Cirrhosis is a chronic disease that affects the liver. It is due to liver damage that causes scars to form and accumulate in the liver. Under these conditions, scar tissue replaces healthy liver tissue and causes the liver to stop working properly and as cirrhosis worsens, it begins to fail. The liver is the internal organ that is involved in many essential functions. For example, the liver extracts nutrients from the blood for later use. It is also in charge of generating bile, which once deposited in the digestive system helps to absorb fats and some vitamins. Along the same lines, it removes drugs and toxic components from the blood.
The main causes of liver cirrhosis are excessive alcohol consumption and chronic infection caused by a hepatitis virus. Other triggers for liver cirrhosis are non-alcoholic fatty liver disease, hereditary conditions, and less frequently drug-induced injury, bile duct problems, and autoimmune diseases. Sometimes, several of these causes come together and other times, it is not possible to identify what caused the disease.
One of the problems in getting an early diagnosis is that the symptoms associated with cirrhosis do not appear until the liver is seriously damaged. The most common in the early stages are reddening of the hands and the appearance of spider veins on the face and upper trunk. Later, other signs usually appear, such as excessive fluid retention in the legs or belly. Episodes of bleeding in the digestive tract can also occur and the skin usually turns yellowish, like the whites of the eyes. This skin discoloration is known as jaundice. For the definitive diagnosis it is usually necessary to perform a liver biopsy and analyze tissues extracted from the liver. Although through an analysis and an abdominal ultrasound you can have a clear indication.
Cirrhosis can cause major health complications, since the affected organ is one of the most important in the body. The disease occurs when the normal structure of the liver is disrupted by the inclusion of scar tissue causing increased resistance to blood flow through the liver. This, in turn, causes high pressures in the veins that drain the liver. This is a phenomenon called portal hypertension, which causes bleeding in the digestive system, one of the main complications of this disease.
Once diagnosed, as it is a chronic disease, treatment focuses on combating the causes that have caused the cirrhosis, improving or eliminating the symptoms, and preventing possible future complications. One of the measures that patients must follow is not to drink alcohol. As cirrhosis is a chronic disease, treatment focuses on improving the quality of life of the patient who will have to regularly visit a doctor who specializes in the treatment of liver diseases (a hepatologist).
