Early Fatty Liver Disease Symptoms
Fatty liver is known as hepatic steatosis. Fatty liver occurs when the fat builds up in the liver. Small amounts of fat in your liver is normal, but too much fat in the liver can become a health problem. The second-largest organ in your body is the liver, and it helps process nutrients from food and filters out harmful elements from the blood. Liver swelling or inflammation is the outcome of having too much fat in your liver, which can harm your liver and create scarring. In critical cases, scarring can lead to liver failure.
If fatty liver develops in someone who drinks much alcohol, it’s known as Alcoholic Fatty Liver Disease (AFLD). If it grows in someone who doesn’t drink much alcohol, it’s known as non-alcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD).
In many cases, fatty liver causes no detectable signs, although you may feel weak or encounter pain or discomfort in the upper right side of your stomach.
Let’s go through the types of fatty liver:
Nonalcoholic Fatty Liver Disease (NAFLD)
The two different types of non-alcoholic fatty liver disease are the following:
Simple fatty liver:
Simple fatty liver suggests you have fat in your liver, but you may not have any swelling in your liver. It normally doesn’t get severe or cause issues with your liver. In most cases, people with NAFLD have simple fatty liver.
Non-alcoholic steatohepatitis (NASH):
Non-alcoholic steatohepatitis is much more severe than a simple fatty liver. NASH suggests you have swelling in your liver. The swelling and liver cell damage that happen with NASH can cause some grave conditions like fibrosis and cirrhosis, which are the types that can cause liver scarring and liver cancer.
Following are the types of ALD – Alcohol-Related Fatty Liver Disease:
Alcohol-Related Fatty Liver Disease (ALD)
Alcoholic fatty liver disease is one of the preventable kinds of conditions. The condition gets better when you stop drinking alcohol, but if you keep drinking, ALD can cause serious health issues. These include:
Enlarged liver
- Enlarged liver doesn’t always show signs, but you may have pain or pain on the upper right side of your belly.
Alcoholic hepatitis.
- Alcoholic hepatitis is swelling in the liver that can cause fever, nausea, and vomiting.
- It can also cause belly pain and jaundice.
The alcohol-related fatty liver disease typically comes first.
The condition of Alcohol-Related Fatty Liver Disease can get more severe and turn into alcoholic hepatitis. Over time, it can also turn into alcoholic cirrhosis. If you drink heavily daily, consult with your doctor as they can help you manage your drinking to save your health.
What are fatty liver symptoms?
Several signs indicate fatty liver, but you might not notice them. You might not even notice that you have liver fatty symptoms.
- Tiredness and weakness
- Little pain or fullness in the right or center abdominal region.
- High levels of liver enzymes – AST and ALT
- Raised insulin levels
- High triglyceride levels
The following are the fatty liver disease symptoms when progress to NASH:
- Loss of appetite
- Nausea and vomiting
- Abdominal pain – Moderate to Severe.
- Yellowing of skin and eyes
It’s crucial to consult your doctor periodically for regular examinations and blood tests that can diagnose fatty liver at the beginning, which is a reversible stage.
What is the treatment for fatty liver?
Currently, there are no medicines have been approved to heal
fatty liver disease. More research is required to develop and test medications to treat the condition.
In many cases, lifestyle shifts can assist in reversing fatty
liver disease. For instance, your doctor may recommend you to:
- restrict or avoid alcohol
- take measures to lose weight
- to make modifications to your diet
Liver Cirrhosis can lead to liver failure. If you develop liver
failure, you may require a liver transplant.
What are the Home remedies for fatty liver?
Lifestyle modifications are the first-line remedy for fatty liver disease. It all comes down to your current health condition and lifestyle habits. However, if you decide to alter your habits, it can lead you to lose weight, lessen your alcohol intake, consume a nutrient-rich healthy diet that’s low in excess calories, saturated fat, and trans fats. With all of the above, you need to get at least 30 minutes of exercise most days of the week.
The fatty liver condition is reversible if proper care is taken at the beginning of the stage. So make sure you do take care of your lifestyle if you have a fatty liver condition.
