Seventy-five percent of liver disease is entirely avoidable. Moreover, major and life-threatening liver conditions are effects of alcohol. Of the entire population who receive liver transplants, nearly 50% are frequent alcohol drinkers, and as many as 10% of the transplant recipients are severe alcohol addicts. Some major effects of alcohol on the liver are discussed below:
First is a fatty liver, which can be completely reversed if the patient abstains from drinking alcohol. On the contrary however, where the patients still insists on drinking, a fatty liver can progress into alcoholic hepatitis, a chronic inflammation of the liver. It can further develop into fever, jaundice and abdominal pain, and abdominal conditions, such as cholecystitis, which is gall bladder inflammation. If diagnosed late, alcohol hepatitis is fatal and can call for dangerous surgery.
The most serious form of alcoholic related illness is Cirrhosis. The disease occurs when scarred tissue on the liver develops to the point where blood no longer flows through the vessels. The liver actually shrinks and becomes hard, destroying the very essential functions of the organ. While normally, there might be a progression from the fatty liver to alcoholic hepatitis to cirrhosis, the end condition- cirrhosis, can occur without going through the other stages. Transplant is the only treatment for this condition, without which alcoholic hepatitis and cirrhosis become common causes of death in severe alcoholics. Even alcohol detox cannot help in this kind of cases.
Alcohol addiction-related liver diseases can also be a step to the development of liver cancer. In alcoholics, the sheer amount of alcohol can contribute to the development of cancer. Further, Hepititis B Virus (HBV) and Hepititis C Virus (HCV) are the two leading causes of liver cancer worldwide, often caused by dirty needles, and infection rates are very high. Once the problematic liver has failed to screen the disease, patients who do not undergo transplants usually die.
After transplant or a successful treatment of the liver, the only standard treatment of therapy to follow is abstinence or alcohol detox. Aside from the liver issues, there are other factors that can be used to determine success rates, such as use of tobacco and dietary habits. For liver transplants, it is understandable that those who screen applicants for liver transplants have the difficult task of sorting through the candidates and determining who is likely to receive the greatest benefit from the procedure. It is a terrible waste that the recipient only continues drinking heavily, where the transplant will only delay the inevitable.
Related posts:
