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Alcoholic Liver Disease: What Is It And What Do You Need To Know About It?

Liver disease is a term used to describe many different diseases and conditions of the liver. It may be a disease or even an infection. Alcoholic Liver Disease is just one form of liver disease.

Alcohol abuse is the main cause of Alcoholic Liver Disease. It’s also the leading cause of death in the world. Approximately 10 % of men and 3 % of women suffer from persistent problems due to alcohol use in the United States.

Drinking alcohol is moderation is okay, but drinking excessive amounts (2 or more drinks) can be damaging to many parts of your body

There are many different life-threatening complications that alcoholics must face. Liver disease is only one of them. Chronic infection and hepatitis C may increase a person’s risk for developing cirrhosis if they are also an alcoholic.

For a woman who is drinking alcohol, there is a decreased metabolism of alcohol in the stomach before absorption. Because of this, women tend to be at a higher risk for developing liver disease from alcoholism than men.

There are three pathologically distinct liver diseases that alcoholics typically face:

Fatty Liver

When you drink in excess, this may lead to an accumulation of fat with hepatocytes, which is the predominant cell of the liver. The effects of a fatty liver are reversible for someone who should choose to stop drinking alcohol. Fatty liver can lead to steatohepatitis, which is a fatty liver accompanied by inflammation, which is a condition that can lead to scarring of the liver and cirrhosis.

Hepatitis

Acute chronic hepatitis may be a cause of alcohol abuse. Individuals who are typically diagnosed with hepatitis are usually chronic drinkers who admit to having a recent episode of heavy drinking. The individual may be diagnosed with mild hepatitis or a much more severe case. Laboratory tests will be abnormal and there may be visible skin changes, such as jaundice or yellowing of the skin.

Cirrhosis

In the United States, alcohol is the leading cause of liver cirrhosis. It can also be a result of many other causes outside of alcohol abuse, such as chronic viral hepatitis, metabolic and biliary diseases.

Treatment Options

The main thing is to discontinue use of alcohol all together. In some cases, admission into an in-patient medical alcohol rehabilitation facility in combination with long-term support groups. It may take some time for the patient to become medically stable. Other associated neurological conditions may be present and treatment for these conditions is necessary as well. Chronic alcohol abusers will often times need vitamin treatment, particularly thiamin, in order to correct deficiencies.