Cirrhosis of the liver, the symptoms of which in different organisms are not the same, is a chronic disease. The ailment causes replacement of parenchymal tissues with fibrous connective or stroma. If improper treatment or ignoring the disease can be fatal.
What is cirrhosis of the liver?
With this disease, extensive liver damage is observed. It destroys healthy tissues and replaces them with fibrous fibers. Substitution leads to the formation of nodes of different sizes, which change the structure of the organ. Cirrhosis of the liver does not always manifest symptoms in the initial stages, but irreversible processes already begin in the tissues. The latter lead to a marked deterioration in the quality of human life.
What is cirrhosis is known throughout the world. If you believe statistics, the disease annually takes about 300 thousand people. What is most terrible is that there is a constant increase in the death rate. In men, pathology is diagnosed more often than in women. Cirrhosis symptoms can give at different ages, but as a rule, people suffer from an ailment for forty.
Cirrhosis - causes
Various factors lead to the disease: viruses, metabolic disorders, alcohol abuse, hereditary diseases. Precisely determine what caused cirrhosis - the cause of the disease - can only be laboratory research. Disadvantages are:
- Wilson's disease ;
- the abuse of hepatotoxic drugs;
- the Bad Chiari syndrome;
- alcoholism;
- chronic heart failure .
Alcoholic cirrhosis of the liver
Develops as a result of prolonged toxic effects of alcohol on the liver. The toxic effect is determined only by the amount of ethyl alcohol in the drinks consumed and does not depend on their type. The degree to which alcoholic cirrhosis develops intensely depends on the frequency of consumption of alcohol and its quantity. In the risk zone are people who:
- take alcohol every day for a long time;
- have a hereditary predisposition to cirrhosis;
- insufficiently or incorrectly eat.
Viral cirrhosis of the liver
From the name you can guess: viral cirrhosis is caused by viruses. They damage hepatocytes, inflammation begins, the body takes damaged cells for foreign bodies and attacks them. As a consequence, organ tissues die and it can not perform its functions properly. In most cases, liver cirrhosis symptoms are due to the hepatitis virus. Less often, the disease is caused by cytomegalovirus , HIV, herpes virus or Epstein-Barr.
This type of cirrhosis is transmitted through the blood. Cases of intrauterine infection are extremely rare. Risk factors that contribute to infection with viral cirrhosis:
- unprotected sex;
- use of non-sterile syringes;
- transfusion of blood contaminated with pathogenic microorganisms;
- non-observance of elementary standards of personal hygiene.
Congestive cirrhosis of the liver
The mechanism of the development of the disease is the same as with all its other varieties. Why does hepatic cirrhosis develop? Causes of the disease, as a rule, become stagnant phenomena in the cardiovascular system. High pressure in the inferior vena cava with pathology leads to overflow of the hepatic veins with blood. As a consequence - the body is greatly stretched, accumulating inside the blood stagnates, ischemia develops, which leads to necrosis of hepatocytes.
That is why even congestive liver cirrhosis symptoms can give:
- cardiosclerosis ;
- myxoma in the right atrium;
- chronic pulmonary heart;
- pericarditis;
- insufficiency of mitral or tricuspid valves.
Biliary cirrhosis
The development of this type of disease is preceded by the defeat of the biliary tract. There are two main forms of the disease. Primary biliary cirrhosis causes autoimmune processes, which initially provoke the development of cholestasis. To a secondary form leads to a violation of the outflow of bile. Very often, biliary cirrhosis is hereditary in nature. Among other possible causes of the disease:
- cholelithiasis ;
- cysts of bile ducts;
- purulent cholangitis;
- tumors and enlarged lymph nodes;
- activity of enterobacteria.
Signs of cirrhosis of the liver
The main manifestation of the disease is abdominal pain in the region of the right hypochondrium, but there are other symptoms of liver cirrhosis. In addition, it is not uncommon for an illness to occur without any signs, and the patient does not even guess about his dangerous diagnosis. The severity of symptoms is affected by individual characteristics of the body, the stage of the disease and some other factors.
The first signs of liver cirrhosis
In case of cirrhosis of the liver, the first symptoms may not appear, but if the disease does manifest itself, it happens with the help of:
- periodic pain in the abdomen, which are intensified after consuming fatty, roasted, marinated, alcohol;
- periodic disorders of the gastrointestinal tract (in some patients, appetite worsens, others are sweating, nausea, vomiting, diarrhea);
- irritability;
- rapid fatigue;
- unpleasant (bitter) taste in the mouth;
- yellowing of the skin, mucous membranes, eye proteins (they often pay attention to the disease when they see such a first sign of liver cirrhosis).
