Cirrhosis - a characteristic and causes of the development of a dangerous disease

Cirrhosis of the liver is a pathology that develops due to circulatory disorders in the vessels of the organ and disruption of the bile ducts. Usually, the disease affects the body against the already developing chronic hepatitis and is characterized by a complete violation of the architectonics of the hepatic tissue.

As for the risk group of people who may become infected with the disease, they are male, especially after the age of forty-five. The incidence of injury according to medical statistics around the world is on average 6%.Thanks to the latest active methods of treatment and prevention of cirrhosis, lethal outcome is noted in no more than 50 out of 100,000 cases.

Causes of a pathological condition of the liver

The main reasons that a person can be affected by cirrhosis include:

• Viral form of hepatitis. Typically, the development of the disease leads to hepatitis C - in 97% of cases and while a long time the disease may not manifest itself.
• Autoimmune form of hepatitis - the human body begins to perceive itself as an alien cell.
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• Abuse of alcoholic beverages, when liver cirrhosis occurs 10 to 15 years after ingestion of 60 g per day for the male and 30 g per day for female representatives.
• Metabolic disorders.
• The effect of chemicals and drugs on the work of the body.
• Pathologies of the bile ducts - for example, blockage of the bile ducts inside or outside the liver. Cirrhosis occurs three to eighteen months after blockage of the bile duct.
• Long stagnation of venous blood in the liver.

This is important! Often the cause of the disease that provoked its progression can not be established. In this situation, a diagnosis is made of cryptogenic cirrhosis, that is, pathologies of an unknown cause.

What symptoms will indicate the defeat of

As for the manifestations of the disease, there are a lot of them. The degree of liver damage directly depends on the stage of the course of the pathology and the presence of additional chronic diseases in the patient. In this case, not only violations in the functioning of the body are noted, but also negative influence on other systems and organs in the human body.

Symptoms of cirrhosis are characterized by slow development and a gradual increase in the intensity of signs of the disease.

Often occurs latent flow. It is very dangerous in the first place because the patient does not complain about anything and therefore does not apply for medical care, visiting the doctor only after five to six years at the complication stage. When diagnosing serious co-morbidities, death can occur only one year after the diagnosis.

Any form of cirrhosis of the liver is accompanied by asthenovegetative symptoms - it is an unexplained weakness, impaired ability to work, a worsening of appetite and a feeling of frequent heartbeat. Pain, as a rule, is felt in the right hypochondrium and has a aching character, intensifying after strong physical exertion. The development of pain is due to the increase in liver size and irritation of nerve endings located in the capsule.

Frequent early signs of defeat are hemorrhagic manifestations - bleeding gums and discharge of blood from the nasal cavity. Hemorrhagic manifestations are caused by a lack of production in the liver of the main factors responsible for blood coagulability. Patients in this situation complain of pain along the direction of the intestine, nausea and severe heartburn. In the projection of hypochondrium on the right side there is a feeling of heaviness and pain of a bursting nature.

A frequent manifestation of the disease is an increase in body temperature to 37 degrees, and the last stage of the pathology can cause a short-term fever due to the additional attachment of infection and bowel disease.

Often it is cirrhosis of the liver that can be associated in people with other disorders in the digestive process, so signs of dysbiosis - stool disorders, pain along the direction of the intestine, nausea, belching - can also attach. At the same time, chronic pancreatitis, manifested by epigastric pain and heartburn, can develop.

Patients with severe forms of cirrhosis note the absence of all forms of sensitivity - temperature, tactile and pain - this indicates the progression of polyneuropathy.

In the last stages of the disease, the symptoms of complications develop, because with the additional development of portal hypertension, in addition to the digestive organs, the organs of the nervous, hormonal and circulatory system are damaged. Thus, with prolonged accumulation in the intestine of metabolic products - namely ammonia, which is toxic to brain cells - the damage to cellular structures in the nervous tissue begins and the manifestation of the symptoms of liver encephalopathy begins.

The development of the last stage of the disease

The terminal stage of cirrhosis involves a marked deterioration in the work of all organs in the human body. She almost does not give in to treatment. At this stage, the organ is already greatly reduced in size, completely loses its ability to recover and has a stony structure.

The appearance of the patient itself also manifests itself as characteristic signs, since the diagnosis of the onset of the disease will not be difficult for the doctor. The skin takes a gray shade, the hands, legs, face, belly swell greatly in size due to a significant accumulation of fluid in the abdominal cavity. On the surface of the abdominal wall, a dense network of veins becomes noticeable. Patients with cirrhosis at this stage need urgent hospitalization for drug correction and the minimum possible maintenance of all systems and organs.

How is cirrhosis treated?

Cirrhosis of the liver should be treated only in a hospital and under the supervision of a qualified physician. After the disease passes to the stage of decompensation, the patient is placed in the intensive care unit.

The main task of treatment of cirrhosis of the liver is to stop the influence on the body of the factors that provoked the disease, namely:

• Treatment of viral forms of hepatitis.
• Refusal from the use of alcohol and any narcotic drugs.
• Cancellation of certain toxic drugs - these can be antibiotics, paracetamol and psychotropic medications.

This is important! The patient must necessarily adhere to a sparing regimen, reducing physical exertion. Decompensation requires compliance with bed rest, which can give positive results, because it is in the prone position that a person activates enteroportal blood supply and regeneration processes.

The doctor appoints the patient a special diet - a diet under number 6. The use of protein foods and salt is restricted. With the development of encephalopathy, protein intake should be minimal.

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