Bruised Liver Tufts Medical Center Community Care

Decreased white blood cells and platelets in your blood can be the first sign of cirrhosis. A direct blow to the abdomen or lower back can cause a bruised kidney. Learn the symptoms of this injury and how to treat kidney bleeding. The size, positioning, and amount of blood vessels in your liver make it vulnerable to injury and bleeding due to blunt force trauma. For minor bruises to the liver, time and close monitoring are the treatments doctors usually recommend. According to recent guidelines, nonoperative management should be considered the standard treatment for all grades of liver bruising when surgery isn’t necessary. Treatment for a bruised liver can differ depending on how severe the injury is, and the level of symptoms you’re experiencing.

We should therefore always include muscle hematoma in the differential diagnosis of acute anemia in liver, especially alcoholic, cirrhosis. There are a few things that can up your chances of liver damage. And to get through life at your healthiest, don’t miss these Everyday Habits That Make You Older. Symptoms of liver disease depends upon the cause and may include nausea, vomiting, upper right abdominal pain, and jaundice. Treatment depends upon the cause of the liver disease. In people with liver failure, the liver completely ceases to function. This can be an outcome of advanced-stage liver disease and often means that a liver transplant is the only option for prolonged survival. A liver transplant is a complicated procedure that depends on a donor’s availability. Once cirrhosis starts to affect liver function, the impact on a person’s outlook becomes more severe.

When to see a doctor

Doctors may also recommend taking a daily multivitamin. This is the most common type of liver cancer and can result from cirrhosis due to hepatitis B or C infection. Research from 2013 suggests it is becoming more common in the U.S. and globally and has a high fatality rate. In autoimmune hepatitis, the person has an autoimmune disease. In this type of disease, the immune system mistakenly attacks healthy cells. Sometimes, an autoimmune disease can affect the liver, leading to hepatitis and cirrhosis. Doctors can usually diagnose liver failure based on symptoms and the results of a physical examination. Blood tests are done to evaluate liver function, which is usually severely impaired. People contract hepatitis B through blood, semen and other body fluids and by sharing personal items with someone who has the infection.

• See a picture of the Liver and learn more about the health topic.
• Over time, scar tissue replaces the damaged liver cells and the liver can’t function properly.
• Your liver is a large, wedge-shaped organ that sits just below your rib cage and lungs.

Males who consume more than 21 units per week and females who consume more than 14 units per week are at risk of steatosis due to alcohol consumption. In these cases, the person may need a liver transplant. It can take time to find a suitable donor, and this procedure is often a last resort. Cirrhosis is a progressive disease that develops over many years. As scar tissue builds up, it can affect blood flow through the liver, leading to liver dysfunction. If your immune system goes into overdrive, it could attack healthy parts of your body, including your liver.

Visual Guide to Liver Problems

But for some people, it gets worse and leads to cirrhosis and other problems. If the physical exam and tests show no injuries other than a bruise, the treatment is rest and follow-up with your healthcare provider. You may have blood tests daily for a few days to check for blood loss. The CT scan or ultrasound may be repeated to check for new signs of liver injury or internal bleeding. Changes from liver diseases that lead to cirrhosis are gradual.

These include over-the-counter medicines such as non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs , aspirin, and blood thinners. Follow the instructions on whatever drug or product you use. And never mix any medication with alcohol unless your doctor or pharmacist said it’s safe. If you have liver problems, you should check with your doctor before you take any new medicine, supplement, or vitamin. Your liver is the reason that healthy poop looks brown. The brown color comes from bile salts made by your liver. If your liver doesn’t make bile normally or if the flow from the liver is blocked, your poop will look pale like the color of clay. The extra bilirubin that makes your skin look yellow also can make your pee unusually dark. If kidney failure develops, less urine is produced and excreted from the body, resulting in the buildup of toxic substances in the blood. Liver failure is severe deterioration in liver function.

