The liver refers to the vital organs for humans. Her work has a huge impact on the life of the whole organism. Therefore, it is very important to maintain it in good condition.
The causes of human liver disease can be different, for example, poor nutrition, alcohol abuse or prolonged medication (toxic liver damage). We will talk further about how to identify problems in the work of this body among representatives of the weaker sex.
Signs of liver disease in women
For all diseases of this organ, a number of common signs can be distinguished that can manifest themselves at different stages. Among them:
- Unpleasant sensations or pain in the right hypochondrium.
- Fatigue and disability. May occur throughout the day for no apparent reason.
- Feeling sleepy. Like general fatigue, it appears for no reason. For example, the desire to sleep may persist after a night's rest and last all day.
- Loss of appetite. As a result, body weight is reduced. These phenomena are caused by a malfunction of the gallbladder. Bile is secreted in insufficient volumes, which leads to incomplete digestion of food.
- The skin may become yellowish.
- Nausea and bouts of vomiting may occur.
- Urine discoloration. It takes on a darker shade.
How are the symptoms manifested
From medical practice, we can say that the signs of liver disease in women do not differ from the signs that occur in men. Simply, according to statistics, representatives of the strong half of humanity suffer from diseases of this organ about 3 times more often than ladies.
For the most part, all liver diseases are cumulative. And their development is not expressed by any symptoms in the initial stages. Given the lifestyle of many people, as well as the level of environmental pollution, the lack of pronounced symptoms of such diseases once again confirms the need for regular preventive examinations.
The structure of the human liver is such that it is devoid of nerve endings. Therefore, there are no quick and direct symptoms in diseases of this organ. And the first sign of liver disease is the appearance of discomfort in the right hypochondrium. A feeling of discomfort occurs due to the fact that the liver increases in size. Usually there is a pulling sensation, or a feeling of heaviness.
Types of liver pain
Pain in this organ can be divided into several types:
- Sharp pain. Usually it is pronounced and appears in bouts. Such pain is called hepatic colic. It is caused by the movement of stones along the bile ducts.
- It's a dull pain. Discomfort in the liver, pulling sensation. It occurs due to an increase in liver in size. It is usually caused by inflammatory processes. As a rule, such symptoms appear with a prolonged course of the disease.
- Pain occurs as a result of eating a certain type of food. For example, oily or fried.
External manifestations of liver disease
The face and body of a person can reveal many different diseases. Liver diseases are no exception. Therefore, the appearance of specific signs on the skin can signal the occurrence of problems in this organ. In this case, the best solution would be to consult a doctor and possibly go through the examination prescribed by him.
Symptoms of liver diseases on the face:
- Brown spots and spider veins may appear on the skin.
- A rash appears. A lot of acne occurs on the skin, and its moisture can change dramatically. It can become dry, or, conversely, very oily.
- The whites of the eyes turn yellow. This is a serious symptom, the appearance of which it is necessary to seek medical help as soon as possible.
Signs of liver disease in women on the body:
- The skin becomes yellowish.
- The appearance of age spots throughout the body is characteristic.
- Acne appears throughout the body.
- The general condition of the skin is much worse.
Thus, the skin with liver diseases clearly signals the need for treatment. And if other symptoms do not appear immediately, then the changes that occur with the skin, it is hard not to notice.
Causes of liver cirrhosis
There are several main reasons for the occurrence of cirrhosis:
- Alcohol abuse. This is the most common cause of this disease.
- Toxic damage. A disease may result from long-term medication use.
- Hepatitis. Patients with hepatitis B or C are at risk because a long course of this disease leads to the development of cirrhosis.
- Heredity.
- Cryptogenic cirrhosis. Medicine has not yet discovered the exact causes of its occurrence. However, this type of cirrhosis is much faster than normal, and can lead to very rapid destruction of the liver.
Signs of cirrhosis in women
Symptoms of this disease usually do not appear immediately. This is due to the fact that at the initial stage of the development of the disease, the affected areas are very few, and healthy cells are able to compensate for the sick with their work. Therefore, it is very important to pay attention to external signs and the general condition of the body in order to notice the disease in time and prevent it from taking threatening forms.
Consider the signs of cirrhosis in women:
- A feeling of constant weakness and fatigue. Feeling sleepy.
- Lack of appetite.
- Itchy skin appears. It usually intensifies at night.
- Redness of the palms, soles of the feet can also blush.
- The skin and whites of the eyes turn yellow.
- The increase in size of the abdomen.
- The appearance of spider veins on the face.
- Redness of the face is possible.
Stages of liver cirrhosis
Medicine distinguishes 3 stages of this disease. Each of them has its own characteristic symptoms. The time course of each stage is individual in nature and depends on the general condition of the body and on the patient’s lifestyle.
- Compensated cirrhosis. There are virtually no symptoms at this stage. The destruction of liver tissue is at an initial stage, and they are minimal. Therefore, the liver is able to perform its function, compensating for diseased cells with healthy ones.
- Subcompensated cirrhosis. For this stage, the appearance of the first signs of the disease is characteristic. This is due to the expansion of the lesion area, as well as the depletion of liver resources.
- Uncompensated cirrhosis. Extreme degree of destruction. Hepatic insufficiency appears, and there is also a high risk of complications.
Since cirrhosis refers to those diseases that cannot be completely cured, the main task of medicine is to stop its development. Therefore, the sooner it is possible to diagnose this disease, the better.
The main symptoms of liver disease
We can distinguish the main signs of liver disease in women:
- Pain in the area of this organ. May occur after eating fatty, smoked, or fried foods. It is also provoked by physical exertion. At other times, pain symptoms are usually absent.
- Feeling of nausea, bouts of vomiting and a bitter taste in the mouth.
- The appearance of a yellowish color of the skin and eye proteins. May occur in some cardiovascular diseases. However, most often, such signs are associated with impaired liver function.
- External manifestations. A rash with liver disease is a fairly common occurrence. This is caused by the fact that the liver is not able to effectively cleanse the body.
Most of the symptoms that occur in the initial stages of liver disease can be easily confused with manifestations of other diseases. In some cases, signs of the onset of destruction may be absent altogether. Therefore, it is very important to pay attention to the deterioration of the state of the body and undergo a periodic examination.