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The human liver is the largest solid internal organ in the human body and the second largest organ of the body.
It is the organ responsible for several other vital functions, including- filtering toxins from the body’s blood supply and regulating blood clotting.
Liver Diseases
With the current lifestyle of our generation, Liver diseases are becoming more common and about 1 in 10 Americans have some kind of Liver Disease, whether it’s a viral infection or a problem with the immune system. If not treated properly, it can cause Liver Failure or even Liver Cancer.
Causes of Liver Disease
Different types of causes lead to different types of liver diseases. These Causes include Hepatitis A, B, and C also known as viral infections, immune system abnormality, Hereditary Diseases, and Cancer.
Symptoms of Liver Disease
Symptoms may vary based on the type of the liver Disease, For some types, it does not cause any symptoms but for other types of liver diseases The most common symptoms may include:
- Abdominal Pain
- Nausea or vomiting
- Loss of appetite
- Changes in the color of your urine or stool
- Chronic Fatigue
- Itchy Skin and so on.
How to maintain a healthy liver
The best way to avoid liver diseases is to take active steps toward a healthy life. You can adopt the below habits to keep your liver healthy.
1. Drink Responsibly
As much as you can, avoid excessive alcohol consumption and beverages. They destroy liver cells, cause scarring, and can even lead to health conditions such as cirrhosis.
2. Maintain a healthy weight
Eat a balanced diet and exercise regularly to reduce liver fat and fatty liver diseases.
3. Avoid abusing drugs
Drug abuse, such as self-medication, not following medical instructions, and mixing drugs with alcohol are some of the easiest ways to encourage liver function loss.
4. Practice safe sex
Excluding the risk of pregnancy or HIV that one gets exposed to during unprotected sex, you may contract hepatitis B and hepatitis C.
5. Avoid contaminated needles and sharing personal hygiene equipment
Always ensure that needles and sharp instruments that penetrate your skin are new and sterilized to avoid liver diseases like hepatitis C. Peradventure a needle used on you for a piercing or tattoo was unsterilized, do follow up with testing at Afriglobal Medicare.
Also, avoid sharing personal hygiene items like razors, toothbrushes, and nail clippers. This is because these items can carry microscopic levels of blood or other body fluids that may be contaminated and transmitted to you.
6. Avoid Toxins
When using cleaning or harmful products, try to keep your environment well aerated and wear a mask, so you do not pollute your body.
How to know if your liver is healthy
To establish your liver’s health, you can carry out a liver function test at Afriglobal Medicare to screen for liver diseases or monitor a disease’s progression and damage. At Afriglobal Medicare a liver function test costs only N6,800, and results are out within 6-8 hours.
Types of Liver Function Tests:
These findings will be used by your doctor to help them make a diagnosis or decide what kind of treatment you might require
• Alanine transaminase (ALT) test
• Aspartate transaminase (AST).
• Alkaline phosphatase (ALP).
• Albumin and total protein.
• Bilirubin.
• Gamma-glutamyltransferase (GGT).
• L-lactate dehydrogenase (LD).
• Prothrombin time (PT).
• Imaging tests
Liver regeneration and diseases
An interesting fact about the liver is its resilience and ability to regenerate itself after damage. However, despite its ability to regenerate, the liver is not invincible. General liver diseases can affect it badly which may lead to serious issues later.
The liver is a vulnerable organ to disease-related harm. In order to fight illnesses and regenerate, one must be healthy. Thus, it is important to follow the above-mentioned health tips.
Read more of our health posts or schedule a liver function test right away to continue learning how to take better care of your health.