March 18 is National Liver Love Day. The liver is the most important organ of the internal organs, the hub of metabolism, and the “chemical factory” of the human body. It undertakes important functions of synthesis and metabolism, and is also very important for immune defense and blood coagulation.
You Shaoli, Deputy Director and Chief Physician, Department of Hepatology, Department of Hepatology, Fifth Medical Center, PLA General Hospital, introduced that the liver belongs to the digestive system in human anatomy, so when liver disease occurs, it is mainly the symptoms of the digestive system as the main performance. When hepatitis is obvious, it is manifested as indigestion, loss of appetite, nausea, oil loathing, fatigue, and even yellowing of the skin and sclera and yellow urine. In addition, some patients with chronic advanced liver disease, such as decompensated cirrhosis, will develop ascites, gastrointestinal bleeding, and hepatic encephalopathy.
“The liver is a ‘silent’ organ. Since there is no nerve distribution in the liver, mild or early liver disease often does not have any symptoms, and patients will not feel pain in the liver area.” You Shaoli suggested, Patients with chronic liver disease must undergo regular re-examination, and cannot wait for symptoms before seeking medical attention. Early detection and early treatment are the strategies for the prevention and treatment of liver disease.
So, how to prevent liver disease? You Shaoli said that there are more than 100 kinds of liver diseases, among which the common ones are viral hepatitis B, alcoholic liver disease, fatty liver and drug-induced hepatitis.
The most effective way to prevent hepatitis B virus infection is to get the hepatitis B vaccine. After vaccination, the protective effect of antibody responders generally lasts up to 30 years.
Alcoholic liver disease is a liver disease caused by long-term heavy drinking. The initial stage of alcoholic liver disease is usually fatty liver, which can progress to alcoholic hepatitis, liver fibrosis and cirrhosis. Severe alcohol abuse can induce extensive hepatocyte necrosis and even liver failure.
Fatty liver refers to a disease caused by excessive accumulation of fat in liver cells due to various reasons. The most common cause is obesity. Generally speaking, fatty liver is a reversible disease, and early diagnosis and timely treatment can return to normal.
Drug-induced hepatitis refers to liver damage caused by drugs, diets, and Chinese herbal medicines that the human body takes. The key to prevention is not to abuse drugs, including weight loss, beauty care, health care drugs, etc., take medication under the guidance of a doctor, seek medical attention in time if you find discomfort, and stop suspected liver damage drugs; do not overdose, some patients take drugs without obvious effect, just add them on their own. Large doses of drugs can easily lead to liver damage; taking traditional Chinese medicines also needs to strengthen the monitoring of adverse drug reactions, and use them under the guidance of professional doctors. (Intern Li Jiayue also contributed to this book)
(Assist in filming: Geng Feng, Guo Yanghu, Miao Yidan Guyu)
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