Hepatitis is the first step of a long stairway that leads to complications as liver insufficiency or cancer. Or, in other words, to death.
The liver is an organ that greatly influences all body functions.
Hepatitis is a term referring only to liver inflammation. This situation could exist due to several causes, like infections and non-infectious. Importantly, the latter is greatly influenced by lifestyle habits.
So, let's jump into the first one.
From liver infections, viral microorganisms are a leading cause in the United States. This disease's name is viral hepatitis. And, three viruses cause most of the infections, such as Hepatitis A, Hepatitis B, and Hepatitis C viruses. Besides, the two latter can become chronic and yield awful complications, as can be a liver failure or liver cancer.
Furthermore, there are other possible causes of viral hepatitis, although rarer. The list will include viruses like Epstein-Barr virus. The other infection sources comprise all the different types of microorganisms, such as bacteria, fungi, and parasites. They are not as common, but also a possibility.
Now, lifestyle habits affecting the liver and other diseases.
These causes are several, including alcohol, drugs, metabolic diseases, or immune system dysregulations (also known as autoimmune diseases). The most common are the ones that, luckily, are subject to modification if they have an early diagnosis, like metabolic conditions.
Moreover, excessive alcohol consumption is a global problem. And, more specifically, the problem is that the liver is the site where its metabolism takes place. Therefore, heavy drinking produces liver injuries.
Similarly, obesity is another widespread problem worldwide. It is worth remembering that obesity and, more specifically, abdominal obesity are linked to many metabolic disorders. This factor, plus many others, are related to non-alcoholic fatty liver disease, which is the most common cause of elevated liver enzymes. Hence, of hepatitis.
Importantly, it would be great to talk now about the importance of hepatitis.
Hepatitis is the first step of a long stairway that leads to complications as liver insufficiency or cancer. Or, in other words, to death. Therefore, it is mandatory to diagnose any liver injury early for preventing such outcomes.
Whenever the liver receives an injury of whatever type, it has typical symptoms that are characteristic of the liver. Besides, each particular harmful entity could display other signs or symptoms that grabs the doctor's attention and raise the suspicion on a specific illness affecting the liver.
Luckily, it is possible to reduce liver inflammation, and there are a couple of things people can do. The most effective way aside from pharmacological treatment is the change of lifestyle to have a healthy liver. Dietary changes, in fact, are the first to be considered; the diet should be based on the food pyramid.
This tool is a hepatitis symptoms checker. It will help to assess how likely it is for someone to have either of these conditions. To use the tool is free, and it would only take a few minutes.
Originally published at https://symptoms.care on June 26, 2020.
