Alcoholic fatty liver: liver disease due to drinking alcohol & bull; hello healthy

The liver is the second largest organ in the human body, the liver is also one of the most complex organs besides the brain. The liver functions to process what we eat or drink, and filter out toxic substances circulating in the blood, regulate sugar metabolism, and help fight infection. This process can be disrupted if there is too much fat in the liver. Under normal conditions fat can be found in the liver, but if the amount of fat in the liver has reached 5-10%, liver function can be impaired.

The liver is an organ that can repair and regenerate new cells when there is damage, but persistent and chronic bad habits such as alcohol consumption can cause liver regeneration ability to be impaired, leading to severe liver damage. Fatty liver alias fatty liver is a condition that is often found, but the symptoms of fatty liver usually only appear when the disease starts to worsen.

How did the process happen fatty liver or fatty liver due to alcohol?

After consumption, alcohol will enter the bloodstream, then digested in the liver so as not to harm other organs. When digesting alcohol, some liver cells are damaged and die. Chronic drinking habits can cause liver damage, as a result, the liver cannot perform its function, one of which is digesting fat, so that fat accumulates in the liver and arises. fatty liver .

1 bottle of beer or 4 glasses of wine contains 12 g of alcohol. Threshold alcohol consumption as a risk factor fatty liver is more than 60-80 g per day for ten years for men, and 20-40 g per day for women. Consumption of up to 160 g per day can increase the risk of liver cirrhosis up to 25 times.

What are the signs and symptoms alcoholic fatty liver or alcoholic fatty liver?

In most cases, fatty liver does not cause symptoms until it is already severe. Symptoms that arise depend on how severe the damage is. The following are the stages of liver damage due to alcohol:

Alcoholic fatty liver

Drinking a lot of alcohol even for just a few days can cause fat buildup in the liver. This condition is not permanent and generally causes no symptoms. Fat accumulated in the liver can disappear by itself within 2 weeks if alcohol consumption is stopped.

Alcoholic hepatitis

If alcohol consumption is not stopped, the patient can fall into the next stage, namely alcoholic hepatitis. At this stage, symptoms generally appear so that the patient can become aware of liver damage. This condition can also improve by stopping alcohol consumption.

Cirrhosis

The last stage of fatty liver is cirrhosis. In cirrhosis, the liver cells are damaged and cannot regenerate again. Stopping alcohol consumption will not restore the function of damaged liver cells, but only function so that the damage does not spread.

Symptoms fatty liver or severe fatty liver

In the early stages, the symptoms of fatty liver are usually atypical, such as feeling unwell, abdominal pain, diarrhea, decreased appetite, and weakness. As the disease progresses, other symptoms may develop:

• Yellow looks on the eyes and skin
• Swelling of the abdomen and legs
• Fever, can be chills
• Loss of weight and muscle mass
• Blood clotting disorders
• Vomiting blood
• Coma

How to treat alcoholic fatty liver or alcoholic fatty liver?

There is no specific therapy for alcoholic fatty liver. The main therapy, namely stopping drinking alcohol, adequate nutrition, and complete bed rest has been shown to be effective in reducing symptoms. A liver transplant may be needed if the liver damage has reached the stage of cirrhosis and symptoms do not improve with alcohol abstinence.

Quitting alcohol is not easy, about 70% of people with liver damage due to alcohol are alcoholics. Symptoms withdrawal aka withdrawal usually appears within the first 48 hours after stopping drinking alcohol, and usually improves within 3-7 days. When you have stopped drinking, sometimes psychological therapy is needed so that the patient does not drink alcohol again, and if it is not effective, the doctor will prescribe several drugs to help the patient stop drinking alcohol again.