Treating the Symptoms of Cirrhosis of the Liver

Cirrhosis is the disease which injures or kills off cells of the liver. The symptoms of cirrhosis of the liver may not appear too severe at first but can have far reaching complications riding on them. The liver is an internal organ which can take much abuse from the body, but once it begins to die, the scar tissue formed by its cells causes complications that begin to trigger a response from the body’s immune system.

Treating the Symptoms of Cirrhosis of the Liver

Physical symptoms of cirrhosis of the liver

The trouble with cirrhosis is that many people exhibit no physical symptoms of the disease in the early stages when it can be caught and treated with ease. The physical symptoms of cirrhosis of the liver can be rather vague and not pin point the exact problem. These symptoms include weakness, fatigue, nausea, vomiting, loss of appetite, weight loss, pain in the abdominal region, bloated feeling, itching and some spider like blood vessels visible on the skin.

Complications arising from cirrhosis of the liver

While there may be no warning symptoms of cirrhosis of the liver at an early stage, a number of complications can arise at a later date. Some of these complications are listed here.

  • Edema
  • Ascites
  • Bleeding from varices
  • Hepatic encephalopathy
  • Hypersplenism
  • Spontaneous bacterial peritonitis

Treatment of the symptoms of cirrhosis of the liver

Once cirrhosis of the liver has been confirmed the onus is on preventing any further damage to the liver. For this the patient must eat a well balanced meal, avoid addictions of drugs, alcohol and smoking, use vitamin supplements to improve absorption of essential nutrients in the body, and not use any anti inflammatory drugs.

Besides these basic precautions some specific steps may also have to be taken. The specific complications from which the patient is suffering will also be treated in the appropriate manner by the health care professionals attending to the patient. The longer it takes for treatment to begin the less successful the treatment is likely to be.

The liver in its weakened state is susceptible to other secondary infections. The patient will need to be immunized against the diseases which could strike the liver such as hepatitis A, and hepatitis B. There may be a need to suppress the response of the immune system using medication to help manage the inflammation of the liver in autoimmune hepatitis.

Since cirrhosis is irreversible the condition of the liver may still deteriorate even if the patient is on treatment. Partial recovery is possible with the proper treatment of the disease, but the cirrhosis which has occurred will never really go away.

When the cirrhosis is highly advanced the liver is unable to perform its basic functions and is essentially dead. In such cases a liver transplant may be the only treatment option left for the patient. This is a major surgical process and has only 80% chance of success. The liver transplant is the last possible stage of treating cirrhosis. It is not easy as there is a shortage of donors and the surgical procedure is a complicated one fraught with many risks.

It’s recommended that you consult your doctor immediately if you have seen or experienced some if not all these symptoms. Do get print brochure in health centers and hospitals to educate yourself about other diseases and conditions.