Liver Cirrhosis - Possible Factors That Can Lead To It!

Cirrhosis is a severe problem of the liver, wherein the liver stops functioning properly due to long-term damage caused by its exposure to toxic substances like alcohol or viral infections. Every time the liver gets affected, it tries to repair itself through the body’s natural healing process. Now, due to this continuous healing process, scar tissue gets formed. With the progress of cirrhosis, resulting in the formation of more and more scar tissue, the liver becomes unable to function properly. 

What are the symptoms of Cirrhosis?
Usually, cirrhosis doesn’t have signs or symptoms till the time when extensive liver damage has occurred. In those cases, the signs and symptoms which occur include:

• One could sense discolouration in the eyes and skin, giving a clear indication of jaundice.
• Excess fluid might get accumulated in your abdomen, resulting in utter discomfort.
• One may not feel like having any food due to loss of appetite.
• You might have uneasiness and discomfort in your upper stomach, provoking you to vomit.
• There can be noticeable swelling in your legs, which make it difficult for you to walk properly.
• Drowsiness and slurred speech could also be associated as symptoms of cirrhosis.
• There might be redness in the palms of one’s hands.

So we see that there are numerous signs and symptoms which you could come across, giving a clear indication of the problem of cirrhosis.

Causes which lead to cirrhosis
There are various kinds of diseases and conditions, which can damage the liver and lead to cirrhosis. Some of the most common causes are:

• Chronic alcohol abuse over a long period of time can cause severe damage to the liver, hence resulting in cirrhosis.
• The virus out of chronic hepatitis B and C attacks the liver and gradually lead to the formation of scar tissue, thereby resulting in Cirrhosis.
• Accumulated fat in the liver due to the intake of an unhealthy diet.

Other possible causes can include:

• The genetic digestive disorder is another serious cause behind the occurrence of cirrhosis.
• Autoimmune hepatitis, where liver disease is caused by one’s body’s immune system.
• Iron is an important part of haemoglobin as it carries oxygen from our lungs to other parts of our body. The problem arises when too much iron gets accumulated in the system, which can poison organs like liver, heart and pancreas. Presence of too much iron in the liver cause cirrhosis.
• Poor formation of bile ducts.

Treatment
Treatment mainly depends on the underlying cause and extent of your liver damage. Some of the treatment options which doctors would adopt are:

• People should stop drinking immediately if the cirrhosis has been caused due to alcohol consumption.
• As one of the reasons for cirrhosis in non-alcoholic persons is obesity, so making a conscious attempt to lose weight is must if they want to get rid of this problem. Loss of weight and keeping blood sugar under check would gradually make the liver healthy.
• Damage to liver cells caused by hepatitis B or C can be healed through the specific treatment of these viruses.