One of the terrifying diseases that are hampering human health to a deadly extent is a hepatic failure. It requires not only immediate attention but also demands proper medical care and treatment.
Liver failure takes place when different parts of the liver get damaged and become irreparable, forcing the liver to halt its working completely. Although it takes place gradually, over a long period; yet it has become a very terrifying and delicate disease concerning human anatomy.
Types of Liver Failure
- Acute: In this type, the liver gets damaged in a short period, within days or weeks. The damages worsen in such a short time that people usually don’t even get time to afford treatment.
- Chronic: This type develops slowly and gradually, taking years of a patient.
SYMPTOMS
Liver failure is not only a disease but acts as the last stage of various liver diseases. Suffering from it might be a symptom of other liver diseases too.
- Feeling Nauseated
- Decreased Appetite
- Tiredness or Fatigue
- Diarrhoea
- Jaundice
- Internal bleeding
- Swollen belly
- Mental Muddling
- Dizziness
Causes
- Consuming Poisonous Mushrooms: A type of wild mushroom, known as Amanita phalloides, has harmful elements that can damage your liver and progress to liver failure within no time.
- Wilson’s Disease: It is a hereditary disease in which the body is unable to remove copper and therefore, the build-up within damages the liver.
- Overdose of Acetaminophen: Massive doses of acetaminophen can severely affect your liver and lead to liver failure.
- Hepatitis B: In this disease, your liver undergoes unusual swelling, which makes it impossible to carry on with its normal working.
- Long-term Alcohol Consumption: Consuming alcohol regularly and without any control can damage your liver adversely and fail it.
- Galactosemia: Some people are unable to process a form of sugar called galactose. Accumulation of the same leads to failure in the long term.
Diagnosis
- Blood Tests: Blood tests like that of Prothrombin can help your doctor detect if you are suffering from acute liver failure.
- Imaging Tests: Several imaging tests like ultrasound, MRI, CT scan can be helpful to identify the problems regarding your liver more accurately.
- Biopsy: In this process, your doctor will take out a small piece of your liver and inspect it in the lab to figure out what is wrong.
Treatments
- Medication: If the liver is not much damaged and was once healthy (in case of acute liver damage), the procedure might get limited to drugs. For example, if it is a case of poisonous mushroom consumption, then inducing Acetylcysteine into the body might reverse the damages.
- Liver Transplant: This treatment is usually the last step in most of the chronic cases when the injuries are not at all possible to repair. If your liver is severely damaged, then you might be put on a transplant list for a liver transplant.
- Supportive Care: Supportive care is the first choice of doctors when it comes to liver failure caused by viruses. The institutions provide your medical care and support until the virus’ cycle is over.