This World Liver Day, Know The Facts About Liver Diseases

With the World Liver Day just around the corner, let’s get to know why or how we celebrate the world liver day, get to know a few liver diseases, diagnosis of liver diseases, and causes and symptoms of the liver diseases.

Apparently liver is the second largest and important organ of our body. If for any reason the liver cannot function normally, then it can harm our health. 

Stats and Facts of Liver Diseases:

According to the latest WHO data,

·         Deaths by liver diseases in India are 216,865 which are equal to 2.44% of the total number of deaths.

·         The age related death rate is 21.96 for every 100,000 of the population.

Liver disease causes:

Some important causes of liver diseases are:

Infections: from mainly the viruses and parasites. The most common types of liver infections are:

·         Hepatitis A

·         Hepatitis B

·         Hepatitis C

Transmission from infected person: in the form of sharing contaminated things of that infected person, transmission through body fluids, blood, semen, etc.

Alcohol: Alcohol is an important cause of the liver diseases. It’s over consumption can cause serious conditions like:

·         Fatty liver

·         Liver cirrhosis

·         Liver cancer

Symptoms of Liver diseases:

Some common symptoms of liver diseases are:

·         Yellowish appearance of skin and eyes (which is known as jaundice)

·         Swelling and pain in the abdomen

·         Swollen legs

·         Itchy skin

·         Tendency to bruise easily

·         Dark yellowish urine

·         Pale, bloody or dark colored stool

·         Fatigue

·         Nausea or vomiting

·         Loss of appetite

Diagnosis of Liver Diseases:

Various diagnosis tests are used for liver diseases. An important tests for detecting the liver diseases is Liver Function Tests

Prevention:

Liver diseases can be prevented by the following ways:

Vaccination: There are Hepatitis A and Hepatitis B vaccines for protecting the body against liver disorders.

Lifestyle changes: like avoiding alcohol, healthy and a balanced diet, taking only prescribed medicines.

Preventive health checkup:  As a routine, you should go for a Master health checkup regularly. An early detection can help in the appropriate treatment as well as a complete cure.

Remember … An ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure!