Alcoholic liver disease: Symptoms, treatment, and causes

Severe alcoholic hepatitis can come on suddenly, such as after binge drinking, and can be life threatening. If someone with this condition has alcohol use disorder, a healthcare provider will need to set up a treatment plan. This plan will help manage the condition as well as the withdrawal symptoms that may occur with abstinence. Alcoholic fatty liver disease can be reversed by abstaining from alcohol for at least several weeks.

What are the early signs of liver damage from alcohol?

Second, alcoholism can lead to a condition called thrombocytopenia, which is a low level of platelets in the blood. Platelets help the blood clot, so a low level of them can cause easy bruising. Finally, alcoholics may have a deficiency of vitamin C, which is important for healing wounds. If you bruise easily and are worried that it may be a sign of alcoholism, talk to your doctor. This article explores the early signs and symptoms of alcoholic liver disease, its stages, causes, risk factors, treatments, and prevention. While the sustained disruption of healing is discouraging, it presents multiple potential approaches for intervention.

[Podcast] Episode 8: Harm Reduction in Alcohol Health with Expert Dr. Andrew Tatarsky

Having hepatitis C or other liver diseases with heavy alcohol use can rapidly increase the development of cirrhosis. Although both types of hepatitis are marked by inflammation of the liver, alcoholic hepatitis is caused by excessive alcohol consumption, where viral hepatitis is caused by several viruses such as hepatitis A, B, C, D or E. Alcoholic fatty liver disease appears early on as fat deposits accumulate in the liver. People who consume four to five standard drinks per day over decades can develop fatty liver disease.

Signs of easy bruising

One of the major difficulties involved in deciphering the direct effects of alcohol from indirect effects on the various cell populations involved in wound repair is due to the promiscuity of alcohol and its metabolites. Collectively, the prolonged consequences of alcohol exposure on dermal tissue repair (Figure 3) evoke concern for intoxicated trauma patients who may succumb to opportunistic infections after injury and/or surgical intervention. In addition, a support group can help you cope with the life changes you’re experiencing as a result of your condition.

Having a high body mass index (BMI, a calculation based on height and weight but not taking into account other variables affecting weight) has been shown to increase mortality rates (being subject to death) and the risk of liver cancer. Reducing weight if you’re overweight, eating a healthy diet, and regular exercise can help someone with early ALD who has stopped drinking decrease their risk of advanced liver disease. Fatty liver disease can often be reversed by stopping drinking alcohol.

• To detect blood disorders, physicians frequently examine small blood samples (known as blood smears) under a microscope and assess the appearance, size, and number of the various blood cells.
• This review presents examples of the tissue-specific harm resulting from the alteration of basic signaling pathways by alcohol and by enhanced oxidative stress.
• If you do have symptoms, they may include pain or discomfort in the upper right side of your abdomen, fatigue, or unexplained weight loss.
• Disruption of multiple molecular processes by alcohol contributes to myopathy and muscle atrophy, with the accumulation of oxidative stress playing a major role.
• Although both types of hepatitis are marked by inflammation of the liver, alcoholic hepatitis is caused by excessive alcohol consumption, where viral hepatitis is caused by several viruses such as hepatitis A, B, C, D or E.

Having hepatitis C increases the risk, and a person who consumes alcohol regularly and has had any type of hepatitis faces a higher chance of developing liver disease. Females who consume high amounts of alcohol and also carry excess body weight have a greater chance of developing chronic liver disease. Cirrhosis occurs when the liver has been inflamed for a long time, leading to scarring and loss of function. Cirrhosis damage is irreversible, but a person can prevent further damage by continuing to avoid alcohol. Alcoholic hepatitis is a severe syndrome of alcoholic liver disease. Hepatitis is a general term for swelling and inflammation of the liver from any cause.

• When this happens, blood leaks out of the vessels and initially appears as a dark mark.
• Under conditions of folic acid deficiency, precursor cells cannot divide properly and large immature and nonfunctional cells (i.e., megaloblasts) accumulate in the bone marrow as well as in the bloodstream.

Alcohol’s indirect effects include nutritional deficiencies that impair the production and function of various blood cells. The canonical Wnt signaling pathway plays a crucial role in bone formation (Gong et al., 2001), mesenchymal stem cell differentiation (Hill et al., 2005), and bone fracture repair (Chen et al., 2007). Alcohol exposure prior to fracture resulted in decreased callus size and altered cellular composition, indicating that alcohol may inhibit both cartilage and bone formation in the fracture callus. Osteoblast and chondrocyte cells share a common mesenchymal stem cell precursor, which requires tight regulation of β-catenin expression and activity for proper differentiation.

Untreated Alcoholic Liver Disease Complications

Nerves don’t have a resilient ability to regenerate if they are severely damaged. So, the nerve damage of alcoholic neuropathy is generally permanent and likely to worsen if the person does not stop drinking. Alcoholic neuropathy signs and symptoms can progress gradually and are usually what causes bruising in alcoholics subtle at first. In fact, a person who drinks heavily might not recognize that the symptoms they are experiencing are related to their alcohol consumption. Topical and systemic corticosteroids can be used to treat various conditions, including allergies, asthma and eczema.