Stages of cirrhosis of the liver
The disease develops in several stages. The complexity of the disease depends on what symptoms occur with liver cirrhosis. The main stages are as follows:
- At the first stage, the necrotic process begins to develop. Symptoms that appear at this point - weakness, a violation of appetite, a decrease in concentration - many patients cheated on beriberi, fatigue, psychological overstrain.
- The second stage is called the subcompensation stage and is accompanied by itching, yellowing of the skin and mucous membranes, fever, nausea, a feeling of heaviness in the abdomen. Another common symptom of cirrhosis is a marked decrease in appetite.
- The third stage of decompensation is characterized by a very serious condition. The main symptoms in this case - diarrhea, frequent vomiting, high fever, a sharp decrease in weight, atrophy of the muscles of the upper limbs, complete impotence. The likelihood of a fatal outcome at this stage of the disease is very high.
- When the cirrhosis of the liver comes the last stage, the patient already, as a rule, falls into a coma. The affected organ strongly deforms and decreases in size, while the spleen increases.
Ascites in liver cirrhosis
This is one of the most common complications of the disease. Ascites develop if the main symptoms of cirrhosis are ignored for a long time. With this condition, liquid accumulates inside the abdominal cavity, and the stomach is inflated. The liver with the kidneys is already amazed so much that they can not function properly and do not remove all the excess from the body.
Define ascites can be by external signs. If there is not a lot of liquid accumulated, only a small compaction in the near-buccal region rushes into the eyes. At later stages, the abdomen grows, and the patient constantly feels pain. In ascites, the peritoneum increases so much that the sick woman can easily be confused with the pregnant woman on the last terms. Many people also gain weight quickly and complain of fever.
Cirrhosis of the liver - treatment
Before treating liver cirrhosis, it is important to understand that it is impossible to get rid of this disease, but in the early stages it is possible to slow down its development. In portal hypertension patients are prescribed diuretics, with ascites reduce salt intake. If autoimmune disorders are observed, it is recommended to take glucocorticoids. Viral cirrhosis is treated with antiviral drugs. To strengthen the liver, patients must prescribe hepatoprotectors : Silymarin, Essentiale, ursodeoxycholic acid.
Sometimes surgical intervention is required:
- shunting operations help to create new ways for blood flow;
- paracentesis is designed to remove fluid from the peritoneum;
- liver transplantation is required in the most difficult cases.
To achieve improvement, the patient should avoid serious physical and mental stress. With a satisfactory condition, it is recommended to practice therapeutic walking and gymnastics. All, without exception, patients need to adhere to a diet. In order to prevent infection in the weakened organism, in any interventions people with cirrhosis are prescribed antibiotics for preventive purposes.
Diet for cirrhosis of the liver
The disease involves a complete rejection of fried, fatty, salty foods, foods containing large amounts of cholesterol. It is desirable to diversify the diet with fresh fruit - they increase the bile excretion, so that cholesterol is better utilized. Patients who are diagnosed with liver cirrhosis should eat a warm meal. Meals should be frequent. It is desirable to cook food, cook on steam or in the oven.
With cirrhosis, you can use these products:
- low-fat meat;
- low-fat fish;
- porridge;
- beans;
- pasta;
- low-fat sour cream;
- cottage cheese;
- non-cheesy cheeses;
- juices;
- non-acid berries;
- soups on vegetable broth;
- dried bread;
- loose tea;
- dogrose broth.
The diet for cirrhosis excludes the following:
- fresh bread and other flour products;
- sour fruits and berries;
- strong coffee and tea;
- sorrel;
- radish;
- spinach;
- green onions;
- alcohol.
Cirrhosis of the liver - prognosis
Life expectancy at such diagnosis depends on many different factors, therefore precisely to tell, with illness of a cirrhosis of a liver how many patients live, it is complex or difficult. Influence have:
- severity of the disease;
- presence of complications;
- diet compliance;
- causes of the disease;
- age and sex of the patient;
- prescribed treatment.
Depending on the stage of the disease specialists give such predictions:
- About 50% of patients live 7 years and longer.
- With a more complex stage of decompensation, life expectancy, as a rule, is no more than 5 years.
- Only 20 - 30% of patients with cirrhosis of the third stage live up to 3 years.
- At the last stage of the disease, life expectancy does not exceed a year.