General Health & Wellbeing | Health Articles | Cirrhosis of Liver Prevention and Treatment

Cirrhosis of the liver is permanent damage to the liver by scar tissue. Although alcoholic liver disease is one of the major causes of cirrhosis, it is not the only one, accounting for only about half of the cases.

Cirrhosis of liver is a disease and problem of the liver in which scar tissues are formed. Cirrhosis of liver may result due to any injury or chronic disease. Liver has many vital and important functions to do such as it helps to make protein, fight against the infection, remove the toxins from the blood, helps in digestion and also stores energy for future use. But if your liver becomes diseased all these functions get disturbed. If not treated on time, cirrhosis of liver can become life threatening.

Cirrhosis can also be caused by numerous other diseases ranging from viral hepatitis to genetic diseases. Cirrhosis is a complication of many liver diseases that is characterized by abnormal structure and function of the liver. The diseases that lead to cirrhosis do so because they injure and kill liver cells, and the inflammation and repair that is associated with the dying liver cells causes scar tissue to form. The liver cells that do not die multiply in an attempt to replace the cells that have died.

Causes of cirrhosis

Some of the important causes of cirrhosis are:

Excessive intake of alcohol, chronic hepatitis, autoimmune disease, fatty liver disease, certain drugs, infections, diseases of bile ducts, inherited diseases such as hemochromatosis, Wilson disease etc.

Symptoms of cirrhosis

Some of the important symptoms of cirrhosis are:

Feeling of weakness and tiredness, loss of appetite, lose weight, bloating of abdomen due to accumulation of fluid, it may also lead to septicemia, increased blood cholesterol, increased blood pressure, engorged veins and major organs such as heart and kidneys may also get affected.

Prevention of cirrhosis

Once your cirrhosis or any liver disease has been diagnosed you can prevent its complications by taking some precautions. Some of the important steps that you can take to prevent cirrhosis of liver are given below:

• Healthy lifestyle and good nutritious diet helps in preventing liver disease.
• Practice some simple exercise and keep yourself healthy.
• Do not be overweight and try to maintain your weight. Overweight is a cause of many diseases.
• Avoid drinking too much alcohol and intoxicating drugs.

Complications of cirrhosis

If liver diseases is not treated on time it may lead to serious complications which can prove to be life threatening. Some of the important complications of cirrhosis of liver disease are:

• It may lead to accumulation of fluid in the abdomen called as ascitis.

• It may lead to bleeding and bruising of the skin.

• It may lead to increased blood pressure.

• It may lead to swelling of the veins.

• Jaundice is another complication of the cirrhosis.

• It may affect the nervous system; increased bilirubin may reach to the brain and lead damage to the brain cells.

• It may also cause gallstones and liver cancer.

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