Search results
Results from the WOW.Com Content Network
Often, cirrhosis shows no signs or symptoms until liver damage is extensive. When symptoms do occur, they may first include fatigue; weakness and weight loss; nausea; bruising or bleeding easily; swelling in your legs, feet or ankles; itchy skin; redness on the palms of your hands; and spider-like blood vessels on your skin.
Over time, conditions that damage the liver can lead to scarring, called cirrhosis. Cirrhosis can lead to liver failure, a life-threatening condition. But early treatment may give the liver time to heal.
If you have cirrhosis, your health care provider is likely to recommend regular tests to see if liver disease has progressed or check for signs of complications, especially esophageal varices and liver cancer.
Severe liver scarring, or cirrhosis, is the main complication of NAFLD and NASH. Cirrhosis happens because of liver injury, such as the damage caused by inflammation in NASH . As the liver tries to stop inflammation, it creates areas of scarring, also called fibrosis.
Most people don't have signs and symptoms in the early stages of primary liver cancer. When signs and symptoms do appear, they may include unintentional weight loss, loss of appetite, upper abdominal pain, nausea and vomiting, general weakness and fatigue, abdominal swelling, jaundice where your eyes and skin turn yellow, and white, chalky stools.
Acute liver failure, also known as fulminant hepatic failure, can cause serious complications, including bleeding and increased pressure in the brain. It's a medical emergency that requires hospitalization. Depending on the cause, acute liver failure can sometimes be reversed with treatment.
As liver damage worsens, primary biliary cholangitis can cause serious health problems, including: Liver scarring, called cirrhosis. Cirrhosis makes it difficult for your liver to work and may lead to liver failure. It means the later stage of primary biliary cholangitis.
Your doctor might suspect esophageal varices if you have signs of liver disease or been diagnosed with liver cirrhosis, including: Yellow coloration of the skin and eyes, known as jaundice. Easy bleeding or bruising. Fluid buildup in the abdomen, called ascites (uh-SY-teez).
An ultrasound, CT scan and MRI can show liver damage. Checking a tissue sample. Removing a tissue sample, called a biopsy, from the liver may help diagnose liver disease. A liver biopsy is most often done using a long needle put through the skin to get a tissue sample. The sample is then sent to a lab for testing.
The medical term is hepatomegaly (hep-uh-toe-MEG-uh-le). Rather than a disease, an enlarged liver is a sign of an underlying problem, such as liver disease, congestive heart failure or cancer. Treatment involves identifying and controlling the cause of the condition.