworking industries, in heavy metallurgy and similar fields, are constantly dealing with harmful compounds, which negatively affects their health. Therefore, it is important for those who belong to these categories of citizens to deal with the problem of monitoring the state of the liver with extreme responsibility. To do this, you must regularly visit your doctor.
Taking a specific group of drugs
By the way, prolonged use of medications can also lead to this disease. Therefore, always consult your doctor before using this or that medicine.
So, in principle, we examined the main causes of cirrhosis. Let's summarize a small initial summary. Now you know what causes cirrhosis of the liver. The main causes of this disease can be the long-term use of certain drugs, chronic hepatitis, alcohol abuse, ingestion of harmful substances, malfunctions in the immune system.
It should be understood that there are also forty percent of people suffering from diseases associated with the liver, the causes of which are almost impossible to establish. Therefore, at risk may be a person leading an absolutely healthy lifestyle, not abusing alcohol and not having significant health problems.
Primary Biliary. Signs
Now let's talk about a disease such as primary biliary cirrhosis. This disease is an ailment in which immunity in the process of combating the disease itself destroys the cells of the body. All this naturally leads to liver disease, its structure changes, and the organ gradually atrophies.
A very scary fact, but, according to statistics, primary biliary cirrhosis of the liver, as a rule, does not manifest itself for a long time. However, according to some signs, a person can still suspect that he has this disease. Firstly, the itch will constantly pursue the patient. This happens closer to the night, after taking a bath the feeling will only intensify. Also, the bell, which should make a person pay attention to their health, will be distracted attention. It manifests itself in rapid fatigue, depression may develop. If a sharp weight loss is noticed, this is an occasion to think about the reason for this condition. Such a symptom may be a prerequisite for this disease.
If bruises appear on the body, but they are not the result of recent falls and bruises, you should also be vigilant. This may be a symptom of the above ailment.
Genetics plays an important role. Children whose parents had this disease are at risk of inheriting it. They are also very likely to become a victim of this type of cirrhosis.
The liver of an alcoholic. What is she like?
As we said earlier, alcohol can be the cause of cirrhosis. Let's see what happens to the liver of a person who drinks alcohol for a long time. Naturally, alcohol affects many parts of the brain and generally has an extremely negative effect on the body, but the liver has the most colossal and negative effect. So what happens to the alcoholic's liver?
At first, it can simply increase in size, but this is not the worst thing that can happen. To normalize its size, it will be enough just to avoid getting alcohol into the blood in the future. Also, people who abuse alcohol are threatened with a disease such as alcoholic hepatitis. With this ailment, a person experiences malaise and sharp pains in the right side. But even this does not end with the harmful effects of alcohol. If you completely abandon the use of alcohol-containing substances - the chance of recovery is very high.
The extreme degree of damage to the body by alcohol is directly cirrhosis. Alcoholic liver cells under the influence of ethyl alcohol are depleted, change, and subsequently die. It is very difficult to live with such a disease; most patients, if they continue to abuse alcohol, die.
Signs of Alcohol Cirrhosis
Let's look at together what are the symptoms of alcoholic cirrhosis of the liver?
Firstly, the patient should be bothered by hypochondrium. It is not necessarily a sharp or aching pain, at first it can even be just a slight discomfort.
In addition, he will be overcome by constant weakness, apathy, a lack of desire to do something, the general condition will be very depressed and unpleasant.
A very indicative symptom of alcoholic cirrhosis of the liver is belching. After it, a very unpleasant bitter aftertaste remains in the mouth. This symptom should be taken with great concern.
Also, urine most likely changes its normal color. It will become darker. Indicative is the change in color of the cornea of the eye. In people suffering from cirrhosis, the eyes will have a jaundice.
Body temperature during illness can be constantly elevated. Moreover, it is far from the fact that it will be too high a temperature. At first, it will not rise above 37 degrees. Often after eating a person with alcoholic cirrhosis begins to feel sick, the body can hardly digest and passes food into the body. All of the above symptoms indicate the presence of this terrible disease. If you find them at home - immediately go to the hospital and take the appropriate tests.
Ailment in men
A very important fact is that cirrhosis in men is expressed slightly differently than in women. As a rule, in the male, the disease is brighter and more intense. Let's take a closer look at this issue. It is worth noting that men are more prone to this disease. Many will probably be interested in why.
The answer is extremely simple. It is men who, as a rule, work in factories and encounter toxic substances much more often than women. As we know, they also abuse alcohol. Therefore, the likelihood of this disease in them is much higher than that of the beautiful half of humanity.
Ailment in women
Liver cirrhosis in women also has a number of features. In women, this disease does not manifest as clearly as in men. Therefore, often even an experienced doctor may not attach importance to any obvious symptom and make a completely different diagnosis. In this sense, the diagnosis of cirrhosis in women is much more difficult and confusing. Women are very often susceptible to this disease due to a genetic predisposition. If a girl constantly takes a variety of hormonal drugs and pills to maintain a toned figure, she also runs the risk of being at risk.
Many people ask: "And what kind of liver is cirrhosis?" An organ with a similar disease can be either enlarged or reduced in size. The liver becomes denser to the touch, all sorts of bumps may appear on it. But the worst thing with this disease is that it ceases to fulfill its basic functions.
If you or your loved one has undergone such a disease, then how can this be understood? What should be the appearance of the patient with cirrhosis of the liver? Of course, first of all, the patient should be dissatisfied with his condition, he will have a slight increase in body temperature. Outwardly, this disease also manifests itself quite clearly. True, external symptoms appear already at the stage when irreversible processes began in the body . First of all, pay attention to the condition of the skin. It will become drier and take on a yellowish tint. The stomach increases in size, the lining of the eyes turns yellow, and facial features become more pointed.
Conclusion
So, in this article we examined the symptoms of this disease, analyzed the course of the course and the difference in the manifestations of symptoms in men and women, and also figured out how to prevent the occurrence of cirrhosis.