Alcoholic liver disease is damage to the liver and its ability to function as a result of alcohol abuse. It happens after years of drinking but does not necessarily affect all heavy drinkers. The longer you drink and the more you consume, your chances of liver disease increase. Men between the ages of 40 and 50 are most likely to develop problems, but there can be an inherited risk for the disease. The liver carries out several necessary functions, such as detoxifying waste products, drugs and alcohol, and other chemicals in your body. It is also responsible for cleaning your blood and making vital nutrients.
Some of the indications of alcoholic liver disease include loss of energy, poor appetite and weight loss, nausea, belly pain, red blood vessels on the skin, fluid buildup of the legs (edema) and in the abdomen (ascites) yellow coloring in the skin, mucous membranes, or eyes, impotence, shrinking of the testicles, breast swelling, bruising and abnormal bleeding, confusion, itchy skin, blood in stools or vomit, and pale or clay-colored stools.
There are different stages of alcoholic liver disease. First is alcoholic fatty liver disease, or steatosis, where extra fat builds up around the liver. The excess fat can cause inflammation, which then leads to cirrhosis, or scarring and hardening of the liver.
Acute alcoholic hepatitis is another type of the disease. It involves swelling of the liver as well as the destruction of liver cells. Up to 35 percent of heavy drinkers will develop alcoholic hepatitis. It can last for years and will eventually cause progressively worse liver damage, although the damage may be reversible if you stop drinking.
Finally, cirrhosis refers to the replacement of normal liver tissue with scar tissue. Every time your liver is damaged by alcohol, it attempts to repair itself. Like any injury, this can leave scars behind. Anywhere between 10 and 20 percent of heavy drinkers will develop cirrhosis, typically after 10 or more years of drinking. The first stage of liver scarring is called fibrosis. As scar tissue builds up and takes over more of the liver, it becomes referred to as cirrhosis. Signs of cirrhosis are an accumulation of fluid in the abdomen, high blood pressure in the liver, bleeding from veins in the esophagus, behavior changes and confusion, and an enlarged spleen. Some of the more serious effects can be coma, kidney failure, liver cancer, and eventually death.
Treatments for alcoholic liver disease include lowering or stopping alcohol consumption, eating a healthy diet low in salt, taking diuretics or “water pills” to reduce fluid buildup, taking vitamin K to prevent excessive bleeding, and endoscopic treatments for enlarged veins. If not reversed, cirrhosis will progress to end-stage liver disease, at which point a liver transplant may be necessary.
If you or a loved one need help with quitting drugs or alcohol, consider Asana Recovery. We offer medical detox, along with both residential and outpatient programs, and you’ll be supervised by a highly trained staff of medical professionals, counselors, and therapists. Call us any time at (949) 438-4504.
