Alcohol Abuse: 4 Liver Diseases that Put Your Health at Stake

As per WHO records, around 2.6 lakh people die due to excessive alcohol consumption every year. In fact, alcohol is a major underlying cause of over 30 major health conditions and a contributing factor in many more. Liver cirrhosis posed by alcohol abuse is accorded as a major contributor to approx 1.4 lakh death every year in the country. And these figures are increasing, only posing a serious health threat to all.

However, consumption of alcohol puts a major strain on your liver, and years of alcohol abuse could cause it to become inflamed and swollen. In this article, we will put across information about how alcohol causes liver damage and the alarming symptoms of alcoholic liver diseases.

Types and Symptoms of Alcoholic Liver Disease

Your liver helps you break down most of the alcohol you consume from your body, but excessive consumption for a long time creates toxins that are even more contagious than alcohol. These toxins end up damaging your liver cells and cause severe liver diseases. Based on the consumption, the stages of alchoholic liver diseases are divided into fatty liver, alcoholic hepatitis, and fibrosis/cirrhosis. 

Types of liver diseases caused by alcohol are:

• Acute Alcoholic Hepatitis
• Scarring of the Liver (Cirrhosis)
• Fatty Liver (Steatosis)
• Inflammation of the Liver (Hepatitis)

Acute Alcoholic Hepatitis

In this condition, there is inflammation (swelling) of the liver due to alcohol abuse. The severity of damage is not always the same for everyone, as some treatments can reverse the liver damage from alcohol, while severe cases of alcoholic hepatitis can lead to liver failure. 

The most common symptoms of Acute Alcoholic Hepatitis are:

• Loss of Appetite
• Stomachache
• Jaundice 
• Liver Failure or death

>>Also Read: Health Benefits of Quitting Alcohol

Scarring of the Liver (Cirrhosis)

This disease is the most contagious alcohol-related liver disease. It is a stage where your liver gets significant scars and doesn't show any obvious symptoms initially. This condition is generally not reversible, but quitting alcohol immediately can further damage and may increase your life expectancy. If you are diagnosed with alcohol-related cirrhosis and don't plan on quitting alcohol, there are less than 50% chance of living for at least 5 years.

The most common symptoms of liver cirrhosis are:

• Continuous sickness
• Blood Vomits
• Swelling around the stomach
• Loss of appetite
• Muscle cramps

People with cirrhosis and liver dysfunction don't experience symptoms until it's too late.

Fatty Liver (Steatosis)

Fatty liver is one of the most common types of health conditions due to alcohol abuse. In this condition, fat starts to build up in the liver, making the liver inefficient in functioning.

The most common symptoms of Fatty Liver (Steatosis) are:

• Pain in abdomen 
• Feeling fullness in the upper right side of the abdomen 
• Loss of appetite or weight loss 
• Nausea 
• Skin and sclera turn yellowish (jaundice)
• Swallowing abdomen and legs 
• Extreme fatigue 
• Weakness 

Inflammation of the Liver (Hepatitis)

Alcoholic hepatitis, which is not the same as infectious hepatitis, is a potentially fatal condition caused by chronic alcohol abuse. When this happens, it may be the first time a person realises they are causing liver damage by drinking. 

If you stop drinking for good, the liver damage caused by mild alcoholic hepatitis is usually reversible.

The most common symptoms of Inflammation of the Liver (Hepatitis) are:

• Tiredness 
• Flu-like feeling
• Urine colour turns dark
• Abdominal pain
• Loss of appetite
• Sudden weight loss
• Yellowish skin and eyes leading to jaundice

While excessive alcohol consumption is dangerous, you must be wondering how much alcohol is safe for liver? The clinically advised quanity of everyday alcohol consumption is 0 to 30 ml or one drink every day. However, the ideal quantity may differ significantly based on the person’s health status. 

To Conclude

Consuming alcohol could be as bad as consuming slow poison that will take a good time to trigger any serious threat to your health. To avoid hugefinancial losses due to the treatment of alcoholic liver diseases, Care Health Insurance brings you Critical Illness Insurance Plan that covers 32 critical and serious diseases , including end stage liver disease. So, buy yourself critical illness today without further ado and be stress-free during unforeseen medical emergencies.

Disclaimer: The above-mentioned information is for reference purposes only.