What are the symptoms of people with liver disease

When our body suffers from some diseases, there will be many symptoms, including problems with some internal organs of our body. As long as we pay close attention to these phenomena, we will not miss the best time for treatment. For example, when suffering from liver disease, there will be loss of appetite, fatigue, fever, and changes in urine color.

1. Appetite

Loss of appetite, nausea and aversion to greasy food. This is a symptom common in most hepatitis patients, especially in patients with jaundice hepatitis, where the symptoms are more severe. The liver is the largest "chemical factory" in the human body and is involved in all metabolic processes in the body. Among them, secreting bile is one of the important functions, and the bile salts in bile play an important role in the absorption and digestion of fat. After suffering from hepatitis, the hepatitis virus induces a large number of liver cells to be destroyed, and the function of bile secretion is reduced, which affects the digestion of fat, so the patient will have an aversion to oily food. When suffering from hepatitis, the gastrointestinal tract will be congested and edema, the peristalsis will be weakened, and the gastrointestinal dysfunction will be disordered, which will affect the patient's food digestion and absorption, so it will cause the patient to have loss of appetite, nausea and aversion to greasy food. Acute viral hepatitis can cause symptoms such as loss of appetite.

2. Fever

Persistent low-grade fever or concurrent chills, and exclusion of other infections. In the early stages of acute icteric hepatitis, fever is common, mostly between 37.5 and 38.5 degrees Celsius. High fever is rare and generally lasts for 3 to 5 days. The fever of those without icteric hepatitis is much lower than that of those with icteric hepatitis. Many patients have fever accompanied by general discomfort and loss of appetite, and mistakenly think they have a cold. A considerable number of patients with jaundice-type hepatitis are often treated for a cold in hospital outpatient clinics and are not diagnosed until jaundice appears 3-5 days later. This is due to a lack of knowledge about the fever symptoms of hepatitis. The cause of fever may be hepatocellular necrosis, liver dysfunction, reduced detoxification and excretion function, or viremia.

3. Urine color

Urine is yellow like tea. Under normal circumstances, the life span of human red blood cells in icteric hepatitis is 120 days. The damaged red blood cells will release hemoglobin, which will undergo a series of decomposition and metabolism and turn into a yellow substance called bilirubin. Because the hepatitis virus causes liver cell damage, it affects the metabolism of bilirubin, causing more bilirubin to enter the blood and be excreted through urine than usual, so the urine color becomes darker. The yellower the urine is, the more severe the damage to the liver cells is. As the condition improves, the urine color will gradually return to normal.

4. Fatigue

Fatigue and weakness are one of the early symptoms of hepatitis. Patients often cannot clearly explain when the disease began, and their symptoms vary. Those with mild symptoms are reluctant to move, while those with severe symptoms are bedridden and do not even like to wash their face or eat. Despite adequate rest, the feeling of fatigue cannot be eliminated. In severe cases, it feels as if the limbs are separated from the body. The main reason for these symptoms is that hepatitis patients have loss of appetite and digestive and absorption disorders, resulting in insufficient energy in the human body; secondly, the virus causes liver cell damage, which reduces the liver's production and storage of glycogen. In addition, vitamin deficiency, electrolyte imbalance and liver cell damage cause a decrease in blood cholinesterase, affecting the normal function of nerves and muscles, resulting in indescribable general fatigue.

5. Pain in the liver area

Hepatitis patients often complain of pain in the liver area, involving the right upper abdomen or right back. The pain varies in severity. Some hepatitis patients experience bloating, dull pain or needle-like pain, which worsens during activity and lasts for varying durations. Sometimes the pain is relieved by lying on the left side. The main reason for this symptom is that the hepatitis virus causes liver enlargement, which increases the tension of the liver capsule.

6. Bleeding tendency

The bleeding phenomenon of liver disease is manifested in decreased liver function, which leads to reduced synthesis of coagulation factors. It can easily cause bleeding gums, hemorrhoids, gastrointestinal bleeding, etc. in patients with liver disease, and the bleeding is difficult to stop.

7. Edema

Obvious edema of the lower limbs, or even the whole body, with depression when pressed, rules out kidney damage. Patients with cirrhosis, liver cancer and ascites often have lower limb edema, which occurs in the ankles in mild cases and spreads to the entire lower limbs in severe cases.