Liver Health: 8 Warning Signs of Liver Problems You Should Never Ignore.
Constant fatigue, yellow eyes, sudden weight loss, abdominal swelling… Is your liver under your nose? This vital, often overlooked organ deserves our full attention. Discover the telltale signs of liver disease with the expertise of our hepatologist.
Few people know the exact location of this vital organ, but the liver performs important functions in our body: it processes toxins from the blood, produces bile, and stores vitamins and minerals necessary for our metabolism. This is why a healthy liver is so important! Especially since liver diseases often go unnoticed and are diagnosed late. How can you recognize the warning signs of a diseased or overworked liver? Let’s explore the 8 telltale symptoms of liver dysfunction with Professor Patrick Marcellin, an expert in hepatology.
1. Feeling of abdominal heaviness
. “The liver is a silent organ that generally doesn’t cause pain. However, in cases of liver disease, it can swell and become heavy. A persistent feeling of heaviness without an identifiable cause isn’t necessarily liver-related, but it may indicate liver disease, especially in cases of excessive alcohol consumption or non-alcoholic fatty liver disease,” explains the hepatologist. A thorough clinical examination and specific blood tests are necessary to determine whether the cause is intestinal, digestive, or hepatic.
2. Chronic fatigue despite rest
“Severe fatigue that persists even during periods of relaxation or despite adequate rest may indicate a more or less serious liver disease, such as hepatic congestion, fatty liver disease, or even chronic hepatitis,” explains Professor Patrick Marcellin. “This is not classic muscle fatigue, but rather asthenia, manifested by general disinterest, lack of energy, poor mood, or even depressive symptoms.” Discuss this with your doctor. They may order a complete liver function test, including measurement of transaminases and gamma-GT, to assess liver function. Important: Severe fatigue can also be caused by many other conditions, such as iron deficiency anemia, viral infections, or various nutritional deficiencies.
3. Noires
The presence of blood in the saddles (bleeds or gooseberries) or bloody vomitings (reds or noirs) is often the sign of an advanced hepatitis disease. An endommagé foie peut devenir fibrotique et durcir. In this case, the blood circulating from the intestines towards the blood through the vein leads to an obstruction. The doit contourner le foie et ne peut plus être correctement évacué. This bleed can cause a dilatation of the œsophagiennes veins, forming œsophagiennes varices susceptible to rupture and cause gastro-intestinal conditions. Foncés vomissements, ou « goudronneuses sells», constitute an immediate medical emergency. A complete hepatitis balance and a prothrombine temp test to measure blood coagulation are necessary.
4. Yellow color of eyes and skin
The ictère, characterized by a jaunissement of blanc des yeux and a teint jaunâtre, can indicate the debut of a cirrhose of foie. « Consequences: The product is contracted and does not function more normally; It’s not about hepatitis insufficiency. It can be reduced to less than 50%, which can effectively excrete bilirubin (yellow biliary pigment). Bilirubin accumulates in the blood and causes the characteristic coloration of the eyes and skin”, explains the doctor. If you notice a whitening of the eyes or skin, a blood dosage of bilirubin is urgently needed. An elevated level of bilirubin may indicate significant hepatitis dysfunction.
5. Sous-costale pain
Strong abdominal pain may indicate a hepatitis colique, also called biliary lithiase. In cases of hepatitis disease, a biliary calculus can obstruct the bile duct canal (which removes the intestinal bile and frees the bile in the digestive tube after the first few repas) or the biliary bile duct, provoking a sore throat under the ribs, au-dessus du bril. This symptôme peut être trompeur, car la douleur n’est pas necessairement localisée au foie (au flanc droit) et peut survenir par intermittence», prévient le specialist. In the case of intense and recurrent pain, a hepatic ultrasound is urgently needed to detect gallstones in the gall bladder.
6. Unexplained skin cleansing
« Skin damage may indicate a hepatitis disease. Il s’agit généralement de démangeaisons diffuses et généralisées, sans localization précise », reports our expert. Patients have no skin rashes or visible skin changes. « Beaucoup de gens soupçonnent ce symptôme d’être réaction allergique ou de urticaire, mais le s’agit en réalité d’un dysfonctionnement hépatique: le foie ne parvient plus à metaboliser correctement la bile, ce qui entraîne un excès d’alides bileaires dans le sang, ce qui qui provokes micro-inflammations of small blood vessels and causes persistent démangeaisons”, explains.
7. Sudden Weight Loss
Rapid, unexplained weight loss, combined with sudden anorexia, may indicate severe liver damage. “These clinical manifestations usually occur during the decompensated cirrhosis phase, rarely before,” explains the hepatologist. This cirrhosis can progress to hepatocellular carcinoma without timely treatment. Rapid, significant weight loss accompanied by loss of appetite absolutely requires specialist consultation and further investigations (complete liver function tests, liver imaging, etc.). • Note that these symptoms are not specific to liver disease and can be associated with many other conditions.
8. Common cognitive deficits
When the liver is overloaded, it can no longer effectively expel intestinal toxins. These substances can enter the brain and cause hepatic encephalopathy, characterized by cognitive impairment. This condition can manifest itself in varying degrees. “The patient may experience mental confusion, disorientation in time, memory problems, difficulty concentrating, or delusions,” explains Professor Marcellin. In more severe cases, progression can lead to hepatic coma. Difficulty concentrating, mental confusion, or memory loss, especially in young people (under 60-70 years old), should be examined by a doctor. It should be noted that encephalopathy is not exclusively associated with liver disease, but can also be associated with other causes (brain damage, viral infections, early dementia, etc.).