Cirrhosis

Cirrhosis is the irreversible damage to the liver. Cirrhosis has different causes and symptoms. These reasons may affect treatment.

Depending on different diseases and causes, different levels of damage can occur in the liver. If this damage continues, irreversible changes may occur in the structure of the liver. Over time, the liver hardens, shrinks and becomes unable to function.

Liver cirrhosis is the stage in which the liver, which we call compensated, has not yet lost its function. This return can last for years, clinical signs are not seen other than weakness and weakness. This stage can be detected with blood tests and biopsy. In the decompensated cirrhosis stage, it can lead to fatal results such as varicose bleeding, jaundice, accumulation of fluid in the abdomen (ascites), infection, accumulation of toxic wastes in the body, and coma. At this point, the only life-saving option is to replace the diseased liver with a healthy liver. However, the patient’s life can be saved with organ transplantation.

What Causes Cirrhosis?

There are different causes of cirrhosis. The most common causes are:

• Viral infections (Hepatitis B, C),
• Alcohol,
• Exposure to toxic substances (eg herbal or medicinal drugs, copper or iron accumulation in the liver)
• Liver damage lasting for years with blockade of the biliary (biliary) system

Obesity and or diabetes If the problem is not corrected or treated in time, cirrhosis will occur and it is often too late to change the course of the disease.

What Are the Symptoms of Cirrhosis?

Symptoms of cirrhosis, in which normal liver cells begin to differentiate and the liver loses its functions, can be divided into early and late stages.

Early symptoms:

Extreme weakness, tiredness, drowsiness, yellowing of the eyes and urine (mild jaundice), swelling of the feet, itching, anemia (low hemoglobin level/ anemia).

Late symptoms:

He may experience many life-threatening complications such as vomiting blood, fluid accumulation in the abdominal cavity (ascites), easy bruising and bleeding tendency, dark urine, clouding of consciousness, coma, intense jaundice, kidney disorder and liver cancer.

Living with Cirrhosis (Dos and Don’ts)

Although cirrhosis means irreversible damage to the liver, a person with an early stage of cirrhosis (Child A or early Child B) can lead a highly active life for many years with appropriate treatment by liver specialists. On the other hand, advanced (Child C stage) cirrhosis indicates the need for liver transplantation for which expert opinion should be sought.

Detailed evaluation with a liver specialist is required to grade the disease and determine appropriate treatment.

Regular liver function tests and monitoring should be performed every 3 months in early cirrhosis and every 1-4 weeks in advanced cirrhosis. The frequency of check-ups is determined by your doctor depending on the symptoms of the disease and the severity of the disease.

In chronic liver disease, a healthy diet is crucial for optimal liver function. Contrary to popular belief, except for the presence of severe jaundice, the digestive system of patients can function normally until the very advanced stages of liver disease.

  Therefore, the need to completely avoid fatty foods and proteins in all types of liver disease is not quite true. This misinformation among the public can cause many liver patients to be deprived of food, lose weight and deteriorate their health faster.

There are also drug treatment options that your doctor deems appropriate for hepatitis B and hepatitis C-induced cirrhosis.

Don’ts

Although cirrhosis means irreversible damage to the liver, a person with an early stage of cirrhosis (Child A or early Child B) can lead a highly active life for many years with appropriate treatment by liver specialists. On the other hand, alcohol should be avoided at all costs in advanced (Child C stage) cirrhosis, alcoholic cirrhosis, and alcohol should be limited in all other cirrhosis types, especially hepatitis C.

Excessive physical activity should be avoided, especially in viral cirrhosis. However, this does not mean constant and mandatory bed rest.

It is recommended to maintain a reasonable level of movement and activity.

Contact sports should be avoided in advanced stages of cirrhosis due to insufficient blood clotting and bleeding tendency.

Since the liver is insufficient, drugs used randomly can damage the liver and the whole body. For this reason, the use of any medication, vitamin, supplement product should be avoided without consulting a doctor.

Is Cirrhosis Contagious?

The contagiousness of cirrhosis depends on the agent. If the agent is hepatitis b c and d, they can be transmitted in their own way, as we shared with you in the previous videos.

Apart from that, there is absolutely no contagiousness in hepatitis d, fatty liver, primary biliary colonitis, primary sclerosing colonitis and other causes.

In short, I can say that cirrhosis is not contagious if there are no viral factors.

What Causes Cirrhosis?

Viral hepatitis is the most common cause of liver cirrhosis in our country. When we say viral hepatitis, hepatitis b virus c virus and d virus. The second frequency is alcohol use, and the third is fatty liver disease.

Fatty liver is now a part of liver transplant patients.

Later causes, which we call metabolic causes, Wilson’s disease with excess copper in the body, and liver cirrhosis can be seen in the tables we call hemochromatosis with iron excess.

If we count among the rarer causes, liver cirrhosis occurs in the later period in diseases we call primary sclerosing colonic primary biliary colonjitpr with the destruction of the bile ducts in the liver.

Drug use is among the rarer causes. The drug, which we call methotrexate, which is used especially in rheumatic diseases, can be the cause of liver cirrhosis in long-term intensive use.

Is Cirrhosis Cancer?

Cirrhosis is definitely not cancer. However, an increased risk of cancer in the later stage of cirrhosis is not seen in every patient with cirrhosis, but liver cancer can be seen in some patients with cirrhosis.

Therefore, we routinely screen our patients with cirrhosis for liver cancer risks twice a year.

Is Cirrhosis a Deadly Disease?

The contagiousness of cirrhosis depends on the agent. If the agent is hepatitis b c and d, they can be transmitted in their own way, as we shared with you in the previous videos.

Apart from that, there is absolutely no contagiousness in hepatitis d, fatty liver, primary biliary colonitis, primary sclerosing colonitis and other causes.

In short, I can say that cirrhosis is not contagious if there are no viral factors