It’s easy to drink too much as there are many gatherings at the end of the year. The liver is also tired. It’s time to be aware of three alcohol-related diseases that can affect the liver.
‘alcoholic fatty liver’ caused by the destruction of fat in the liver
When alcohol enters the body and is absorbed by the liver, it turns into “acetaldehyde”. Acetaldehyde breaks down fat in the liver and turns it into lipid peroxide. When this lipid peroxide builds up continuously, it leads to alcoholic fatty liver.
Although most people have alcoholic fatty liver disease, they do not experience initial symptoms and continue to drink alcohol to develop the disease. As the liver swells and enlarges, it is accompanied by abdominal discomfort, loss of appetite, indigestion, and fatigue.
If you have fatty liver, there is a risk of leading to cardiovascular or cerebrovascular disease in the future, so you need to be treated and managed. You need to control your weight through regular diet, abstinence from alcohol and exercise.
Inflammation of the liver and symptoms such as jaundice, “alcoholic hepatitis”
Alcoholic hepatitis is a condition in which the hepatocytes are necrotic and inflamed. Most often, it occurs in the form of a chronic disease that develops from acute to cirrhosis. Alcoholic hepatitis is a pre-stage of cirrhosis of the liver and, in many cases, has progressed to the so-called “fibrosis”, in which scars form in the liver during the biopsy.
Fatigue, loss of appetite, weight loss, fever, right side abdominal pain and jaundice. Rarely it can manifest as hepatic encephalopathy or ascites. For treatment, you must abstain from drinking.
“Alcohol cirrhosis” increases the risk of liver cancer
It is a condition in which the liver is severely damaged, such as liver cells dying and scar tissue taking their place. Since the liver cannot form proteins, the bleeding does not stop and bruising is easy. Ascites can fill up and esophageal veins can rupture, causing vomiting of blood and bloody stools. The liver is no longer able to detoxify itself, increasing the risk of unconsciousness or coma.
Once you become a patient with cirrhosis, your 5-year survival rate, an important indicator, varies greatly depending on whether or not you abstain from drinking. About 25% of patients with cirrhosis are at risk of developing liver cancer. You should definitely stop drinking.
