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What Treatment Options Are Available For Cirrhosis?

Cirrhosis is a condition of the liver due to long-term damage from liver disease. Cirrhosis is when your liver becomes scarred from this damage. Scarred liver tissue cannot be fixed, but further damage can be avoided with treatment.

Treatment options vary according to the underlying cause of cirrhosis and how advanced your cirrhosis is.  Any damage caused by cirrhosis to your liver cannot be reversed.

Proper nutrition and avoidance of the bad substances which sometimes lead to cirrhosis are the first step of treatment for cirrhosis

Primary liver cancer may develop as a result of cirrhosis.  In fact, approximately 5 % of individuals who have cirrhosis will likely get liver cancer later on in life. 

Tumors and issues with the veins may be treated surgically.  Sometimes, cirrhosis is not diagnosed in time or doctors are unsuccessful in slowing down the damage to the liver.  In cases like this, a liver transplant may be in order.  The Mayo Clinic is one of the leading clinics in the world that perform liver transplants.

Your liver is the largest organ in your body.  It’s responsible for filtering the good and bad toxins and can even regenerate itself.  Your liver also stores excess blood in case of an emergency.  Overall, your liver is responsible for over 500 vital body functions. 

When you have liver disease, your liver attempts to repair itself by replacing damaged tissue with scar tissue.  Scar tissue simply cannot function as well as healthy tissue.  The scar tissue also blocks the flow of blood to your liver, which is another reason scar tissue prevents it from working the way that it should. 

Cirrhosis is the 8th leading cause of death in the United States, killing approximately 25,000 people each year.  Cirrhosis causes a great deal of discomfort for individuals who suffer from it and the hospital bills and medical costs can be astronomical.

Alcohol abuse, hepatitis B, C and D, inherited diseases, non-alcoholic steatohepatitis, blocked bile ducts and drugs, toxins and infections can all lead to cirrhosis. 

Symptoms include:

•     exhaustion and fatigue

•     loss of appetite

•     nausea

•     vomiting

•     weight loss

•     weakness

Complications of cirrhosis include:

•     loss of liver function

•     edema and ascites

•     easy bruising and bleeding (also, nosebleeds)

•     jaundice (yellowing of the whites of the eyes and skin)

•     skin itching (because of the bile products which are deposited in the skin – this itching can be intense)

•     gallstones

•     toxins in the blood or brain

•     sensitivity to medications

•     portal hypertension

•     varices

•     problems with other organs

•     kidney failure

Tags: abdominal discomfort, abdominal pain, cirrhosis, dysfunctional liver, liver, liver damage, liver disease, liver problems

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