The main causes of liver enlargement, the consequences and signs of the disease

The liver is one of the most important organs in the human body, in which many vital chemical reactions are realized. This is a laboratory that synthesizes hormones, enzymes, vitamins, bile and detoxifying toxins. The reasons for the increase in the liver may vary, but when the body stops working normally, its magnitude also changes. In medicine, this deviation is called hepatomegaly. This is not an independent pathology and most often it relates to diseases of other organs. The liver can reach a huge size and occupy a large half of the abdominal cavity, and the weight of the organ sometimes exceeds 15 kg.

Causes of an increase in the size of the body

The liver accumulates excess fat in order to further implement them to build the synthesis of enzymes and hormones responsible for metabolic processes in the body. Thus, the accumulation of fat - this is the so-called free fatty acids, strategic reserves for the proper functioning of the body as a whole. The mechanism of fat storage in the liver differently develops in different groups of patients, so the causes of enlarged liver may differ.

An enlarged organ in a person who abusers drinking alcoholic beverages, fats are realized to protect liver cells from poisoning. When a woman sits on a strict diet, the postponement of fats in the liver involves creating a reserve for the normal functioning of the body. In addition, the increase in the liver is noted in lovers of dense food.

Signs of formation of liver enlargement

The liver of a healthy person is on the right in the upper part of the abdominal cavity, that is, in the right side. The organ performs the work of the digestive gland. In a healthy state, the liver weighs about 1.5 kg. The first symptoms of an increase in the size of the body are noted almost immediately - a person complains of uncomfortable sensations, the presence of something superfluous in the right side. When the position of the body changes in the abdominal cavity, a dense lump is felt through palpation.

Hepatomegaly always develops with dyspeptic manifestations - nausea, heartburn, bad breath from the mouth and stools. The skin and sclera turn yellow, "the liver sprouts" form on the skin, the patient complains of the itching of the skin and mucous membranes.

An enlarged liver, which manifests itself with the listed symptoms, requires an immediate visit to a specialist who, with the help of palpation, will detect the degree of increase, border and density of the organ. The physician should know the patient's entire medical history, the diseases he had suffered earlier, harmful addictions, poisoning, working and rest conditions. Subsequently, it is necessary to organize laboratory and instrumental diagnostics - ultrasound, MRI, helping to establish the condition and the possibility of bile ducts.

The patient must submit biochemical blood tests that help evaluate the functioning and enzyme status of the liver. In most situations, diagnostic laparoscopy helps to identify the exact cause of the pathological condition. A biopsy involving the taking of liver tissue for examination helps to diagnose cancer or fatty pathology.

The procedure for diagnosing with increasing liver size

The diagnosis can be made correctly if there is a suspicion of an increase in liver size only after the following diagnostic steps:

• Clinical examination of the patient, which includes the collection of medical history data, palpation of the liver, listening to the organ to determine its truesize, density and shape.
• Ultrasound diagnosis.
• Blood test for establishing the activity of hepatic enzymes.
• Computed tomography and radioisotope examination of the liver, which will help to exclude tumor growths and other liver diseases.
• Additional methods of instrumental diagnostics and laboratory diagnostics.

Effective Approaches to Correction of Pathology

Treatment of enlarged liver should be performed immediately after diagnosis. The disease is caused by liver failure. Sometimes specialists spend an urgent hospitalization of the patient.

First of all, treatment should presuppose correction of the underlying causative pathology. Drug therapy for enlarged liver usually involves the use of hepatoprotectors. Together with medicines, traditional medicines are used, such as decoctions of sage, motherwort, chicory, peony and dandelion.

A major role in the healing process, especially when the liver is enlarged in a child, is played by adherence to a special therapeutic diet. Food consists in the exclusion from the diet, flour, sharp, fried foods. It is recommended that patients consume lean fish, sour-milk products, cereals, cereals and vegetables soups, fruits, vegetables, jam and marmalade, honey as much as possible.

It is best to completely abandon alcoholic beverages, marinated products, goose, pork, lamb, nuts and legumes, and limit the consumption of cheese, butter, eggs, tomato and cooked sausage. These are general tips for enlarging the liver, but specialists can give individual recommendations to each patient, depending on the health and severity of the lesion. With their strict adherence, positive results and the effect of drug therapy will soon be visible.

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