About Cirrhosis
– What you should know about cirrhosis.
– The likely causes and symptoms of this condition.
Simply put, cirrhosis refers to a chronic disease of the liver which is often due to a damage from toxins, it leads to an increase of fibrous tissue and the destruction of liver cells.
The toxins that cause this damage include; metabolic problems, alcohol hepatitis as well as nutritional deprivation.
Cirrhosis is also a complication of liver disease which involves loss of liver cells and irreversible scarring of the liver.
It is also a chronic disease of the liver which might be ongoing or long-term.
This condition also develops when scar tissue replaces normal and healthy tissue in the liver. It also happens when any damage occurs to the healthy cells.
There is a range of things that lead to this chronic disease. Often, this disease always develops as a result of other liver conditions or diseases you already have.
It is necessary to know some things that can cause cirrhosis. The following are the causes;
1. The intake of alcohol especially when it is in excess is a major cause. There are alcohol-related liver diseases, drinking too much alcohol for years can cause fat and inflammation in the liver.
2. Also, viral hepatitis B and C are common causes of cirrhosis. Hepatitis refers to the inflammation of the liver.
Hepatitis D can also cause cirrhosis, but you can only get this type of hepatitis if you already have hepatitis B.
3. Other causes include; being overweight, diabetes, high cholesterol, and triglycerides in your blood, high blood pressure, metabolic syndrome or metabolic diseases such as alpha-1-antitrypsin deficiency, galactosemia, and glycogen storage disorders. etc.
Symptoms of cirrhosis include the following;
- Cirrhosis can cause weakness of the body.
- Yellowing of the skin (jaundice) can also occur.
- Tiredness or fatigue.
- Getting injure easily, etc.
Diagnosis of cirrhosis can be suggested by history, physical examination, and blood tests, and can be confirmed by liver biopsy.
There’s no cure for cirrhosis except a liver transplant, but you and your doctor can slow cirrhosis down by treating whatever is causing it.
Therefore, it is essential that you go for checkup constantly in order to detect whether you have this disease or not.