Life cannot be sustained without liver and diseased liver significantly reduces the quality of life. It is thus important to identify the causes of liver disease and preventive measures are taken accordingly. A routine liver check may also help in diagnosing liver disease.
Why Is It Important To Identify Liver Causes?
The liver is an important organ. It is as important that we cannot live without a liver. The liver is a highly busy organ and is always under stress. It synthesizes important chemicals, stores glycogen, aids in digestion, detoxifies harmful chemicals, and plays an important role in metabolism. Different people are at risk of liver damage due to different factors.
One factor that causes liver damage in one person may not be responsible in another. Thus, it is important to identify the possible factors that may cause liver damage in a person. Only after the identification of risk factors, the person can follow the preventive measures. For instance, the patient may have a family history of liver disorder. Thus, he may undergo a routine liver check-up to diagnose the condition in the early stage and follow the preventive measures. Identifying risk factors reduces the occurrence of liver damage in a patient.
Top Causes Of Liver Damage
Following are some of the causes of liver damage:
Alcohol and smoking: Avoid drinking alcohol and smoking. These products harm liver health. Alcohol is metabolized in the liver. The increased amount of alcohol for a prolonged period may cause liver damage. Chemicals enter the body through smoking also has a bad effect on the liver.
Chemotherapy: It is to be noted that most of the drugs are metabolized by the liver. Cytotoxic drugs or chemotherapeutics drugs are no exception. Patients who are on chemotherapeutic drugs may have liver disorders due to the toxic effects of these drugs. Such drugs include antimetabolites and asparaginase.
Infected syringe: The infected syringe may find its use in two places. First, drug addicts use the same syringe for injecting the drugs. Second, if the doctor or pathological labs are not careful enough, they may accidentally use the same syringe in another patient. If the prior user of the syringe is infected with hepatitis, the later user may contract the disease.
Obesity: Obesity occurs when extra fat is deposited into the tissues. The tissue may also of the liver. Fat deposited in the liver may lead to fatty liver disease. Fatty liver disease may cause damage to hepatocytes. The untreated condition may cause its progression and increases severity.
Nutritional supplements and herbal remedies: Nutritional supplements are mostly not prescribed by the doctors and are available over-the-counter. As the patient does not know about the effect of ingredients, this may pose the liver to an unknown risk. Similar is the case with herbal remedies and supplements. Do not take without consulting with the doctor.
Medication overdose: The liver is highly sensitive to the overdose of certain medications. These medications may have a profound impact on liver cells and may lead to liver failure. Paracetamol toxicity may cause irreversible liver damage and liver failure.
Unhealthy diet: Diet plays an important role in overall liver health along with a healthy body. Unhealthy food such as high sugar, high salt, and a large amount of fat may affect the health of the liver. The person should incorporate vegetables, fruits, and low sugar in the diet.
Stressful life and unsafe sex: People who lead a sedentary life with a lot of stress are more prone to develop liver disease. Unsafe sex may also affect the liver as it may lead to hepatitis.