Liver Swelling due to Alcohol Treatment
In order to avoid further damage to the liver, treatment for alcoholic hepatitis requires complete abstinence from alcohol. Mild alcoholic hepatitis may not require additional treatment. A person with moderate to severe alcoholic hepatitis must avoid medications that place additional stress on the liver and follow a liver disease diet. Severe alcoholic hepatitis requires admission to a hospital for treatment. Unless complications develop, the symptoms of acute alcoholic hepatitis usually resolve within a week.
Treatment for alcoholic hepatitis includes:
The essentials of the liver disease diet:
Liver Swelling due to Alcohol Diet
A person with alcoholic hepatitis may benefit from the following diet.
The liver is essential for the digestion of all foods. In the presence of liver disease, the ability to effectively metabolize proteins, carbohydrates, fats, and vitamins can be compromised. A liver disease diet is one in which foods are selected in quantities which provide adequate nutrition, but protect the liver from overworking.
Carbohydrates should be the major source of energy (calories) for individuals with liver disease. Proteins assist in tissue repair and prevent fatty infiltration of liver cells. Those with severely compromised liver function must limit their intake of protein. In this case protein is not properly broken down and waste products can build up in the bloodstream.
Those with liver disease will often suffer from sodium imbalances. Manifestations of sodium imbalance include ascites (abdominal fluid build-up) and edema (swelling) of the extremities. In this case dietary sodium restriction is essential.
The essentials of the liver disease diet:
Liver Swelling due to Alcohol Questions For DoctorThe following are some important questions to ask before and after the treatment of alcoholic hepatitis.
Questions to ask before treatment:
Questions to ask after treatment:
What is alcoholic hepatitis?
A person with alcoholic hepatitis has inflammation of the liver caused by the direct toxic effects of alcohol on the liver. Over time, damage to the liver can scar the liver, a condition called cirrhosis.
What are the symptoms of alcoholic hepatitis?
Common symptoms of alcoholic hepatitis include abdominal pain, loss of appetite, fatigue, abdominal swelling, jaundice, and dark urine.
What is cirrhosis?
A person with cirrhosis has severe liver disease that causes permanent damage to the liver, which can result in liver failure. Cirrhosis causes an irreversible scarring within the liver that compromises its ability to function. The most common causes of cirrhosis are Alcoholism and hepatitis C. Serious complications of cirrhosis include gastrointestinal bleeding and liver failure.
What are the symptoms of cirrhosis?
Symptoms of cirrhosis include weakness, fatigue, swelling, abdominal pain, jaundice and abdominal swelling.
How does the doctor treat cirrhosis?
Treatment for cirrhosis includes the strict avoidance of alcohol, liver disease diet, vitamin supplements, and caution when using medications that are metabolized by the liver. Other options include surgery to control severe bleeding in someone with cirrhosis.
There are different ways that alcohol can affect the
body.
If you understand that the liver takes toxins out of the
body and converts them to a non toxic form that the body
can easily dispose of...then you will understand this:
1) over consuming alcohol in a short time period doesn't
give the liver enough time to convert it to acetaldehyde,
then to acetate, then to carbon dioxide and water.
It is a multi step process to do this. If the alcohol is
not completely converted it can become toxic to the liver
cells.
2) consuming alcohol in a long time period lead to the
build up of fat inside the liver. The liver is surrounded
by a tight membrane capsule. This fat causes pressure
inside the liver that can damage the liver cells.
3) some people are more sensitive to alcohol than other
are. Just like any other drug, some have no problem and
others can react to it. Some are even allergic to it.
4) mixing alcohol with medications can cause an
interaction between them that will instantly damage the
liver cells.
Now for alcoholic fatty liver disease.
Fat starts to build up inside the liver, but doesn't
cause a problem...this is known as simple fatty liver.
However, as the fat continues to develop in the liver,
it will damage the liver cells. The immune system of
the body will respond to this damage and cause
inflammation to develop inside the liver. This
inflammation will cause the liver to enlarge in size.
This is no longer simple fatty liver...it is
Alcoholic steatohepatitis. Steato means fat,
hepat means liver and itis means inflammation.
If a person stops the alcohol and the inflammation
is treated, then the liver cells can heal and the
problem can be reversed...up to this point.
However, if this isn't the case and the liver cells
start to die off and form scar tissue inside the liver,
then it becomes a progressive disease known as
Cirrhosis of the liver. It cannot be reversed and
there is no cure....except a liver transplant.
It depends on how far advanced a person is in this
disease. That can only be determined by the doctor
through a liver biopsy and other testing.
Can alcoholic fatty liver cause sudden death?
Yes it can and I will explain why.
When the liver has Cirrhosis...this means that
scar tissue has formed inside the liver. The liver
tries to generate new liver cells, but the new cells
bunch up against the scar tissue. This scar tissue
blocks the flow of blood through the liver on its
way back to the heart and also blocks the flow
of blood to the functioning liver cells, so they die
off, also. The blood that once flowed through the
liver can back up into the portal vein and cause
pressure there (portal hypertension), it also backs
up into smaller vessels not used to handling this
blood and the pressure from it and they can have
weak spots and balloon outward and break open.
This vessels are known as varies. It is an
extreme emergency then. The patient can bleed
internally or bleed out completely. Keep in mind
that the liver can no longer make clotting factors
efficiently to help the blood to clot and the
enlarged spleen will trap the platelets inside of
it. People with Cirrhosis bleed and bruise very
easily. Anyone with Cirrhosis can die suddenly.
Also, people with Cirrhosis can have a build up of
toxins reaching the brain...especially ammonia.
Without medication to help remove this toxin from
the body...they can go into a coma and die.
(Any blood in the sputum, vomit, rectal area, or
belly button area...bleeding from the nose, etc
should be checked immediately)
Newborns infected with rubella early in the pregnancy may have low birth weight; bruising; bluish-red skin lesions; enlarged lymph nodes; enlarged liver and spleen; brain inflammation; and pneumonia.
It is generally found from the time of birth to one year of age. It causes an enlarged liver, bruising and skin lesions, anemia, enlarged lymph glands, other organ involvement, and extensive skull lesions.
He died of an acute polydrug intoxication and an enlarged heart from drinking.
Essentially drinking can mess up a persons spleen. This is because excessive drinking can damage the liver which causes Cirrhosis. Cirrhosis can cause an enlarged spleen.
Increased appetite, enlarged nipples, after 30 days she will start to get fatter, and a lilttle less activity after about 30 days.
There are no early symptoms of an enlarged liver, symptoms typically appear when liver disease is advanced. Jaundice, where the whites of the eyes turn yellow is one of them. Sensitivity to light, smells or tastes can be common. If swelling is extreme, a lack of appetite may accompany the condition.
They do not seem as active as they normally are and they have a poor appetite.
Enlarged, swollen, red tonsils that have white spots on them, no appetite, stiff neck and shoulders, aching nose and throat, when I get strep I sometimes can't sleep and even hallucinate.
The same way you tell if a house cat is pregnant: Enlarged and pink nipples, an increased appetite, a bulging belly (although this is usually only really noticeable later on in the pregnancy).
People with liver disease, a common side effect of excessive alcohol consumption, develop an enlarged spleen. The spleen normally traps platelets. When it becomes enlarged, this may accelerate, and cause a low platelet count.
Symptoms develop within the first few months of life and include poor appetite, failure to grow, enlarged liver and spleen, and the appearance of cherry red spots in the retina of the eye.
enlarged