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Your Liver and Hepatitis

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Your Liver and Hepatitis.

The Liver Facts
.
One out of every 10 Americans is affected by liver disease. Liver disease is one of the top 10 causes of death in the United States. There are more than100 liver diseases. The good news is we can help prevent the liver diseases and keep it healthy.

Overview of the liver.

The liver is the second largest organ in the body and is located under the cage on the right side. It weighs about three pounds and is shaped like a football that is flat on one side.
The liver performs many functions in the body. It processes what you eat and drink into energy and nutrients that your body can use. The liver also removes harmful substances from your blood.
Functions of the liver include:
• Filters your blood
• Makes proteins, including blood-clotting factors (needed to help you heal)
• Stores vitamins, sugars, fats, and other nutrients
• Helps regulate hormones
• Releases chemicals and nutrients into the body when needed
• Makes bile needed for digesting fats Liver damage can lead to swollen, shrunken, hard, or scarred liver tissue. Such livers do not work well, and the person can get very sick, or even die, if the liver stops working altogether.

Symptoms of liver disease

Acute
(When symptoms occur suddenly it is categorized as acute process)
Tiredness or weakness
Jaundice (yellowing of the eyes and skin)
Fever
Nausea and vomiting
Dark urine or very pale colored stools
Pain under the ribs on the right side
Up to half of all people with acute liver disease have no symptoms at all. Some types of acute liver diseases get better without treatment, and the liver heals itself entirely. On rare occasions an acute liver injury can require hospitalization and even a liver transplant right away.

Chronic
If something is continuing to affect the liver over time, after 6 months it is considered "chronic." Many people with chronic liver problems will have no symptoms at all and may not even know they have a liver problem. Sometimes they develop symptoms only when the liver has been damaged for many years.

Liver disease and other complications
-Liver disease is caused by damage to the liver. Liver damage can be caused by many factors including:
-Viral hepatitis (such as hepatitis A, hepatitis B, and hepatitis C.)
-Drinking alcohol heavily
-Being very overweight
-Certain medications--for example, acetaminophen (Tylenol), can cause severe liver damage in people who also have heavy alcohol use.
-Medications (including over-the-counter drugs)

Hepatitis A

Hepatitis A is caused by the hepatitis A virus (HAV).
Prevention:
• Always washing your hands with soap and warm water immediately after using the bathroom or changing a diaper
• Always washing your hands with soap and warm water before preparing or eating food. Hepatitis A vaccination is the best way to prevent HAV.

Hepatitis B

Hepatitis B is caused by the hepatitis B virus (HBV). HBV can cause the liver to swell and can lead to cirrhosis and liver cancer.
Prevention: Hepatitis B vaccination is the best way to prevent HBV. Other ways to stop the spread of HBV are:
• Not sharing needles
• Practicing safe sex
• Not sharing razors, tooth brushes or other personal items
• Using only clean needles for tattoos and body piercings.

Hepatitis C

Hepatitis C is caused by the hepatitis C virus (HCV). HCV can cause the liver to swell and can lead to cirrhosis and liver cancer.
Prevention: There is no vaccine to prevent HCV.
The only way to prevent HCV is to avoid direct contact with infected blood. Other ways to stop the spread of HCV are:
• Not sharing needles
• Practicing safe sex
• Not sharing razors, tooth brushes, or other personal items.

Alcoholic Liver Disease (Watch out Alcohol Lovers!)

Alcoholic liver disease is the most a common form that is seen in the United States and other parts of the world. People get alcoholic liver disease by drinking large amounts of alcohol for many years. It doesn't matter whether the alcohol comes from hard liquor, beer, or wine. Any type of alcohol can cause liver damage .Anything that damages the liver over many years can lead the liver to form scar tissue. When scar tissue builds up and takes over most of the liver, serious problem develops called cirrhosis (pronounced "sir-o-sis"). Cirrhosis can be caused by anything that damages the liver after years of irritation, not just alcohol. However, heavy alcohol usage and having the hepatitis C virus for a long time (such as 20 to 30 years) increases your risk.

One unit of an alcoholic beverage contains 10 grams of alcohol. A unit is roughly equivalent to: One 12-ounce bottle of beer (5% alcohol) One 4-ounce glass of wine (12% alcohol) One 1-ounce shot of hard liquor (40% alcohol)
So how much alcohol is too much? It depends on whether you're a man or a woman. Studies have shown that women experience liver disease at lower levels of alcohol intake than men.

Many liver specialists would agree that liver disease is likely at these levels:
For women: 4 or more units of alcohol daily for at least a year
For men: 6 or more units of alcohol daily for at least a year
Some people will experience liver damage even if they drink much less. The good news is that the livers of heavy drinkers can improve if they stop drinking entirely.

Tattoos with Hepatitis C?

Survey Shows 24 Percent of Americans Ages 18-50 are tattooed according to Journal of the American Academy of Dermatology.
Research from the American Association for the Study of Liver Diseases showed that out of 3,871 people studied (half with hepatitis C and half without), there was a significant association between having one or more tattoos and having hepatitis C. In short, the study found that people with hepatitis C were about three times more likely to have tattoos. This study did not prove causality, but is suggestive of a link between having a tattoo and hepatitis infection.
How Can Tattoos Spread Hepatitis?
Getting a tattoo requires that your skin be pierced by a needle and injected with tiny amounts of ink. The bigger the tattoo, the more injections you'll need, and each injection brings the needle into contact with your blood (and only once is needed to spread disease). This isn't a problem if that needle is kept isolated, but what happens if the artist already used your needle on someone else? Then you're now exposed to any microbes (bacteria, viruses) in that person's blood, including hepatitis B, hepatitis C and even HIV.

Obesity and Fatty Liver.

Obesity is a major health problem worldwide. In the United States, roughly 300,000 deaths per year are related to obesity. Obesity also increases the risk of developing several chronic diseases such as type II diabetes, insulin resistance, coronary heart disease (responsible for heart attacks), cerebrovascular disease (responsible for strokes), high blood pressure, gout, gallstones, colon cancer, sleep apnea, and a form of liver disease called nonalcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD). It is not clear why fat builds up in the liver, but people are more likely to develop the condition if they have diabetes, are overweight, or have high levels of cholesterol or blood fats (called "triglycerides"). The amount of fat in the liver may decrease when overweight people lose weight, when diabetics have well-controlled blood sugars, and when cholesterol and triglyceride levels are lowered.
Liver cancer
Like all other body organs, your liver can get cancer. Liver cancer is a disease in which some of the cells in your liver begin to reproduce faster than they should. This can lead to liver tumors. Having hepatitis B or hepatitis C can increase your chances of getting liver cancer. Most people with liver cancer do not have any symptoms from it early on. Those who do have symptoms often have some pain in the area of their liver (right side of the abdomen, under the ribs), or they may have a build-up of fluid in their abdomen (called "ascites").
Liver cancer is very serious and can be deadly. If you find out that you have liver cancer, you need to get treated as soon as possible.

Keeping your liver healthy
-Here are some preventive measures to keep your liver healthy:
-Don't inject drugs like heroin or cocaine.
-Don't drink alcohol. Alcohol is a poison to the liver and also can make liver diseases such as hepatitis much worse. If you do drink, drink lightly.
-Don't share any personal items such as razors or toothbrushes that might have blood on them.
- Don't have unsafe sex with multiple partners.
-Ask your doctor about getting vaccinated against hepatitis A and B. There is currently no vaccine against the hepatitis C virus.
-Follow strict food safety guidelines. Make sure that the water you drink and the food you eat are clean, especially when traveling to other countries. Most cases of infection with hepatitis A result from poor cleanliness during food preparation.
-If you take any medications, make sure your doctor knows about them. Also tell your doctor about any over-the-counter medicines, supplements, and natural or herbal remedies that you use. Certain drugs can interact with these medications and damage the liver. -Maintain a healthy body weight. Control blood sugars if you have diabetes.
-Keep cholesterol and blood fats within the recommended range. Ask your doctor for advice on doing this. Reference

www.liverfoundation.org
www.hepatitis.about.com/od/lifestyle/a/tattoos.htm

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