The Liver is the only organ that has the natural regenerative capacity. Liver Failure is the irreversible damage to the normal liver tissue where there is scarring of the liver tissue and is beyond the liver’s regenerative capacity. Liver Failure is also called end-stage disease. The main causes for this condition are excess alcohol consumption, viral infection and fatty liver disease.
Causes
The liver produces substances to fight infections in our body. It also helps in getting rid of toxins from our body. It also helps in clotting of the blood, in the nutrient absorption process and also stores energy for our body for later use.
The liver damage may be acute due to following reasons.
- Overconsumption of alcohol
- Viral Infections (Hepatitis B, C and D)
- When the biliary ducts are blocked and bile backs up, it damages the liver
- Autoimmune disorder, where the healthy liver tissue is attacked by the body’s immune system leading to liver failure
- Non-Alcoholic fatty liver disease, where fat builds up in the liver, gradually causing liver damage
- Genetically inherited factors
- Over dosage of drugs/toxins
- When the heart doesn’t pump adequately, blood backs into the liver causing liver failure.
How does the damage happen?
When there is cell damage due to any of the above reasons, the liver produces scar tissues as a result of cell damage and becomes bulged
Initially, though the liver is bulged, as the disease progresses, it begins to shrink in size.
As the scar tissues are hard, they press the blood vessels in the liver and causes interruption to the blood circulation in the liver
The liver gradually dies.
Symptoms of Liver Failure
The following symptoms are seen in Liver Failure
- Tiredness
- Nausea
- Weight loss due to lack of appetite
- Lack of sex drive
- Other symptoms are felt only when the disease has progressed:
- Fluid retention in abdomen
- Accelerated heartbeat
- Confusion
- Dizziness
- Hair loss
- Edema
- Fever
- Muscle cramp
- Blood vomit
- Darker urine
- Staggering
- Nose bleed
- Breathlessness
Complications Due To Liver Failure
Because of scar tissue formation, the blood vessels in the liver get compressed causing high blood pressure in the liver. This is called portal hypertension and can cause bleeding in intestines and fluid accumulation in the body
As the liver loses its ability to filter toxins from the blood, the toxins are left to build up in the blood stream. Due to this, there is a confused behavior in the individual and he/she always feels sleepy.
Due to portal hypertension, the fluids in the body get accumulated in the abdomen. The kidney gets a wrong signal that there is dehydration and tries to hold the fluid. The fluid gets collected in lungs, legs and abdomen.
Liver failure also gradually causes kidney failure
Although liver failure on the outlook looks like a disease that might affect those who consume too much alcohol, it is not actually so. Lifestyle habits, Diet, Genes and Virus too play an important role in liver problems.
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