What is Alcoholic Liver Disease?

Alcoholic liver disease is a disease that is caused by excessive use of alcohol. The liver is the organ that breaks down alcohol during digestion. If you consistently drink more alcohol than your liver can process, you are at risk of developing the disease. It is to be noted that not all people who drink heavily get the disease and not all people who drink moderately escape it.   Anyone who gets this disease will go through 3 stages.

Fatty Liver

This is the first stage of the disease. This is caused by buildup of fat inside the liver cells leading to an enlarged liver.

Alcoholic hepatitis

This is the second stage where acute inflammation of the liver leads to death of liver cells and permanent scarring.

Alcoholic cirrhosis

In this final stage of the disease normal liver tissue is destroyed and the whole liver is scarred.

How will you know if you have alcoholic liver disease?

The symptoms of alcoholic liver disease change according to the stage of the disease.

Symptoms of fatty liver include:

• Upper abdominal discomfort in the right side
• Tiredness
• Weakness
• Weight loss

Symptoms of alcoholic hepatitis include:

• Pain in the abdomen on the right side
• Fever
• Weakness
• Loss of appetite
• Nausea and vomiting
• Yellowing of skin and eyes

Symptoms of alcoholic cirrhosis

• Poor nutrition
• Bleeding in the intestines
• Fluid build-up in the abdomen
• Kidney failure
• Confusion

These symptoms may resemble many other illnesses, so it is important you consult a doctor if you feel unwell. In the initial stages, it is easy to reverse the damage caused.

What are the treatment options for alcoholic liver disease?

The liver is the only organ that can regenerate. If the right treatment is started early, it is possible to completely reverse liver damage.

The first and most important step towards recovery is to completely stop drinking alcohol. Deaddiction programs will help you get over your drinking habit if you find it difficult to stop drinking. Changing to a liver friendly diet will also speed up recovery. If the disease is in the initial stages, these steps will help reverse damage.

If, however the disease has progressed to later stages then additional measures are required and they include:

• Medicines to treat liver infections such as hepatitis if infected.
• Treatment for liver cancer if cirrhosis leads to cancer.
• Medicines to lower the amount of toxins in the blood.
• Liver transplant if liver is irreparably damaged.

It is possible to prevent alcoholic liver disease by limiting alcohol. As people who drink heavily and people who drink moderately also develop the disease, if you drink alcohol, you should get a periodic check up to detect the disease early and treat it successfully.

Our gastroenterology department offers excellent liver care by experts. We offer the most comprehensive treatment for all liver conditions. Consult us for all gastrointestinal problems.