Talk to your doctor immediately if you have any of these symptoms in addition to bruising. If your bruise swells or doesn’t get better within a week, you should see a doctor. But, sometimes you spot a bruise and wonder what causes you to bruise easily. A bruise usually appears when blood gets trapped under the skin, and this usually happens because of an impact, such as bumping your arm or leg, that damages a tiny blood vessel. The length of recovery depends on the severity of the injury. Simple liver lacerations may heal in 2 to 4 months. More serious lacerations may heal in up to 6 months. Depending on the severity of the injury and the symptoms, the athlete may need to have a CT scan repeated before returning to sports participation.

Over time, these insults can lead to fibrosis or cirrhosis. Normally, the liver has no problem filtering out bilirubin, a yellow-colored bile pigment. When the blood can’t be processed effectively, a build-up of bilirubin can result in a yellowish tint to the skin and white of the eyes. Jaundice caused by liver damage can also be accompanied by itchy liver damage and bruising skin. Cirrhosis of the liver is a late-stage result of liver disease and its complications. Cirrhosis causes your liver to not function properly. Your liver plays a vital role in many of the processes and functions that keep you alive. The Model for End-stage Liver Disease score is a score that is used to rank the urgency for a liver transplant.

MEDICAL ENCYCLOPEDIA

Whether you’re looking for answers for yourself or someone you love, we’re here to give you the best information available. Any time an organ is injured, it tries to repair itself. As more scar tissue forms in the liver, it becomes harder for it to function. Cirrhosis is usually a result of liver damage from conditions such as hepatitis B or C, or chronic alcohol use. The damage done by cirrhosis typically cannot be undone. But if caught early enough and depending on the cause, there is a chance of slowing it with treatment.

However, there are some inherited diseases that can cause liver damage and lead to cirrhosis. Doctors will look for and treat the underlying problem that led to cirrhosis to help prevent it from getting worse. Part of treatment to slow cirrhosis often includes avoiding things that could continue to damage the liver, such as certain medications, alcohol, and meals high in fat. Cirrhosis of the liver causes extensive scarring and inflammation that can lead to moderate to very Sober House serious complications. When caught early and with effective treatment, the chances of slowing the progression of the disease are greater. This can help extend life-expectancy after diagnosis. An excess amount of body fat can damage your liver. Talk to your doctor about a weight-loss plan if you are obese or overweight. A large proportion of people who develop liver cancer have pre-existing cirrhosis. Portal hypertension can cause blood to be redirected to smaller veins.

You May Have Itchy Skin

About the size of a football, it’s located mainly in the upper right portion of your abdomen — beneath the diaphragm and above your stomach. A small portion extends into the upper left quadrant. While you’re being monitored, you’ll likely need to give frequent blood samples. If you’ve lost a lot of blood, your doctor may recommend a blood transfusion. They may also suggest transfusing certain blood compounds that help your blood to clot.

This tends to result from the body retaining water in the abdomen or legs. Note that when you begin to have physical symptoms of liver disease, it may mean it has progressed to the later stage, known as decompensated cirrhosis. The liver’s process of filtering alcohol out of your blood creates harmful chemicals. Drink too much booze for too long a time and those chemicals damage your liver. The first stage of alcoholic liver damage, when extra fat builds up, is called alcoholic fatty liver. If you keep drinking, you’re likely to get alcoholic hepatitis, cirrhosis, and eventually liver failure. Sometimes liver damage or even liver failure and related symptoms will be acute, or come on quickly.

These toxins can then build up in the brain and cause mental confusion and difficulty concentrating. With time, hepatic encephalopathy can progress to unresponsiveness or coma. If you notice you suddenly start bruising easily, it can be due to liver damage. “The liver is a primary organ making proteins and other factors helping to help with normal blood clotting which helps to stop bleeding from occurring,” explains Dr. Do. Similarly, small bumps which would not otherwise cause bruising, can lead to large bruises taking prolonged time to heal. Decreased Appetite– Early-stage liver damage often causes nausea, weight loss, disinterest in food or a combination of the three. Furthermore, the first stage of hepatitis can bring on flu-like symptoms such as an upset stomach. Be proactive and visit a doctor if you notice significant changes in your appetite or digestive health in general. Loss of appetite is a common cause of liver disease.