|
The liver can regenerate itself like a superhero, but that doesn’t mean
it is invincible; it can become damaged just like any other organ.
When a liver is working well, it cleans the blood, helps digest food and
fights infection. It is also a bit of a bodily superhero — much like
Wolverine and Deadpool, it has the power to regenerate when it has been
damaged, replacing old tissue with new cells.
“Anything that keeps your liver from doing its job — or from growing
back after injury — may put your life in danger,” the American Liver
Foundation warns. That can be inflammation, scarring, cancer or even
using too much Tylenol. Although the liver lies on the inside of the
body, the body shows outward signs when something is wrong.
|
|
Turning yellow
Your skin and the whites of your eyes could turn yellow when the liver
isn’t working properly, due to a buildup in the blood of a yellowish
substance called bilirubin, according to the U.S. National Library of
Medicine. The U.K.’s National Health Service adds that the yellowing
symptom, called jaundice, can occur when the liver’s damage prevents it
from processing that bilirubin. Common causes of that kind of liver
damage are hepatitis, cancer, drinking too much alcohol, abusing
ecstasy, exposure to toxic substances and various infections. |
|
 |
|
Your bodily waste
Jaundice also changes the color of urine and stool, making the urine
dark and the stool pale, the National Health Service explains. |
|
|
|
Itch
The Mayo Clinic lists liver disease as an underlying cause of itchy
skin, as well as kidney failure, thyroid problems and cancer. “The
itching usually affects the whole body. The skin may look otherwise
normal except for the repeatedly scratched areas. |
|
|
|
Bruises
People with liver damage will bruise or bleed more easily because their
liver has slowed or stopped production of proteins that are necessary
for blood clotting, the National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and
Kidney Diseases says. The liver actually produces several clotting
factors, all of which begin to disappear in people with damage to that
organ. |
|
 |
|
Swelling
When the liver isn’t able to do its job, people may start to retain
water in their abdomens and legs, causing swelling, according to the
Mayo Clinic.
|
|
 |
|
No signs
In some cases, there just isn’t any indication that something is going
wrong. The University of Iowa Hospitals and Clinics warns that up to
half of those with liver disease show no signs. And in the cases that
mild symptoms present themselves, the most common ones “are very
nonspecific and they include fatigue or excessive tiredness, lack of
drive, occasionally itching.”
|
|
 |