Warning Signs You Have Liver Problems

Your liver works hard to defend you from illness and does a lot of work to ensure you are healthy, so when your liver is not functioning the right way it affects your body’s overall health. “Your liver is responsible for many duties each day: helping to process what you drink and eat, storing nutrients like glucose and vitamins and removing any excess toxins and so much more. Weighing almost 3 pounds in adults, the liver does over 500 functions that are vital to our lives,” says Dr. Bayo Curry-Winchell. There are some warning signals that your liver will try to send out to let you know there is a problem. According to Dr. Curry-Winchell, here is five signs you should not ignore.

1 — Jaundice

Dr. Curry-Winchell says, “This is a condition that causes the whites of your eyes and skin to become yellow because of the buildup of something that is called bilirubin which is a yellow colored substance formed when the red blood cells in your blood start to break down. It is normal for the body to produce Bilirubin every day. However, when your liver cannot properly process the red blood cells as they start to break down, it starts to cause a buildup of bilirubin which results in jaundice.”

2 — Bleeding

According to Dr. Curry-Winchell, “If you are experiencing blood in your stools or are bleeding rectally then your liver might have signs of scarring. When the liver is healthy blood will move fast and smoothly throughout the body. When there is scarring, it may be harder for your blood to travel through the other portions of the body which will cause bleeding to occur.”

3 — Memory Problems

“When your liver cannot remove the toxins from your body, those toxins will build up in your brain causing memory problems including tiredness, confusion, and in the most severe cases coma,” said Dr. Curry-Winchell.

4 — Accumulation of Fluids

Dr. Curry-Winchell explains, “Almost half of the people who suffer from liver problems have an accumulation of fluids in their legs or abdomen. This will happen because blood pressure levels in your liver veins will increase and leak blood into the surrounding tissues.”

5 — Weight Loss

“The liver is crucial to processing daily nutrients you receive with drinking and eating,” Dr. Curry-Winchell states. “When it is unable to function properly your body has a hard time getting the nourishment it requires.”