Alcohol use disorder can be treated with an array of medications but few people have heard of them

Seek medical help right away if you have belly pain that is so bad that you can’t stay still. Liver disease can be passed through families, called inherited. Anything that damages the liver also can cause liver problems, including viruses, alcohol use and obesity. The liver is an organ that sits just under the rib cage on the right side of the abdomen. The liver is needed to help digest food, rid the body of waste products and make substances, called clotting factors, that keep the blood flowing well, among other tasks.

Healthy liver vs. liver cirrhosis

Established alcoholic cirrhosis can manifest with decompensation without a preceding history of fatty liver or alcoholic hepatitis. Alternatively, alcoholic cirrhosis may be diagnosed concurrently with acute alcoholic hepatitis. The symptoms and signs of alcoholic cirrhosis do not help to differentiate it from other causes of cirrhosis. With alcohol abstinence, morphologic changes of the fatty liver usually revert to normal. As more scar tissue forms in the liver, it becomes harder for it to function.

What types of liver damage are caused by drinking alcohol?

Cirrhosis is the top risk factor for the development of the most common type of liver cancer called hepatocellular carcinoma. About 80% to 90% of people who develop hepatocellular carcinoma have cirrhosis. If you alcoholic liver disease have a more serious form of alcohol-related liver disease, such as alcohol-related hepatitis or cirrhosis, your doctor will advise you to stop drinking completely (lifelong abstinence) to prevent further damage.

• Chronic drinking can also result in a condition known as alcohol-related liver disease.
• The assessment involves talking to liver transplant specialists and having tests to check your liver and general health, including the strength of your heart and lungs.
• Initial tests would include blood tests and possibly imaging tests such as ultrasound.

Overview of Chronic Liver Disease

That threshold is not known and varies by individual risk factors (1). Talk to your doctor if you think you have a problem with drinking or are at risk for developing liver disease. They can refer you to programs to help you stop drinking and improve the health of your liver. Cirrhosis is considered end stage liver disease as it cannot be reversed and can lead to liver failure. Cirrhosis is further categorized as compensated and decompensated. In liver failure, the liver is severely damaged and can no longer function.

Epidemiology and Risk Factors

Most people with this condition have had at least seven drinks a day for 20 years or more. This can mean 7 glasses of wine, 7 beers, or 7 shots of spirits. It’s important to identify the trigger whenever possible in case the condition is reversible.

Permanent Damage From Alcoholic Liver Disease

• In heavy drinkers, only 1 in 5 develops alcoholic hepatitis and 1 in 4 develops cirrhosis.
• You should also have fibrosis tests to check the scarring in your liver every 2 years.
• Alcoholic hepatitis occurs when the liver becomes damaged and inflamed.
• Many people aren’t diagnosed until their disease has become serious.